Excellent setting out of the steps to be taken, Bruce. What I find so strange is the active antipathy so many people seem to have, especially those of a left liberal persuasion it has to be said, to the idea of embracing a spiritual world view. Many people seem to hate, and I choose that word deliberately, the idea of God and will do anything, and argue in any way, to reject that idea. Their arguments will be dressed up in fine words that include humanity, brotherhood, morality, even goodness, but behind all this you can sense the rejection of God as the motivating factor. They will never admit their true motivation and this means you cannot discuss anything with them because they are always arguing from a point of bad faith and dishonesty.
This reveals the extent to which modernity has inverted The Good.
In earlier times God might be rejected because he was regarded as untrue, a human invention entirely - but IF God had been true, people would have been delighted to believe in him.
Then there was a middle phase when the truth of God was regarded as both untrue and a manipulation (eg by the ruling class or the priesthood) - God was more vehemently rejected as a harmful falsehood; but again if God could be shown to be real, then such rejecters would be pleased, and change their minds.
But *now* we have a situation ('inversion') in which many people regard God as evil - to the extent that even if God could be shown to be true and doing the things he is supposed to do (according to The Bible, for example), then God would still be regarded 'a bad thing' who *ought* to be rejected - in other words, nowadays people (mostly among the Establishment intellectual ruling elite) do indeed *hate* God.
This is why, even though I regard salvation as the default state - a gift from Christ which we merely have to accept (on having the truth of the matter revealed to us, after death) - I nonetheless believe that many modern Westerners will indeed reject God; reject him despite *knowing* that he is real and true and does indeed want the things that Christians say he wants for us.
This is why I think we live in the most deeply and pervasively sinful time and place in the history of the world - because so many people (and so many high status, rich, powerful, influential people) actively-hate God and The Good.
You wonder why somebody would deliberately reject the idea of God and heaven. It seems to be an echo of Luciferian pride but it is not admitted outright usually. Instead it is overlaid with a thick veneer of rationalisation and the substitution of a lesser good, say human happiness in this world, as replacement for the greater good of salvation and spiritual transformation into eternal life.
Well, it is pride, at root, you are right - but what pride is, in this instance, is that many people seem to regard God's whole plan (for us to become gods and dwell in a Heavenly family) is something they don't want; they prefer not to be part of God's plan (which is of itself morally neutral) but also want to prevent other people from joining with God's plan - want to poison the idea of salvation and theosis and a community of Love (which is when it becomes actively evil).
What will they get instead; what do they want? I would say control of their own lives without the constraints and responsibilities of love or God; the chance instead to dominate, manipulate and exploit others for their own maximum pleasure in whatever way gives them most gratification... that kind of thing.
(i.e. A version of the modern, libertarian 'sexual marketplace' - forever. For a depiction of what they want, see the relationships among the devils in CS Lewis's Screwtape Letters/ Screwtape proposes a Toast. The prevalent emotion seems to be a sadistic Schadenfreude.)
15 November 2016 at 13:17
Fred said...
Linked at #Gab.ai @ProGunFred #GabFam
15 November 2016 at 17:58
Of course there are negative signs - such as a withdrawal from the consumerism and materialism of modern life (reduced economic activity, failure of new fashions in clothes and goods, a retail slump, fewer Christmas cards and less expensive presents!).
But positive signs too: an obvious increase of appreciation of real beauty, including landscape, skies, traditional arts.
Simple labelling of deliberate ugliness and the subversion and marring of beauty as such.
A wave of truth-telling and insistence on honesty (refusal to sign, refusal to vote, refusal to participate in lying and misleading - done at the cost of personal disadvantage).
Most vitally repentance; by which I mean an explicit admission that 'I' was wrong, 'I personally' propagated falsehoods.
Use of the morality of transcendental motivation and aims in an eternal perspective (beyond death and human perception or memory).
Explicit rejection of a morality of comparative human behaviour.
