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Divine Humanity - A Justification of Man

10/2/2021

"Many have written their justification of God, their theodicy, but the time has come to write a justification of man, an anthropodicy." - Nicholas Berdyaev

In Self-knowledge, Berdyaev observed that he could only accept and experience Christianity as a religion of Godmanhood.

To Berdyaev, Godmanhood entails the understanding that "not only man needs God, but God also needs man." This understanding is not rooted in any notion of replacing God with man or man with God, but rather on the "radical" belief that the eternal divinity of man is godlike. The Christian tradition asserts God as the Creator; Berdyaev postulates that man is also a creator possessing inherent supernatural potential.

The idea that God needs man as much as man needs God contains within it the very meaning of creativity, which is joint action between God and man. God is both father and Creator; man is a co-creating child.

Thus worshiping and glorifying God demands continuing the work of the Father. And the way man continues the work of the Father is through creativity.

Man's creativity is an essential part of God's activity. The transformation of the world is carried out by man, not God - but it can only be carried out by man if he works from his Divine Self and works in accordance to the Divine Plan.

Once he learns this, man will know that is he not a means, but an end. And he will understand that creativity is not a choice between good and evil, but his creation of good and evil.

That is how human power becomes Divine Power.

If man were utterly insignificant and irrelevant to God's activity, the side opposed to God and Creation would not work so diligently to obscure and destroy all that is divine in man.

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"Build Back Better" Actually Means "Destroy Worse First"

9/30/2021

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A little over a month ago, Bruce Charlton wrote a particularly insightful post concerning the difference between creative destruction and destructive creation. Creative destruction describes the process of a newer, "better", more functional industry displacing a conventional or traditional form via growth. The causal sequence can happen spontaneously, but it can also be influenced by those with power or wealth.

A classic example of creative destruction is automobiles replacing horses and horse-drawn vehicles. When it became apparent that cars were a potentially superior form of personal transportation, society began to shift away from horse-drawn vehicles. This growth accelerated as automobiles became increasingly affordable. Over time, horse-drawn vehicles were rendered obsolete.

As Dr. Charlton observes in his post, creative destruction has more to do with growth than creativity. As the new something grows, it begins to press against the older form and either "destroys" it by replacing it outright or "destroys" it by relegating the older form to a lower position.

Destructive creation, on the other hand, inverts this sequence by placing destruction before growth:

So the essence of Creative Destruction is in the sequence of growth 'causing' a tendency towards destruction. Growth +/- destruction.

But what we are seeing very clearly from early 2020 is a reversal of this causal sequence.

Instead of growth ('creation') causing destruction, destruction comes first - and growth (creation') is asserted to come afterwards.

This I term Destructive Creation because the idea is that destruction comes first, and creation of new forms may follow.

However, what actually follows destruction is conjectural. There may be growth of some new form that replaces the old, or there may not be.

Dr. Charlton goes on to outline how practically every trendy agenda item currently in play fits neatly into the paradigm of Destructive Creation:

An example of Destructive Creation is the self-styled sustainable energy economy. The generation of electricity by coal and gas is being destroyed by laws and taxes. Its replacement by windmills and other devices is conjectural, has not happened, and is indeed impossible.

Personal cars powered by the internal combustion engine are being squeezed towards extinction by regulations and taxes; and urban road transport is being expensively crippled by 'bike lanes'.

Vast resources in the current world are being devoted to destruction. But the replacements are conjectural, and may or may not happen.

There will be (already has-been) a vast shrinkage of power generation - and therefore electric cars will not be possible for mass transport. Cars are being cleared to make way for bicycles etc; but the bicycles cannot functionally substitute for cars, so the net result will be reduced efficiency and effectiveness (then prohibition) of all activities that depend on mass usage of private cars.

So, just as Creative Destruction actually amounts-to Growth first and for-sure... plus or minus destruction; so Destructive Creation really means Destruction first and for sure, then maybe (or maybe not) Growth to replace that which has already been destroyed...
From 2020 we are seeing a decisive shift from Creative destruction to Destructive Creation, as announced by The Great Reset, Build-Back-better and Agenda 2030 of the UN. The new strategy is to to clear-the-ground of what is, allegedly to make-way for growth of what-is-to-become.

But all that is certain is the destruction of what has-been and is.

Dr. Charlton makes a crucial point. Unfortunately, very few people appear to be aware - I mean really, truly, fully aware - of the massive destruction that has occurred since 2020.

