Post a Comment On: Bruce Charlton's Notions

We can see clearly that the possibilities for a traditional Christianity have diminished over recent generations, and are now at a very low ebb. Laws and regulations are increasingly anti-Christian; scripture translations and priest/ pastor teachings are deeply subverted or even inverted. All the Western Churches are declining fast; and the possibilities of leading a 'Christian Life' greatly reduced.

However, it is possible that as the possibilities for Christianity in This World has dwindled, we may be being offered the chance of an unprecedented ('compensatory') expansion of scope in our preparation for the life beyond death.


This can be understood in terms of Christianity as a member of a group, contrasted with Christianity as an individual. Christianity as a group-member, as a social activity, is what has been damaged so much - indeed 'damage' hardly covers it; since many self-identified Christian groups are almost-wholly Left-political in their major doctrines and activities; hence actively anti-Christian in their net-effect.

But if Christianity is seen as primarily orientated beyond This World, beyond our biological death, and towards Jesus's gift of resurrected life everlasting in Heaven - we may discover new, unprecedented, possibilities.


For those who want to accept Christ's gift; those who love and trust Jesus to guide them to Heaven - then salvation is assured and the problem of this mortal life becomes focused our our personal preparation - that is, our personal spiritual development towards what God want us to become.

As God wants us ultimately to become full sons and daughter of God (like Jesus), that is to become 'gods' ourselves, within God's own creation; our task is one of development, learning, growth.

This is termed 'theosis' - the process of becoming more divine; and it begins as soon as the gift of salvation is accepted. That is, it begins in mortal earthly life; and continues in resurrected eternal life. 


If it is God's intention that each of us be an unique member of the Heavenly family, then our task here on earth is to make the best of our specifically mortal experiences. Since God is creator and placed us in his creation, for our benefit; we can assume that our actual life contains the experiences we need to pursue theosis in our own unique direction.   

The transition is from Christianity conceptualised as part of a group (i.e. a church), with its primary value of obedience to the group norms (and societal group norms being Christian - as with a Christian monarchy); to what I have termed Romantic Christianity - meaning Christianity primarily based upon personal discernment, direct experience, individual responsibility.

This transition is (to a significant extent) an enhancement of our ability to pursue theosis in the way that is entailed by our own personal destiny; and to learn to rely upon our individual powers of discernment, and to develop our own inner guidance system in direct consultation with Holy Ghost.

Another way of looking at it is that modern Christianity must become much more active; since passive obedience to group norms leads away from Christianity, and towards demonic and even Satanic goals.

For example, conformity to the goals of any modern bureaucracy (including bureaucracies of the mainstream churches, which are multiply-entwined with the State and other bureaucracies such as law, police, education - all of which are 'converged' onto the primary pursuit of anti-Christian Leftism.

So obedience to almost any group is increasingly conformity to the single global Establishment agenda of evil.


A specific example may help: sexual ethics. In the past (200 plus years ago) a Western Christian would simply have needed to obey the laws of his society and obey the teachings of his church in order to lead a Christian sexual life. Passive conformity to group was pretty much sufficient to attain ethical sexual behaviour. 

Nowadays, political, social, educational, employment, mass media and (most) church norms are aligned towards anti-Christian sexuality: in sum, group ethical values are substantially inverted when it comes to sex and sexuality. So, passive conformity to group (including mainstream church) norms will lead to unChristian sexual behaviour.

Therefore, in order for a modern Western Christian to attain Christian sexual ethics, he will need to develop his own powers of spiritual discernment, will need to take an active role in seeking individual and direct knowledge by consultation with 'God-within' (which we all have by 'inheritance' through being Sons of God) and by consulting with the Holy Ghost in prayer and meditation.

The modern Christian will need to take personal responsibility for his faith, to be prepared to go-it-alone in dissent from social groupings (including many churches); and to operate by an explicit process of intuition. He will need to seek and learn-from his own experiences.


This means that modern Christians are - in order to remain Christians - compelled to develop their autonomy via a direct relation to God and Jesus Christ via the Holy Ghost.

These conditions (the actual conditions of your life and mine) are likely very well-suited to the development of individual spiritual strength, near-ideal for learning spiritual discernment and personal, close-to-perfect for ultimately developing each Christian into a more distinctive divine friend for God.

In sum, I am suggesting that this is an example of what RW Emerson termed Compensation.


Christians may benefit from embracing the possibilities for theosis that have been enhanced by our actual socio-political conditions in The West today.

In this sense, we can see that our times are those of unprecedented opportunities - as well as being times of unprecedented evil.

The necessary difference in attitude seems to be whether:1. We continue to orientate our lives around this mortal life, or 2. Whether we orientate towards eternity.