The extent to which modern Christianity -- even the more "based" and "hard-core" varieties -- is involved in moralistic, cultural and political crusades is an indication of the fundamental materialist outlook that Dr. Charlton is discussing here.
This is not to say that those focusing their Christian lives on the moralistic and culture war aspects of things are "wrong" in terms of the specific issues they are pushing. The side they take in the crusades they are fighting is often self-evidently the right side. But, very often, there is nothing else to their religion beyond those moral and political battles. And from that perspective these are all entirely worldly projects: Focused on reforming THIS world, making people good in THIS world. These outward-looking crusades also end up being a convenient means of focusing on other people's blind-spots and flaws, rather than on one's own. Or, to put it in more Romantic Christian terms, such projects distract the participant from the important creative and God-cooperative work that they (we) should be engaged in.
And if the above errors of excessive moralism and culture war mania are a sort of "temptation from the right", there are also (obvious) errors of emphasis and focus that form a corresponding "temptation from the left", where the (misguided) focus is placed on social justice and altruism, i.e. all of the "good works" that were the subject of discussion here a few days ago.
Thus, much of Christianity as it is practiced today is a debate among different factions of extremely worldly, materialistic, chiliastic and eschaton-immanentizing "Christianities" which are largely blind to and devoid of any real belief in spiritual realities, although lip service is paid to the Spirit on all sides.
So should the main goal of our good works be to help (but not force) ourselves and others to choose God/Heaven?
Does it mean that there should be political/legal lines drawn that Christians shouldn't cross so that we can, without material coercion, make significant moral choices?
@hdv - There is no "our" and no means by which to instruct "Christians" (legally or politically) to do anything. That way of thinking is just day dreaming. What we need to decide about good works, is for our-selves - we we personally ought to be doing.
10 December 2023 at 21:09
The mainstream orthodox Christian stance of extreme suspicion against anything "spiritual" (what I recently dubbed spiritual scaremongering) is a deadly error - that leads indirectly but almost-inevitably into embracing the "Ahrimanic", bureaucratic totalitarianism of "this world" - but especially The West. This is because spiritual scaremongering is a species of materialism/ positivism/ scientism/ reductionism - and that is what has delivered the whole world of global and (almost entirely) national social institutions and public discourse into the rulership of demonic evil. As modern Men have become individual consciousnesses (alienated, cut-off - but also more free, potentially spiritual agents), so that we are no longer unconsciously and spontaneously immersed-in the consciousness of each other; so has dwindled to insignificance the ancient and medieval way that an exemplary Christian monarch - and Christian priests, monks and nuns of valid churches - could act for the community in spiritual matters. When in the past (and the further past, the more this is so) we all shared in each others consciousness, one (or a small group) could indeed act for all a spiritual community.So that there was no necessity for all Men to have spiritual contact with the divine or with spiritual Beings; since the spiritual work of a small proportion of selected, trained, supervised persons could do this on behalf of the community - as with the Medieval monastic ideal of intercession. No longer. We do not feel spontaneously and powerfully participators in, parts of, a spiritual community. All such immersive group phenomena have declined, catastrophically - and those who insist upon them, who insist upon obedience to an institution (including a church - those who will not deploy their own spiritual potential... Such persons are either left bereft (by their own choices - not by God); or else have de facto substituted the material for the spiritual. ...They have, in effect, delivered themselves up to "society" in a world where "society" is net-evil and ruled by evil imperatives. Here and now; we cannot rely on other people (past or present) for the benefits of spiritual and divine contact - and if we try to do this, we will merely be "secondhand Christians" - which means (because of the corruption of social discourse and institutions) we will Not Be Christians. Spirit is primary - and contains all: The physical realm is indeed always and necessarily spiritual, but the physical is a subset of the spiritual realm. And the divine is a subset of the spiritual. We ought therefore, I believe, to consider spiritual contact - i.e. contact with the spiritual aspects of this world - as a necessary participation in the whole world. Lacking which we have self-excluded from participation in the whole world; and cut-off the possibility of our own escape from the totalitarian evils of The System. Therefore, spiritual scaremongering is a covert form of materialism; a species of metaphysical self-blinding against the spiritual; hence the divine. As I said a few days ago: Demons want all religion to be mediated by human institutions, because demons can (and currently do) control institutions. In sum: we must take the risks of seeking spiritual contact - we have no alternative if we wish to become and remain Christian in a world where the demons have taken over net-control of social institutions - including the churches (and where this evil corruption is worsening). Because we now need to become Christians our-selves, first-hand; therefore rooted in spiritual contacts generally - and divine contacts in particular. Note added: The reason for the "hard-line" urgency of this blog post, is that I seem to see far too many serious orthodox and traditionalist Christians who are following their churches away from the warm-hearted, loving, personal nature - of the truth of following Jesus Christ. And instead descending-into the hard-hearted, this-worldly literalism/ legalism/ Pharisee-ism that modern church-based Christianity becomes when its adherents eschews personal responsibility for faith and metaphysical choices. The trajectory leads away from the spirit and into a material world dominated, as never before, by the spirit of Satan. This trajectory is, I think, consequent upon the necessary goal of seeking courage to hold-the-line; but doing so by accusation and doubling-down on obedience to a church as their primary (non-negotiable) virtue.
"Spiritual scaremongering is covert materialism/ positivism - a surrender to Ahrimanic totalitarianism"
6 Comments -
The extent to which modern Christianity -- even the more "based" and "hard-core" varieties -- is involved in moralistic, cultural and political crusades is an indication of the fundamental materialist outlook that Dr. Charlton is discussing here.
This is not to say that those focusing their Christian lives on the moralistic and culture war aspects of things are "wrong" in terms of the specific issues they are pushing. The side they take in the crusades they are fighting is often self-evidently the right side. But, very often, there is nothing else to their religion beyond those moral and political battles. And from that perspective these are all entirely worldly projects: Focused on reforming THIS world, making people good in THIS world. These outward-looking crusades also end up being a convenient means of focusing on other people's blind-spots and flaws, rather than on one's own. Or, to put it in more Romantic Christian terms, such projects distract the participant from the important creative and God-cooperative work that they (we) should be engaged in.
And if the above errors of excessive moralism and culture war mania are a sort of "temptation from the right", there are also (obvious) errors of emphasis and focus that form a corresponding "temptation from the left", where the (misguided) focus is placed on social justice and altruism, i.e. all of the "good works" that were the subject of discussion here a few days ago.
Thus, much of Christianity as it is practiced today is a debate among different factions of extremely worldly, materialistic, chiliastic and eschaton-immanentizing "Christianities" which are largely blind to and devoid of any real belief in spiritual realities, although lip service is paid to the Spirit on all sides.
7 December 2023 at 09:42
@Daniel F - Yes - well said!
7 December 2023 at 10:12
I second that. Great comment, Daniel.
7 December 2023 at 16:31
Thank you, both!
7 December 2023 at 17:37
So should the main goal of our good works be to help (but not force) ourselves and others to choose God/Heaven?
Does it mean that there should be political/legal lines drawn that Christians shouldn't cross so that we can, without material coercion, make significant moral choices?
Thanks again for your feedback.
10 December 2023 at 19:38
@hdv - There is no "our" and no means by which to instruct "Christians" (legally or politically) to do anything. That way of thinking is just day dreaming. What we need to decide about good works, is for our-selves - we we personally ought to be doing.
10 December 2023 at 21:09