An absolutely fantastic read, thank you. A real Christmas feast for the soul. I wanted to let you know that in June 1996, I encountered the 'star'. Incredibly, it said these exact words to me 'is not of this world,”' and I understood in a flash the temporal world in which I was in and that of eternity. Im positive that the star carried and transmitted divine knowledge. For the shepherds they followed a moving star, yet I was followed by the 'star'.
Thank you. Unique and creative thoughts written so well. Nothing in this world makes sense anymore. And that’s ok. The king who breaks into the world in such unexpected ways still reigns.
Loved the article ...especially Tertullian's argument where absurdity is reality - - 'the law of opposites' i.e. if you need a friend then be a friend to someone - if you are in need be a resource to someone else - if you need comfort then comfort someone else . ....... ....thank you, joe
This is fantastic thought exercise. Random hot takes:
1. The opposite of belief in Christ (God) is not necessarily belief in the Machine or Technology, or Transhumanism. In fact the opposite of belief in God is more like nihilism or apathy. Both alternatives probably lead to what most of us would describe as either organized or absolute chaos; basically, Hell.
2. There are dangers inherent in the wholesale belief of anything, just as there are dangers inherent in the belief of nothing. Agnosticism or pantheism offer alternatives for those seeking to balance the dangers.
3. Religions are like memes whose survival depends on replication. Christianity has been remarkably successful in this regard, in particular Mormonism in recent decades, and for better or for worse so has its close cousin, Islam.
4. Replication of value systems such as Christianity depends on their functionality. It seems what this blog has identified is the decay and dysfunction corrupting an otherwise robust Western Civilization that depends on the adherence to this holistic value system. Agree this is alarming.
5. Christians are uniquely vulnerable to the corrupting influence of Wokeism (Intersectional Marxism) due to its preoccupation with guilt (Original Sin). Wokeism preys upon feelings of guilt (ableism, cisgenderism, heteronormativity, racism, etc. = being extensions of privilege), making Western Civilization the first domino to fall with the rise of Intersectional Marxism.
6. Where or when did the meme of Christianity somehow go wrong; i.e., why has this vulnerability not been previously identified and patched? Christians have been fending off the precursors to Marxism since the French Revolution. Why does it seem to be collapsing so suddenly (transgenderism in schools being the most obvious symptom)?
7. I submit the National Security State is at the core of the apparent dismantling of Christianity, and that it is intentional. In a war between the National Security State (vs. Christianity) or an International Security State (vs. Organized Religion), it's tempting to pick Christ in the former instance or religion generally in the latter.
8. It seems Christianity needs an intellectual upgrade to stay dominant. It has done this before, most notably during the Lutheran era. I would propose making Christianity backwards-compatible with Paganism, Judaism, and other uniquely Western value systems and religions, to the exclusion of all others, and forward-compatible with ingenious offshoots like Mormonism.
In this way (#8), Christianity can survive another 100+ years, and thus fend off what is effectively Skynet.
Another insightful piece. Thank you. My feelings precisely.
Chesterton even hints at the paradox of Christianity with the morbid logician who tries to make everything lucid and ends up making everything ambiguous while the mystic embraces the a sense of mystery and everything becomes clear.
Bottom line: Who knows but what other viable option exists?
Merry Christmas, Joe. God bless you, your family, and all of us in the coming year!
For me, personally, religion is actually formalized performance of rituals. While I prefer to think of a Way of Life. That is, a code of conduct in which you commit to live in this contingent reality. Rituals become meaningless without the intent to actually live The Life. What is absurd: Where do we come from? Where are we going? What are we supposed to be doing? The Way of Life is our feeble human attempt at an operating manual. We need help!
Not a chip in our brains.
For those who have not read it, you might check out a 1970s classic, " When God Was A
An absolutely fantastic read, thank you. A real Christmas feast for the soul. I wanted to let you know that in June 1996, I encountered the 'star'. Incredibly, it said these exact words to me 'is not of this world,”' and I understood in a flash the temporal world in which I was in and that of eternity. Im positive that the star carried and transmitted divine knowledge. For the shepherds they followed a moving star, yet I was followed by the 'star'.