Even fewer seem to understand that higher magnitudes of destruction in the present and the near future are practically guaranteed.

The System that functioned before the 2020 birdemic coup no longer serves the Establishment's purposes. As a result, the Establishment has no interest in tweaking it, or debugging it, or improving it. On the contrary, They aim to completely dismantle it and erect something else - something "better" in its place.

"Build back better" is not the rallying cry of creative destruction, but the war cry of destructive creation. "Build back better" is not growth leading to destruction, but destruction that may (or may not) lead to growth.

Thus, the mantra of "build back better" should actually be interpreted as "destroy worse first."

And what is the "worse" that needs to be destroyed? Simply put, anything and everything that is necessary, useful, and functional - and this includes everything that can still be classified as Good (God, religion, family, friendships, community, love, honesty, etc.).

Building back better does not imply that we have hit bottom. Building back better implies that the worse still needs to be eliminated before the better can emerge.

Based on this sequence, things like lab-based meat will only become available after industrial meat production has been completely derailed. Electric cars and other green forms of transport will only be accessible after gasoline-powered cars are removed from the roads. Tourism will only return after what remains of tourism at present is unceremoniously snuffed out.

What happens during the interregnum between the destruction and the planned/ anticipated/envisioned growth is anybody's guess.

Of course, there's no guarantee that lab-based meat will ever really become a suitable or affordable substitute for real meat. The same could be said about mass-produced electric cars. I personally believe the vast majority of the "growth" the totalitarians envision will either fail or will never see the light of day. Thus, instead of building back better, we will all likely end up in a world filled with nothing but "destroyed worse."

But hey - at least we'll all be safe!

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The Romantic Everyday

9/27/2021

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Born into a Hungarian-Jewish family, Sándor Bihari (1855-1906) was awarded the Order of Franz Joseph for his artistic contributions to the empire. His work has sunk into relative obscurity beyond Central Europe since then.

Though there is nothing particularly unique or striking about his paintings, I feel Bihari did possess an admirable talent for capturing everyday (one could say romanticized) scenes of common people in fin de sciecle Austria-Hungary.

On the Porch - c. 1900

Sunday Afternoon - 1893

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System Christianity IS the Religion of the Grand Inquisitor

9/26/2021

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To refer to the central thesis Dostoevsky presents in The Legend of The Grand Inquisitor as disconcerting barely scratches the surface of the problem. The Grand Inquisitor’s assertion is a simple one: Jesus desired that people choose to follow him freely and willingly and learn to discern good and evil for themselves with only His image as their guide, but the vast majority of people are utterly incapable of doing this because they cannot bear to be free. The Grand Inquisitor derides Jesus for thinking too highly of humans when He set such a difficult task before them. He even accuses Jesus of not loving humanity, for if He had, He would have not have burdened humanity with difficulties like discernment and freedom in mortal life.

You thirsted for a love that was free, not for the servile ecstasies of the slave before the might that has inspired him with dread once and for all. But even here you had too high an opinion of human beings, for of course, they are slaves, though they are created mutineers. Look around you and judge, now that fifteen centuries have passed, take a glance at them: which of them have you borne up to yourself? Upon my word, man is created weaker and more base than you supposed! Can he, can he perform the deeds of which you are capable? In respecting him so much you acted as though you had ceased to have compassion for him, because you demanded too much of him—and yet who was this? The very one you had loved more than yourself! Had you respected him less you would have demanded of him less, and that would have been closer to love, for his burden would have been lighter. He is weak and dishonourable.

In the Grand Inquisitor’s mind, the major flaw in Jesus’s mission was His respect and love of humanity. If Jesus’s assessment and estimation of human limitations had been more realistic, His mission on earth would have been a greater success. Moreover, if Jesus had allowed Himself to succumb to the three temptations in the desert – the tempations of miracle, mystery, and authority – He would have achieved the means through which unify humanity under the material banner of the earth and create a state of universal brotherhood in which none would be free, but all would be happy rather than a banner of spiritual freedom which made no promises concerning the world, but offers instead the promise of Heaven.

