@James - Well, with convergence of all institutions; increasingly whatever we give ourselves to amounts to the same (demonic) thing. Ultimately, if we are alive, we will be in thrall to The System (to greater or lesser degree). But thought remains free - potenitally.
30 December 2019 at 14:59
edwin said...
I once spoke to a well-known religious writer about my moral reservations in continuing with my profession - journalist - and he told me, with some emphasis: "Evil is systemic!" There was no place I could go and do something for a living that would not be tainted. We were standing on a Manhattan street corner and he swept his hand about him and told me that the city, in effect, belonged to satan, and important people in it were either consciously or unconsciously serving him. I see now how right he was and you are. All remedial action must be individual, not institutional or programmatic. Christ was left alone, but He was not alone because the Father was with Him. So it seems to be with us now.
@edwin - He was correct. But it is very hard to admit we make a living from our services to evil - we so much want to feel superior to others. Yet it is that admission (and repentance) which is the only thing that makes it alright.
I remember talking to someone who had lived in the USSR and he was astonished at the lack of insight of the British about these matters. He said that the system was much the same, but in the USSR most people knew it was a sham, while in the UK they believed the public relations nonsense.
I think the difference was that many communist Russians were still Christian, buried deep inside; whereas deep inside most of the upper class and professional British people I have encountered there was... nothing.
30 December 2019 at 19:44
We are moving towards (indeed we are already in, all-but) a world where all the sides are evil-motivated - that is they are overall, in net effect, operating against God/ Good and the continuing divine creation.
When we look at any large, significant, powerful, wealthy, mainstream institutions/ organisations/ corporations - we find that All Of Them are (overall, n net effect) on the side of evil. Political parties and government agancies and charities, law and medicine, hospitals, schools and colleges, artistic and scientific, military and police, journalstic and media, churches... all significant institutions are on teh side of evil.
We maybe grew-up supposing that there were some Good and some evil institutions, and our job was to discern and support the Good against the wicked - but now they are all wicked. Whoever we support, we are supporting evil; whenever we oppose, we oppose attributes shared by those we support.
Look within these institutions - there are inner groups and divisions; there is hierarchy and functional specialisation. We are used to a world when some of these inner divisions are Good and others not; when (say) doctors and nurses groups are Good and managers and public relations are wicked; when scientists and teachers are Good but administrators not...
Nowadays, all the significant internal groups are on the side of evil - overall, and usually by a large predominance. What may have been good sub-groups are by now long-since subverted.
Therefore, when we work-with, deal-with any significant institution, all significant institutions - we need to assume that every hierarchical and functional subdivision has by now, long since, been corrupted into the service of evil.
In sum: We Are On Our Own... It is us-against-the-world.
Fortunately, thought is free - if we choose to be free.
But of course, that is the exact problem - that most people, most of the time, choose not to be free. That is their decision, for which they only are responsible, ultimately.
Bu the fact is that we are free in our thought, and while discernment of good from evil was often difficult in the past, it is now very easy!
This World is devoted to value inversion - hence every institution and group is obviously evil in its intent, and obviously incoherent in its labile, tactical opposition to God/ Good/ Creation.
Why obvious? Well, we have built-in, natural spontaneous values - and these are contradicted by mainstream modernity. We have access to divine revelations from the Holy Ghost, and these are contradicted by all of the 'sides' offered to us in our lives.
Comparing the built-in and revelatory true values with those inverted values of The World, everyone can know for themselves (from themselves) what is evil.
It is a matter of compensation. As the world becomes more-wholly and more-extremely evil, that evil becomes obvious to the meanest individual. And, in a world where Jesus has offered salvation to all who love and follow him; simply to know Good from evil and to take the side of Good is sufficient.
This is not about what we Do but what we Know.
What we do may be coerced, what we know is our own business - unless we choose otherwise.
In the end we have no-one to blame but our-selves.
"A world where all 'sides' are evil-motivated (but a world where Good is easily discerned)"
4 Comments -
“We are free” is an interesting concept. How about “we are all in thrall to something”, we are free to choose that which we give ourselves over to?
30 December 2019 at 12:55
@James - Well, with convergence of all institutions; increasingly whatever we give ourselves to amounts to the same (demonic) thing. Ultimately, if we are alive, we will be in thrall to The System (to greater or lesser degree). But thought remains free - potenitally.
30 December 2019 at 14:59
I once spoke to a well-known religious writer about my moral reservations in continuing with my profession - journalist - and he told me, with some emphasis: "Evil is systemic!" There was no place I could go and do something for a living that would not be tainted. We were standing on a Manhattan street corner and he swept his hand about him and told me that the city, in effect, belonged to satan, and important people in it were either consciously or unconsciously serving him. I see now how right he was and you are. All remedial action must be individual, not institutional or programmatic. Christ was left alone, but He was not alone because the Father was with Him. So it seems to be with us now.
30 December 2019 at 18:57
@edwin - He was correct. But it is very hard to admit we make a living from our services to evil - we so much want to feel superior to others. Yet it is that admission (and repentance) which is the only thing that makes it alright.
I remember talking to someone who had lived in the USSR and he was astonished at the lack of insight of the British about these matters. He said that the system was much the same, but in the USSR most people knew it was a sham, while in the UK they believed the public relations nonsense.
I think the difference was that many communist Russians were still Christian, buried deep inside; whereas deep inside most of the upper class and professional British people I have encountered there was... nothing.
30 December 2019 at 19:44