I finished reading the book a few weeks ago and I had a couple of small comments to make about it. Now I have time so I'm going to take advantage of it.
The first is simply to say "thank you" to Laura, this work is a treasure and I am sorry that only a small portion of the world's population can benefit from it. I must admit that it was not an easy read for me, firstly because English is not my native language and secondly because every thread that Laura pulls on is done in a detailed way trying to cover every possible angle and that made the text dense. Having said that I must say that it was worth every page of the book and I feel fortunate that life has brought me to a point where I have been allowed to enjoy so much of such a work.
Secondly, I wanted to make a personal observation based on my own experience. I was born and raised in a Catholic family (two uncles were priests and my father was a seminarian until he decided to leave) and I was educated in the values of this religion. I have nothing to reproach, I think I got the best out of this upbringing and I thank my parents for having framed my childhood and youth in this environment. The point I wanted to get to is that remembering my years of participation in Catholic groups and activities (I belonged to the Salesian order) I can see that in the depths of the teachings I received there are still residues of the Pauline message. The one that comes to mind most is the idea of having "the faith of Christ" and not "faith in Christ". This idea of Christ as a model, as a source of inspiration, at least in the Catholic environments in which I grew up, was always an essential factor and did leave an imprint on me. The idea of not worshipping or venerating "holy figures" but seeing them as a kind of archetype to tune into, I don't think, is trivial.
Knowing through friends or acquaintances other branches of Christianity derived from Protestantism, I must say that, at least from my experience, this is a feature that creates a great difference between one form of Christianity and another. The latter place a special emphasis on blind faith in order to obtain the favours of a deity who, if He sees enough devotion on your part, will surely grant you great benefits.
In short, I just wanted to comment that, at least from my experience, I think there are still remnants of that early Christianity still hanging around the world, which, given the dramatic times we are living in today, feels like smelling a minty breath while we are wading through a fetid swamp.
yes, i have always wondered if christ could also be an egregore generated by the desire of so many persons wishing the existence of such an entity. we are told about the creative power of thougts, prayers. it reminds me also of the tulkas or tulpas of tibet. in any case i wish the existence of christ...