It is precisely the promise of Heaven that the Grand Inquistor believes most people cannot achieve, which brings out the larger question of why God chose to create such a multitude incapable of bearing the freedom Christ brings. Consequently, the religion of the Grand Inquisitor strives to eliminate the burden of freedom altogether – to correct the great work of Jesus by unifying man under the banner of miracle, mystery, and authority:

And yet even back then you could have taken the sword of Caesar. Why did you reject that final gift? Had you accepted that third counsel of the mighty Spirit, you would have supplied everything that man seeks in the world, that is: someone to bow down before, someone to entrust one's conscience to, and a way of at last uniting everyone into an undisputed, general and consensual ant-heap, for the need of universal union is the third and final torment of human beings. Invariably mankind as a whole has striven to organize itself on a universal basis. Many great peoples have there been, and peoples with great histories, but the loftier those peoples, the more unhappy, for more acutely than others have they been conscious of the need for a universal union of human beings.

This organization of a universal union of human beings is the driving force behind the 2020 global coup, a Satanic totalitarianism to which virtually all forms of organized Christianity have pledged open allegience. Like Dostoevsky’s Grand Inquisitor, the current leaders of organized Christianity believe Jesus set the bar too high when it comes to the purpose of mortal life and the promise of Heaven. Consequently, they have allied themselves with the Big Lies of the Establishment and its System and have dedicated themselves wholly to the promise of a universal heaven on earth.

During his interrogation of Jesus, the Grand Inquisitor reveals exactly which side he is serving:

Why have you come to get in our way now? And why do you gaze at me so silently and sincerely with those meek eyes of yours? Why do you not get angry? I do not want your love, because I myself do not love you.

And what is there I can conceal from you? Do you think I don't know who I'm talking to? What I have to say to you is all familiar to you already, I can read it in your eyes. And do you think I would conceal our secret from you?

Perhaps it is my own lips that you want to hear it from—then listen: we are not with you, but with him, there is our secret! We have long been not with you, but with him, eight centuries now. It is now just eight centuries since we took from him that which you in indignation rejected, that final gift he offered you, when he showed you all the kingdoms of the world: we took from him Rome and the sword of Caesar and announced that we alone were the kings of the world, the only kings, even though to this day we have not succeeded in bringing our task to its complete fulfilment.

The leaders of System Christianity have also revealed which side they are on. They do not think too highly of you and have no faith in your ability to follow Jesus into life everlasting. Blindly following these church leaders now will not lead to salvation, as the Grand Inquisitor himself admits toward the end of Ivan Karamazov’s tale:

Oh, we shall persuade them that they will only become free when they renounce their freedom for us and submit to us. And what does it matter whether we are right or whether, we are telling a lie? They themselves will be persuaded we are right, for they will remember to what 'horrors of slavery and confusion your freedom has brought them . . .

. . . But we shall preserve the secret and for the sake of their happiness will lure them with a heavenly and eternal reward. For if there were anything in the other world, it goes without saying that it would not be for the likes of them.

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Some Parallel Societies Are Acceptable It Seems

9/25/2021

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Back in 2015 when Europe was being inundated with undocumented "refugees" and "asylum seekers", Viktor Orbán hastily erected a fence along Hungary's southern border to block and stem the seemingly endless flow of people making their way up through the Balkans toward Hungary in the hope of reaching promised lands like Sweden, Austria, and Germany.

Orbán's "inhumanity" and "xenophobia" were met with immediate and harsh criticism. In turn, Orbán responded by stating that he did not desire the establishment of parallel societies within Hungarian borders. More specifically, he wanted to avert the settlement of large groups of foreigners who could not or would not assimilate into Hungarian society and would choose instead to create their own society within Hungary.

In 2021, Orbán remains committed to keeping migrants out of Hungary and still occasionally falls back upon his line of thinking concerning the establishment of parallel societies. At the same time, the Hungarian prime minister is quietly and methodically assembling the mechanisms required to organize parallel societies within Hungary's borders. Of course, the parallel society Orbán is cautiously working toward has nothing to do with Muslim migrants and everything to do with the unpecked.

The situation in Hungary has been rather peculiar in the past three months. Though I harbor no illusions concerning any possible "return to normal", conditions in Hungary have been essentially normal since June. Social distancing is gone. As are mask mandates. The government insists it has no plans to return to any sort of lockdown scenario. As far as it is concerned, the birdemic is over - for the pecked at least.

Hungary's cabal of experts and politicians are convinced that the pecked are protected from any and all birdemic threats. In light of this, the expertocracy have committed themselves to avoiding birdemic measures because the implementation of such measures would be extremely unfair to the pecked - those brave and noble souls who have donned their bulletproof vests and have abode by the global diktat of "none are safe until all are safe."

