New Thought
What the heck does new thought mean?
Very simple: the opposite of old thought.
Old thought means fundamentalism, dogmatic thought,
taught by the patriarchs, whether they be Jewish, Christian, Moslem,
or other brands of human dictated
thought.
For example, Christian fundamentalists (of all persuasions) believe that other people, who don't believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible, or who haven't been born again, or who haven't accepted Jesus Christ as their personal lord and savior ... will burn in Hell forever and ever.
Moslem fundamentalists have other views, some of which are radical, some are extremely radical.
However, New Thought doesn't necessarily mean "new". It means a departure from ever-persistent "scholasticism" and "neo-scholasticism".
Some ancient religions fit very well with New Thought ideas. In essence, New Thought is a way of looking at life differently. It's almost a trait of a class of human beings who think differently, who are brave enough, intelligent enough and passionate enough to think for themselves rather than believe what they are told to believe about life, spirituality, and how the cosmos works. Who are the ones doing the telling? A male-dominated ancient and medieval priesthood. However, modern, fundamentalistic "priesthoods" have not gone away.
All "priesthoods" are rejected here, whether they be preachers, priests, imams, rabbis, scripturalists, pastors, popes, or any other authoritarian figures, etc. In New Thought, each person thinks for themselves. Study, contemplation, and experience guide each person's beliefs and behavior. Sunday school is over.
Our Orientation
We (the Institute) subscribe to New Thought ideas and principles - which are
wide ranging. For this reason, many examples of New Thought
writers, teachers, thinkers, and practioners are presented
here. Not every topic in the Contents list is New Thought material,
but is included to show the contrasts.