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Another Contemporary Christian Illustration That "Works"

4/12/2022

The Resurrection of Jesus, Keith Reicher, 2009

Continuing the theme of contemporary Christian illustrations that work . . .

Most traditional depictions of the resurrection of Jesus feature Christ facing the viewer as He emerges from the tomb. Reicher goes against this convention by changing the viewpoint. Jesus has His back to the viewer, and the viewer has to "look up" up toward Jesus as He ascends the steps toward the light that marks the exit of the tomb.

I find Reicher's non-traditional viewpoint quite captivating. In addition to the dramatic effect, the image "feels" much closer to the core of Jesus's mission -- he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life . . .

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It Really Is a Sabotage

4/11/2022

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I can't stand it, I know you planned it.
- The Beastie Boys, Sabotage

It's sabotage. That was my first impression of the birdemic when it broke out in here in Hungary a little over two years ago:

The current global financial and economic system strikes me as sophisticated and complex, yet fragile and delicate. Everything depends on everything else. There appears to be very little margin for error. A small, seemingly insignificant problem could easily ripple across the whole network - become amplified and magnified. Set of a chain reaction. Topple dominos.

So sophisticated and complex. Yet so fragile and delicate.

And the powers that be seem quite intent on bringing it down. Now. I couldn't tell you to what degree or for what duration, but the way the hysteria is spinning out of control indicates that this might be the start of something big.

And over what? Over something that, in my uneducated opinion, should not even be making the news.

Yet there it is.

Of course, the West had been sabotaging itself for decades, so my impression was not all that revelatory. However, there was something different about the quality of the sabotage I detected back in March, 2020. Though I didn't know how things would eventually pan out, I had the sense that the beginning of the birdemic was an "all in" sort of event for the Establishment.

As far as I can tell, the global totalitarian coup of 2020 is the last hand the Establishment wants to play. They are putting up everything They have to back up their sabotage strategy, and it doesn't look like they are willing to fold.

The sabotage I suspected two years ago is now clear as day. It is spreading into everything. And it's accelerating. It won't take long for the Establishment to hit their desired objective -- near systemic collapse -- at which point They will attempt to initiate Their stop mechanism and lock whoever is still left into some sort technocratic world of perpetual surveillance, control, and slavery.

But there's a problem the Establishment hasn't considered -- the stop mechanism won't work. Instead of building back better and great resetting, the Establishment will end up helplessly watching the destruction They have unleashed continue unabated until it consumes everything, including Them. That's not wishful thinking; that's guaranteed.

Unless the Establishment stops and repents. Or unless the great mass of humanity stops and repents.

Neither seems likely, which is fine. At least we know where everyone stands.

In the meantime, I'll close the post with the same line I closed my original sabotage post from 2020:

Let them sabotage Their system -- but don't let them sabotage you.

Note added: Though the Establishment work primarily at the material level, their main objective is spiritual sabotage -- more specifically, damnation. They only have material means at their disposal to achieve this goal. We, on the other hand, are in full possession of the spiritual means they wish to sabotage. They can only sabotage us spiritually if we let Them. Something to keep in mind as the sabotage intensifies in the coming months.

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Too Much System; Not Enough Distance

4/9/2022

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Too much System; not enough distance.

That's my assessment of about eighty percent of the blog posts and articles I read these days. Unfortunately, this includes many Christian blogs and sources as well.

Inadequate system distancing results in something I can only describe as system hypnosis. Many bloggers and writers appear unable or unwilling to pit themselves in opposition to the despotic, destructive, and damning demands of the System at the only level that truly matters -- the spiritual.

Don't misunderstand -- I see plenty of aversion and animosity when it comes to the System's glaring evil. At the same time, I don't see much spiritual revulsion and resistance to the concept of system itself.

The writers and bloggers who are so adept at recognizing the "problems" within the System are the same writers and bloggers who remain committed to the idea of solving these problems at the system-level.

I could be wrong, but it appears most writers and bloggers remain firmly convinced that the System and the System alone provides people with freedom and reality.

The System -- which is now synonymous with "society" regardless of where you live -- continues to wield extraordinary power over people in this regard. This includes writers and bloggers, the vast majority of whom remain firmly committed to the possibility of system-level solutions to system-level problems.

However, system-level solutions are impossible for the simple reason that the System is openly waging war against itself and God – which entails that it is openly waging material and spiritual war against everyone and everything.

The only “solution” the System comprehends and pursues now is physical and spiritual annihilation. Within such a framework, nothing at the system level – be it an election, a financial overhaul, a social reform, a geopolitical event, a military conflict, legal measure, or any other System-level development – is truly “good” in this time and place.

To acknowledge such a thing appears nihilistic, but the opposite is true. Such an acknowledgement opens up the possibility of overcoming System hypnosis through the creative exploration of our inherent spiritual nature and submerging into the depths in which our true selves are rooted.

Instead of enslaving ourselves to the externalized, objectified given world of the System, we begin liberating ourselves to the possibility of spiritually overcoming the main cause of System hypnosis -- fear.

Spiritually overcoming fear involves overcoming both the fear of life and the fear of death. When we overcome these fears, the reality of truth and love -- which no system offers and all systems conspire to deny -- becomes evident and undeniable, in both this life and the next.

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And the Award for "Best Opening Sentence in an Abstract Goes To . . ."

4/8/2022

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There are generally four types of opening sentences in research paper abstracts:

1. A statement of a real-world phenomena or a standard practice.
2. Stating a purpose or an objective.
3. A statement presenting current research action.
4. Stating a problem or uncertainty.

And then there is a fifth kind of opening sentence in a research paper abstract, exemplified by the zinger below:

Ducks are birds.

Someone please give the author his much-deserved award!