Consequently, any future measures will apply solely to the "unpecked". But it will be the private sector that implements future restrictions and not the government. This is because Orbán and his merry band of Christian nationalists - all vehement defenders of individual freedom and choice - are loathe to initiate any sort of decree or action that might infringe upon a Hungarian citizen's rights.

The private sector? Hey, that ain't my bag, baby!

Ah, the convenience and effectiveness of public-private partnership! The very substance of our not-so-new-anymore global totalitarian reality in action.

So instead of lockdowns for all, it appears Hungary will soon shift to lockouts for some, which will likely result in the establishment of a de jure parallel society.

Naturally, Orbán et al. have no qualms or misgivings about this sort of parallel society within Hungary's borders. Business is business, after all. And it goes without saying that no one in the world has criticized Orbán or his government or the private sector in Hungary for any of it.

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I Miss Good Conversations, But I Probably Shouldn't

9/23/2021

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Beyond members of my family, I rarely - if ever - have good conversations with people anymore. Though I spend the bulk of my working days speaking to people, I can't recall the last time anyone said anything remotely interesting to me. Granted, work is seldom a venue conducive to substantive discussions, but I must mention that I work at not one, but two universities in two different countries. You would think at least one of these places would house at least one individual capable of facilitating a riveting exchange of observations and ideas.

Don't misunderstand. I never expected to find intriguing conversationalists at our contemporary citadels of darkness, but I've noticed that even the small talk among over-educated academics barely rises above apathetic weariness. The innately loquacious among them - who are dwindling by the day - have resorted to regurgitation. Listening to them is akin to hearing a fatigued anchorperson monotonously drone through the previous evening's news headlines without saying a word about the news itself.

It doesn't get any better outside of work. My neighbors tend to stick to the weather or sporting events. The few friends I do have here limit themselves to complaining about work. Talking to the priest at the village church is like talking to one of the church walls.

I sometimes think the fault lies within me. In terms of conversation, perhaps I am attracting exactly what I deserve. Or, perhaps I am drawing precisely what I am projecting. Yet I cannot ignore the attempts I have made to elevate a conversation above the usual topics of sun and rain and taxes and bosses. Unfortunately, the individuals with whom I try to kindle engagement have no trouble ignoring my attempts. They douse the sparks immediately and ensure their tinder remains non-flammable.

I wonder if others are experiencing the same phenomenon.

Whatever the case, I have decided not to let it bother me anymore. If I can't find a good conversation beyond the boundaries of my family, it very likely means I need to be content with the good conversations I do have with my family. It also a forceful reminder that the conversations I seek might not exist in the external human world for the time being, but exist instead in good books, in the Gospels, in the Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Himself.

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Sunset At Colpach

9/22/2021

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With this painting, I think Mihály Munkácsy effectively captured the color stratification inherent in (most) sunsets; and he did so in a way that invites rather than overwhelms.

Note added: I am especially fond of how he used delicate shades of vermilion to represent the backlit trees in a way that allows the viewer to "see" the light passing through the darkened, silhouetted foliage.

Sunset at Colpach - Mihály Munkácsy - unknown date

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Repost: Hope and The System

9/20/2021

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I wrote this post back on April 20, 2020. I am re-posting it because I believe it is pertinent to our current circumstances.

The first sin is simply the sin of despair. For any serious Christian, the mere notion of despair should be anathema. After all, how could any serious Christian ever lose hope in the example of Christ? Above all else, the Resurrection is a testament against hopelessness. When Jesus defeated death, he proved, beyond all doubt, that we have nothing to fear or feel hopeless about, neither in this world nor in life everlasting. The trials and tribulations of this world cannot destroy the next world if we follow His example and believe on Him.

The second sin is the nurturing of hope for a System that is inherently antithetical to God - that is, diametrically opposed to Truth, Beauty, and Virtue. The System is not only anti-Good, it has been meticulously engineered to actively wage war against the Good. Any experienced beneficial side effects of the System are either remnants from an earlier time (when the System itself may have been less inherently evil) or purely material by-products that offer nothing above the level of physical comfort, convenience, or pleasure.

To lose hope over a System that was designed to generate perpetual hopelessness, a System whose sole purpose in the past century (at least) has been to deny and destroy the Truth at every possible turn is akin to a Gulag prisoner losing hope in the proper, effective functioning of the Gulag that tortures him and keeps him captive.

