The Summum
SUMMUM
Billions of years ago, the universe came into existence with a "Big Bang." The creation of the universe is the single paramount event from which all other events precipitate, and why it happened is the greatest mystery we have ever known. On the tiniest of scales, the cosmos reveals to us a universe filled with quanta particles; and on the largest, a universe of planets, stars, galaxies, and life. The expanse is endless. Are we then to believe ourselves alone in the vastness of creation, or to solely occupy the crown of it? In 1975, Corky Ra, an administrative manager for a large supply company, began to experience a series of encounters with advanced beings. His first reactions of shock and disbelief led him to a period of seclusion, yet the "visits" continued, leading him to an awakening. Ra realized it was the purpose of these beings to re-introduce, in a pure form, principles of nature that have always existed and address all issues of existence, sexuality, and death. SUMMUM: Sealed Except to the Open Mind is about existence in its broadest context and delves into the forces behind cosmic rhythms and change. Most importantly, it describes a meditation for developing a personal relationship with the essence of nature. This is the second edition of a work first published in 1988 and contains illustrations. Make this book your companion and venture to get a glimpse of the inner workings of Creation.
The Vision of God
Based on the 1928 Bampton Lectures, The Vision of God was the first of Kenneth E. Kirk’s three major books on moral theology. Drawing inspiration from the ascetic tradition of Christianity, Kirk advocates the priority of worship in ethical thought. Beginning with the sixth beatitude, he places the visio Dei front and centre throughout, placing himself in a eudaimonistic tradition that ranges from Irenaeus to Aquinas and the Shorter Catechism. Worship, he shows, offers the opportunity to discover and acknowledge something more valuable than the self, and thus contains the key to moral instruction. Although Kirk published an expanded ‘complete edition’ of The Vision of God in 1931, he notes in the preface to the shorter text presented here that ‘what remains approximates to, though it is not quite identical with, the actual lectures as originally delivered.’ The reader therefore has in their hands the essence of Kirk’s thesis, which continues to prompt debate today.
SUMMUM
This illustrated work introduces the Summum philosophy and outlines the Principles of Creation that underlie all phenomena. It examines the origin of the universe, seven fundamental principles of nature, and humanity's place within Creation's formulations as conveyed to the author by advanced beings.
Human Flourishing: Volume 16, Part 1
The essays in this volume examine the nature of human flourishing and its relationship to a variety of other key concepts in moral theory. Some of them trace the link between flourishing and human nature, asking whether a theory of human nature can allow us to develop an objective list of goods that are of value to all agents, regardless of their individual purposes or aims. Some essays look at the role of friendships or parent-child relationships in a good life, or seek to determine whether an ethical theory based on human flourishing can accommodate concern for others for their own sake. Other essays analyze the function of families or other social-political institutions in promoting the flourishing of individuals. Still others explore the implications of flourishing for political theory, asking whether considerations of human flourishing can help us to derive principles of social justice.