Explicit rejection of the modern notion of hypocrisy i.e. failing to live up to ideals - as the ultimate sin; and instead an insistence in the correctness of ideals as the primary necessity for morality (because free speech, tolerance etc are all subordinate and relative to the primary ideals).
(Better to have an flawed person aiming at the proper ideals; than a well-behaved, intelligent, charismatic, intelligent, beautiful person engaged in the subversion and inversion of Goodness.)
Increased public, explicit, referencing and discussing of the non-material world; that beyond the five senses and the measurable - acknowledgement and celebration of the fact that the world is a larger place than that...
Baby steps indeed - but necessary; and a radical reversal of the trend of many decades.
"Signs of spiritual revival - what to look for"
5 Comments -
Excellent setting out of the steps to be taken, Bruce. What I find so strange is the active antipathy so many people seem to have, especially those of a left liberal persuasion it has to be said, to the idea of embracing a spiritual world view. Many people seem to hate, and I choose that word deliberately, the idea of God and will do anything, and argue in any way, to reject that idea. Their arguments will be dressed up in fine words that include humanity, brotherhood, morality, even goodness, but behind all this you can sense the rejection of God as the motivating factor. They will never admit their true motivation and this means you cannot discuss anything with them because they are always arguing from a point of bad faith and dishonesty.
15 November 2016 at 12:00
@William - I agree.
This reveals the extent to which modernity has inverted The Good.
In earlier times God might be rejected because he was regarded as untrue, a human invention entirely - but IF God had been true, people would have been delighted to believe in him.
Then there was a middle phase when the truth of God was regarded as both untrue and a manipulation (eg by the ruling class or the priesthood) - God was more vehemently rejected as a harmful falsehood; but again if God could be shown to be real, then such rejecters would be pleased, and change their minds.
But *now* we have a situation ('inversion') in which many people regard God as evil - to the extent that even if God could be shown to be true and doing the things he is supposed to do (according to The Bible, for example), then God would still be regarded 'a bad thing' who *ought* to be rejected - in other words, nowadays people (mostly among the Establishment intellectual ruling elite) do indeed *hate* God.
This is why, even though I regard salvation as the default state - a gift from Christ which we merely have to accept (on having the truth of the matter revealed to us, after death) - I nonetheless believe that many modern Westerners will indeed reject God; reject him despite *knowing* that he is real and true and does indeed want the things that Christians say he wants for us.
This is why I think we live in the most deeply and pervasively sinful time and place in the history of the world - because so many people (and so many high status, rich, powerful, influential people) actively-hate God and The Good.
15 November 2016 at 12:23
You wonder why somebody would deliberately reject the idea of God and heaven. It seems to be an echo of Luciferian pride but it is not admitted outright usually. Instead it is overlaid with a thick veneer of rationalisation and the substitution of a lesser good, say human happiness in this world, as replacement for the greater good of salvation and spiritual transformation into eternal life.
15 November 2016 at 12:55
@William - I think it's worse that that!
Well, it is pride, at root, you are right - but what pride is, in this instance, is that many people seem to regard God's whole plan (for us to become gods and dwell in a Heavenly family) is something they don't want; they prefer not to be part of God's plan (which is of itself morally neutral) but also want to prevent other people from joining with God's plan - want to poison the idea of salvation and theosis and a community of Love (which is when it becomes actively evil).
What will they get instead; what do they want? I would say control of their own lives without the constraints and responsibilities of love or God; the chance instead to dominate, manipulate and exploit others for their own maximum pleasure in whatever way gives them most gratification... that kind of thing.
(i.e. A version of the modern, libertarian 'sexual marketplace' - forever. For a depiction of what they want, see the relationships among the devils in CS Lewis's Screwtape Letters/ Screwtape proposes a Toast. The prevalent emotion seems to be a sadistic Schadenfreude.)
15 November 2016 at 13:17
Linked at #Gab.ai
@ProGunFred
#GabFam
15 November 2016 at 17:58