Beautiful! Thanks for the inspiration. Merry Christmas to you too!
You made me cry.
Merry Christmas, Joe. ♥
https://youtu.be/TflfSShJT-Y
I wish you were my neighbor. I’d invite you over for hot cocoa and just listen to you talk. Merry Christmas Joe!
Well said! It is good to believe in a faithful God which is irrational or, more precisely, beyond or ability to rationalize.
Thank you. Unique and creative thoughts written so well. Nothing in this world makes sense anymore. And that’s ok. The king who breaks into the world in such unexpected ways still reigns.
This is absolutely beautiful. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!
Great job Joe
Loved the article ...especially Tertullian's argument where absurdity is reality - - 'the law of opposites' i.e. if you need a friend then be a friend to someone - if you are in need be a resource to someone else - if you need comfort then comfort someone else . ....... ....thank you, joe
Merry Christmas Joe!
I believ in the Father Son and the Holy Spirit. Thank you, God, for your saving Grace.
This is fantastic thought exercise. Random hot takes:
1. The opposite of belief in Christ (God) is not necessarily belief in the Machine or Technology, or Transhumanism. In fact the opposite of belief in God is more like nihilism or apathy. Both alternatives probably lead to what most of us would describe as either organized or absolute chaos; basically, Hell.
2. There are dangers inherent in the wholesale belief of anything, just as there are dangers inherent in the belief of nothing. Agnosticism or pantheism offer alternatives for those seeking to balance the dangers.
3. Religions are like memes whose survival depends on replication. Christianity has been remarkably successful in this regard, in particular Mormonism in recent decades, and for better or for worse so has its close cousin, Islam.
4. Replication of value systems such as Christianity depends on their functionality. It seems what this blog has identified is the decay and dysfunction corrupting an otherwise robust Western Civilization that depends on the adherence to this holistic value system. Agree this is alarming.
5. Christians are uniquely vulnerable to the corrupting influence of Wokeism (Intersectional Marxism) due to its preoccupation with guilt (Original Sin). Wokeism preys upon feelings of guilt (ableism, cisgenderism, heteronormativity, racism, etc. = being extensions of privilege), making Western Civilization the first domino to fall with the rise of Intersectional Marxism.
6. Where or when did the meme of Christianity somehow go wrong; i.e., why has this vulnerability not been previously identified and patched? Christians have been fending off the precursors to Marxism since the French Revolution. Why does it seem to be collapsing so suddenly (transgenderism in schools being the most obvious symptom)?
7. I submit the National Security State is at the core of the apparent dismantling of Christianity, and that it is intentional. In a war between the National Security State (vs. Christianity) or an International Security State (vs. Organized Religion), it's tempting to pick Christ in the former instance or religion generally in the latter.
8. It seems Christianity needs an intellectual upgrade to stay dominant. It has done this before, most notably during the Lutheran era. I would propose making Christianity backwards-compatible with Paganism, Judaism, and other uniquely Western value systems and religions, to the exclusion of all others, and forward-compatible with ingenious offshoots like Mormonism.
In this way (#8), Christianity can survive another 100+ years, and thus fend off what is effectively Skynet.
Another insightful piece. Thank you. My feelings precisely.
Chesterton even hints at the paradox of Christianity with the morbid logician who tries to make everything lucid and ends up making everything ambiguous while the mystic embraces the a sense of mystery and everything becomes clear.
Bottom line: Who knows but what other viable option exists?
Merry Christmas, Joe. God bless you, your family, and all of us in the coming year!
For me, personally, religion is actually formalized performance of rituals. While I prefer to think of a Way of Life. That is, a code of conduct in which you commit to live in this contingent reality. Rituals become meaningless without the intent to actually live The Life. What is absurd: Where do we come from? Where are we going? What are we supposed to be doing? The Way of Life is our feeble human attempt at an operating manual. We need help!
Not a chip in our brains.
For those who have not read it, you might check out a 1970s classic, " When God Was A
Woman" by Merlin Stone for
historical references. Kindest regards.
Not bad, millennial.
Merry Christmas, Joseph.
Thank you for this post. It is extremely well written. God's blessings to you