The manner in which the System is faltering or collapsing (take your pick) is not something we should be celebrating or embracing. By the same token, it is also not something we should be resisting or despairing over. The System should have faltered or collapsed decades, nay centuries ago, but this development should have been achieved through our own willed decision to turn away from the System and establish a new mode of Being.

Yet we resisted and rejected that much needed shift of consciousness every time the opportunity to take it up arose. Instead of committing to this much-needed and, at times, sorely overdue consciousness shift we chose instead to double-down on our hope in the System. What we are experiencing now is an epic case of reaping what we have sown. Rather than despair, we should be feeling sorrow and shame - sorrow and shame that we collectively ever allowed ourselves to become materially-enslaved to such evil.

The faltering or total collapse of the System will undoubtedly generate much discomfort, hardship, and pain . . . perhaps even death. It is difficult and unsettling to consider what may await us all - our family, friends, loved ones, and the countless people we don't know - as the System continues to crumble, but we must never forget that all hope in the System is fundamentally sinful and misguided. The System was designed to abandon us. The System was designed to work against us. Hope in the System is, at best, hope invested in totalitarian, bureaucratic tyranny; at worse, it is hope invested in something even more sinister.

Any feeling of despair over the System is a declaration of the victory of evil. Hope, faith, and love are crucial in the here and now, but we should remain vigilant about where we place our hope, faith, and love.

God is a loving Creator. He will never abandon you. He will never work against you. He will arrange the material world in such a way that it becomes what each of us needs to nurture our continued spiritual growth and development. Our continued spiritual growth and development may not necessarily entail our continued material growth and development. This is a difficult pill to swallow for some Christians, but swallowed it must be.

God will never abandon us. God will never work against us. We must remember not to abandon or work against Him. In fact, the time has come to take up the cause our ancestors neglected to take up and begin working with Him creatively. That requires a total shift in consciousness, but that is what is needed, now more than ever.

Note added: Any feeling of despair, especially despair for the System, must be repented. We are all bound to taste despair in the weeks and months ahead. Having said that, it is one thing to taste despair and repent it; it is quite another thing to taste despair and then voluntarily feast on it.

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The Fight to Protect Families in Hungary

9/20/2021

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Join me in a little game of connect the dots regarding a few recent news items here in Hungary . . .

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that a recent exchange with Pope Francis in Budapest had "reaffirmed" him", and he quoted the pontiff as saying that "Hungary's fight to protect families" was one of the most important efforts for Europe's future . . .

Hungary is joining the European Union's procurement scene for "pecks" for children under the age of 12 and if there is a peck that can be given to this age group, Hungary will also get it, Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister's Office, said at a weekly press briefing on Wednesday . . .

The minister said that during negotiations at a forum of employers, unions, and the government on the minimum wage, it was also discussed whether employers should be able to require their employees to get "pecked". No such decision has been made yet, but Gulyás considers it a legitimate demand on the part of the employer to be able to count on their employees.

Peck children under 12.
Lock out parents who refuse the peck.

That's not protection. That's a two-front assault.

Welcome to post-2020 birdemic coup "Christian nationalism."

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The Elements Song

9/18/2021

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There's no time left to kill,
If you can't see it, no one will . . .

{Verse 1}
Drastic times bring drastic measures
Eating birds and the gates to heaven fell
The angels here among us are no better than the devil

{Pre-Chorus}
You know well time will tell
If there are angels burning in the fires of hell

{Chorus}
Water, fire, earth and air
Nothing matters, no one cares
There's no need to despair
If you won't see it, it's not there

{Verse 2}
Don't ever shoot the messenger
Listen close and remember all you heard
Be careful of your actions and beware of the reactions you incur

{Pre-Chorus}
Rest assured you'll be buried by the weight of your own word

{Bridge}
We carry on and carry one
We pretend that nothing's wrong
And when all hope is gone
And everybody sings along

{Pre-Chorus}
Meet the natural selection
Chose a certain piece if you want to be released

{Chorus}
From the shackles of regret
You must forgive and not forget
So let the show begin
Can't you hear the angels sing?

{Verse 3}
The fire's already lit
Can you take another hit?
Always lost if nothing's gained
Now let's all sing this all again
Autumn, winter, summer, spring
You can hear the angels sing

{Chorus}
Water, fire, earth and air
Nothing matters, no one cares
There's no time left to kill
If you can't see it, no one will

{Instrumental}

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