A Course in Miracles and Christianity: A Dialogue

'The essential characteristic of A Course in Miracles that lies at the core of our differences is that it is a non-dualistic spirituality. Christianity, as Judaism before it, is a dualistic thought system in which God and the world, spirit and matter, co-exist as separate states, both of which are real. Reality is thus seen to be a dimension of opposites as with good and evil in marked distinction from the Course's understanding of reality as being only perfect unity in which there are no opposites.' (Adapted from "Summary and Conclusions") Many students of 'A Course in Miracles' have been tempted to call it the 'Third Testament,' thereby expressing their belief that it represents the same basic theology of the Bible, although in a more "purified," i.e., less ego-dominated, or more spiritually evolved form. Kenneth Wapnick and Rev. W. Norris Clarke, S.J., priest, philosopher, theologian, and Professor Emeritus from Fordham University, engage in this dialogue in order to identify the radical differences, as well as the similarities, between the thought systems of A Course in Miracles and biblical Christianity. Fr. Clarke, a Catholic priest, frames his remarks so as to represent the main theological doctrines of most Protestant churches as well. Reflecting the view of 'A Course in Miracles' that 'a universal theology is impossible, but a universal experience [love] is not only possible but necessary,' The dialogue makes abundantly clear, in the spirit of friends agreeing to disagree, that A Course in Miracles and biblical Christianity reflect entirely different and mutually exclusive theologies that can never be integrated into one coherent spirituality. The dialogue is divided into an Introduction and five chapters: The Origin of the World, Jesus (Nature and Role; The Meaning of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection), The Eucharist, Living in the World, and Summary and Conclusions. The Appendix includes a Glossary, the Nicene Creed, and a summary of the origin and principles of A Course in Miracles.