h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Immaterialism Vs Material Fluidity

David Tacey talks of the word "spirit' in the sense used by Aboriginal Lawman David Mowaljarlai when he described the country of Australia as "spirit place". He describes three stages in a Western culture's understanding of spirit, in which the first stage view of spirit as literal and absolute is debunked as illusion in the second stage of intellectual enlightenment and secular humanism. In the third stage, a non-literal and fluid spirituality emerges from post-enlightenment science and culture. He challenges Australian intellectuals who are caught up in the "church" of second stage cultural materialistic notions to think more openly about spirituality, and distinguish between first stage and third stage "spirit".

Thomas Jeffersons loved Jesus’ teachings even while doubting his divinity, attacked immaterialism in religion while believing in the afterlife, and contributed to and regularly attended churches while blasting the corruptions of the church and clergy on the Christian faith (Look: The Religious Life of Thomas Jefferson
by Authors: Charles B. Sanford Released: June, 1987 ISBN: 0813911311).

Down thru the ages, immaterialism and idealism have always been prevalent in philosophy and religion. That is true today. Even in modern philosophy, they continue to bubble up in various guises from just beneath the surface.

This thread is gonna be rather in search an oversight to demarkate this to points.