Eclectic and esoteric religions and belief systems

What are the key differences between the contemporary spiritual path and that of the ancient mysteries?

'If we lived only in worlds of spirit, as we do between death and a new birth, we would never be able to acquire freedom there.

'Everyone can derive joy and hope from the communications of another, for what we are told about the higher worlds is not mere theory, unrelated to life.

One is the beloved author of The Name of the Rose, a celebrated scholar, philosopher, and self-declared secularist; the other is a preeminent clergyman and a respected expert on the New Testament.