One should make a clear distinction between grace-based and works-based salvation: “If you stress the numinous, you stress that our salvation or liberation (our being holy) must flow from God the Other… If, on the other hand, you stress the mystical and the non-dual, you tend to stress how we attain salvation or liberation through our own efforts at meditation, not by the intervention of the Other.” It’s an age-old argument, really — one of the reasons for the current rifts between Christian denominations. Protestants tend to stress God’s grace as the impetus of our salvation (“…by grace are we saved…”; Ephesians 2:8-9). Catholics tend to stress grace (“…while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…”; Romans 5:8) and works (“…unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, there can be no life within you.”; John 6:53). I find Protestant and Catholic services equally experiential, but in different ways. The typical Catholic experience is: “…the soaring columns of a great European cathedral, the dim religious light, the high flying solemn choral music, the sanctity of slow procession…” The Protestant experience is more spirit-filled. There’s more emphasis on praise and doing what comes naturally. The experience is the emotional connection one has with Christ.

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