I like discussions like these, Hierophant (provided they don't end up in flames
) -- and I'm sure Cerek the Gentle Barbarian does, too.
Interesting that I should have just come back from a bookstore with a book on precisely such topics, only to run into your thread. The Spirit must be trying to talk to me!
I suppose before we can really take off in any direction we need to clarify our terms of reference. What (to you) is 'spirit'? Just what does it mean to be 'spiritual'?