User talk:JEMead

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Again, welcome! Beeswaxcandle (talk) 03:14, 28 December 2011 (UTC)

A Source for your changes please
Could you please provide a reliable source for your changes from "Theosophy" to "Theosophism"? I see that you don't use the second term yourself on the Wikipedia article. Beeswaxcandle (talk) 03:14, 28 December 2011 (UTC)


 * OED 2nd edition volume 17 p.903 Theosophism: The theory and practice of Theosophy.

The issue is that Theosophy a broad branch of Philosophy, covering many areas including Science. It is not a religion, since it is a eclectic field covering Science, Ontology etc. However Theosophism is the specific practice of Theosophy - like a specific type of occult theosophism; say Sufi mysticism using one part/field of Theosophy to accelerate the religious experience. i.e. practiced by. - a specific branch of Occult Theosophism. The other piece is that the Theosophical Society has specific Doctrine (The Secret Doctrine) which does dictate a Universal (the one single) religion practiced from ancient dawn of civilization). The Occult School is the Esoteric Society. Etc. the point is to not confuse Philosophy/Metaphysics/Theosophy with the religion of the many/various theosophisms.JEMead (talk) 03:37, 28 December 2011 (UTC)
 * I forgot to add that the rewrite of the article was to maintain the Philosophical Academic purity of the Philosophy. It is not a religion. Not even in the Encyclopedia of Religion is it considered a religion (today, dating back to the 200-300CE).
 * OK, (thinking aloud here) so Theosophy is the broader topic and Theosophism is a sub-topic? I also note that the Library of Congress classification (on which our Portals are based) doesn't mention Theosophism. Beeswaxcandle (talk) 03:46, 28 December 2011 (UTC)
 * I can believe that. The OED does have many words that are rarely used (but still excellent words. like Theosopheme (Thesophy meme - old word).
 * When Theosophy is brought into any singular "Doctrine" of religious belief, the best word seems a Theosophism (as Buddhism instead of Buddhist Philosophy). I am willing to change the name I used (?need I?). It is not Academically correct to be using Theosophy, when it is used by Philosophers, Theologists, Ontologists etc., as an actually specific Doctrinal religion. Theosophy is Very Broad. So, you pretty much nailed it. JEMead (talk) 04:10, 28 December 2011 (UTC)
 * I was starting to try and fix the links, but I was getting in over my head (too new in wiki and its structures - I need a structure diagram and Entity relationship diagram). JEMead (talk) 04:10, 28 December 2011 (UTC)
 * OK. I've got all that (I think). While we have so few documents from any particular Theosophism or relating to Theosophy as a whole, I suggest that it would be better to retain the Portal at Portal:Theosophy and have a section in it for Theosophism. We usually only split a Portal up when it gets too big. This will also keep the Portal in the Library of Congress structure we have settled on here—which is where the majority of our users will expect to find it. Beeswaxcandle (talk) 04:39, 28 December 2011 (UTC)
 * I agree. I felt I was overstepping my bounds after it was becoming complex.. I ultimately think the term Theosophy is wrong to be linked into portals like "Occult". which have everything from wiccan, druidism to even satanism (all are ism's). I am not ever trying to disrupt these activities. I greatly appreciate your help. Also after seeing how coupled it is to many places, it should be discussed first. That is down the road.... there should ultimately a win-win solution for everyone. and all agreed upon. Thanks for stepping in! and Thanks again!!  JEMead (talk) 15:07, 28 December 2011 (UTC)