Non-Christian pilgrim experiences

[John Topping]

Greetings All,
I simply have to get involved in this discussion.  Firstly I am a
Christian - so this will probably colour my view.  I do not believe that
Christians have exclusive rights to the Camino SANTIAGO, ie. the road of St.
James (the apostle of Christ!).  I do believe, however, that this
TRADITIONAL CATHOLIC PILGRIMAGE is rooted in faith, the faith of thousands
who have journeyed since its inception.  It is important to respect this
historical context of this journey.  It is also important to respect the
commitment of those Christians - Priests, Brothers, Nuns, members of
congregations who have devoted their lives to serving Christ through their
service to pilgrims on the road.  I wonder how they feel when they have
people with no spiritual motive using their facilities.  Why do people
partake in the sacred rituals of mass - the worship of God, and communion -
partaking of the body and blood of Christ - when they have no belief?  Do
they recognise the miracle that occurred at O Cebreiro?  To me, churches are
not just buildings - they are a peoples proclamation of their faith - they
are built to honour God - they are visible symbols of faith.  Perhaps this
route is called "The Way" - because Christ said "I am the Way, I am the
truth, I am the light, and no one comes to the Father, but through me." John
14:6.  Having said all that, I accept that every faith has a place - to me
it is just that different countries and races have different cultural
expression of their love of God.  But I feel that the pilgrimage is
historically based on a Christian/Catholic expression of faith that should
not be ignored or made little of.
Don't be too hard on me.
Marion.

----- Original Message -----
From: lmorris <kesatotaSHAW.CA>
To: <GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2002 6:31 PM
Subject: Re: Non-Christian pilgrim experiences


>         Maybe I'll do the same, and that is jump in to this religious
versus
> non religious experience of the Camino. Like Elyn I to think that this
> journey is us evoking archetypes of primal ideas that we don't fully
> understand. I see it this way, the lower is nothing more than a
> reflection of the higher.
>         If I may ask the question, Why does everyone assume that the
Christians
> have the exclusive rights the the Camino? Sort of like the Egyptian
> thinking that they have the exclusive rights to the pyramids, but do
> they just because the pyramids are in their land. So why is it that when
> a non Christian wishes to part take in this journey they feel like they
> are walking in a place they don't belong and they feel like they need
> permission. But in the end, they go away with a personnel experience of
> their own.
>         Have we ever wondered why this journey in Spain is only called the
> "Camino" or the "The Way", I ask, the way to where and why is it not
> more descriptive? Could it be also called "the Way that Is Not a Way" or
> maybe "the Way that Cannot Be Named"? I must say, it truly a strange
> path.
>
> leonard
>
>
>
> Elyn Aviva wrote:
> >
> > I guess I'll throw caution to the winds and jump in on this. I am a
> > non-Christian--raised a humanist, agnostic Unitarian-Universalist, later
> > transformed into a person who follows (stumbles along) a Sufi path in
the
> > Sufi Order International, an order that honors ALL world religions (I
look at
> > it as the spiritual counterpart/counterpoint to my UU upbringing), and,
> > finally, someone who has rediscovered her Jewish roots.... I can only
say
> > that for me the Camino has been a source of continuous fascination and
> > inspiration since I first experienced it in 1981 when I was looking for
a
> > topic for my PhD fieldwork in anthropology. I have been "grabbed" by the
> > Camino and shaken and lifted and tossed and brought to my knees. I have
felt
> > the vibrations of faith and the faithful, and been honored to do so,
even if
> > I am not Christian.
> >
> > For me, the Camino is an archetypal experience, a sacred, ritual process
that
> > enables me to move into a spiritual space that fills me with awe. I am
moved
> > by the faith of millions who have walked the Camino and built the
churches; I
> > long to be in those sacred places even though I am not Christian because
of
> > what I am able to experience in them. I also know that in the Middle
Ages
> > many people of many faiths met on the Camino, including Muslim Sufis,
Jewish
> > Kabbalists, Christian alchemists--and many others.
> >
> > I like to think that the Camino is big enough for all of us.
> >
> > Buen Camino,
> > Elyn
>