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A Must See Video: The Best Brief Summary of Nikolai Berdyaev I Have Ever Encountered

4/5/2022

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This short, five-minute video is a total "must watch". This applies even if you are not particularly interested in or drawn to the works or philosophy of Nikolai Berdyaev.

The gentleman presenting the brief summary of Berdyaev's biography and thought is Deacon Bob Beehner. The content Deacon Beehner discusses is accurate and interesting, but what moved me personally was the way the man presented the information.

Deacon Bob begins the video with a warm good morning and a smile. He is sitting in what appears to be the family kitchen. Soon after he begins outlining some biographical details about Berdyaev, the off-camera space in the kitchen unexpectedly comes to life.

A toddler's voice flares up in the background. Eventually, it is interspersed with the hushed voice of what appears to be the child's mother.

A moment later, the toddler -- presumably Deacon Bob's grandson -- pops up on camera.

What happens after that is pure gold.

The child ends up on his grandfather's knee, and Deacon Bob continues his discussion without missing a beat. Not even the meowing cat can knock him off course!

Truth, beauty, goodness -- this little video has it all!

Bob Beehner is a Catholic deacon who has his own You Tube channel on which he uploads videos about Christian saints and thinkers. Unsurprisingly, his videos receive barely any views.

By the same token, his brief summaries are some of the most charming and engaging I have ever had the pleasure of stumbling upon.

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Subjective and Individual Christianity is Unavoidable, But Will It Only Be a Stage?

4/3/2022

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When people think of Christianity, they think of it mostly from an objective and historical perspective -- that is, as a religion that was both popular and collective, natural and social.

I use the past tense here because although Christianity is still popular in terms of quantity -- professed numbers of adherents -- and collective in terms of ritual and practice, it has lost or is very rapidly losing its natural and social elements.

The popular and collective aspects of Christianity appear to be functioning, but beneath the surface these religious elements are in deep crisis for the simple reason that nearly everything popular and collective within Christianity is on the side that is openly opposed to God and Creation.

The positioning of these popular and collective elements has greatly diminished the natural and social aspects of Christianity, to the point that Christianity is now viewed as something so "unnatural" that it cannot be permitted to meaningfully influence any aspect of society, including the family.

To overcome this crisis of objective Christianity, the religion must become subjective and individualistic. This is the essence of what Dr. Charlton calls Romantic Christianity. I believe this subjective and individualistic form of Christianity is not only necessary but unavoidable.

Those who remain firmly committed to popular/collective forms of Christianity will inevitably be swept up by the world and ultimately cease being real Christians. Whether such Christians will ever acknowledge it or not is another matter entirely.

Thus, in the present, Christianity must become subjective and individualistic even if Christians continue to adhere to certain popular and collective religious conventions.

Does this entail that the Christianity will remain subjective and individualistic well into the future? I'm not sure, but if I had to answer, I would respond with both a yes and a no.

Yes, because at its core Christianity is a religion of freedom and love, which are both rooted in the personal -- that is, the subjective/individual.

No, because Christianity is also a religion of relationships -- a religion of spiritual beings freely connecting and interacting with each other at a personal level through love.

Whether these relationships ever become "popular" in the way objective/historical Christianity did is unknowable, but they will undoubtedly form some sense of a collective that is both natural and social.

However, this will entail a completely transformed understanding of what "natural" and "social" mean, and that understanding must first arise from the subjective and individual.

Therefore, the possibility of such developments depends entirely on what happens within the subjective and individualistic form of Christianity that is quietly emerging from the crisis of all that is popular and collective within the objective form of the religion.

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What Happens When You Spend Time in Paris - The Shift Into 20th-Century Modernity

4/2/2022

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János Vaszary (1867-1939) hailed from a prominent Catholic family in Kaposvár, Hungary. How prominent? Well, his uncle was the Archbishop of Esztergom, which was a very big deal back in those days.

Vaszary began pursuing art quite early in his life, and displayed notable technical talent. Yet what makes him particularly interesting as a painter is the remarkable shift in style that basically cleaves the oeuvre of his work into two distinct Jekyll and Hyde-ish parts that I will refer to here as pre-Paris and post-Paris.

Vaszary's pre-Paris paintings comprise those he painted before he moved to the City of Light in 1899. Note the style and subject matter.

Peasant Girl in the Garden - 1893 (Not only my favorite Vaszary painting, but one of my favorite Hungarian paintings, full stop.

The Command Has Arrived (Farewell!) - 1894

And the following paintings exemplify the style shifts Vaszary employed later in his life during and after his return from Paris after the turn of the century.

After Bathing - 1903

French Riveria - 1920

Nude with Buddha - 1926

Woman Sitting in the Garden - 1930

The Morphinist - 1930

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Pecks That Despiritualize and Kill the Soul

4/1/2022

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Many bloggers and writers are commendably drawing attention to the various negative health effects of the peck but very few have addressed the real and potential spiritual consequences, particularly for Christians.

On the contrary, most bloggers and writers see no implicit connection between the peck and the spiritual. Moreover, many Christians have promoted the idea that the peck can be taken in good conscience.

Although I am aware of the health concerns, I am far more weary of the potential spiritual harm behind the demonic push to peck the world, and I believe this potential spiritual harm should be at forefront of Christian thought concerning the peck.

Rudolf Steiner was among those who recognized this potential spiritual harm. A little over a century ago, he issued a stark prophecy concerning the role of pecks and medicine as possible despiritualization tools.

The excerpt below has made its way around the internet in the past two years, but if you haven't encountered yet, I encourage you to read it (or listen to video).

I'm certain the despiritualization we see all around us has more to do with consciousness and personal choice than it does with pecks of the past. At the same time, I strongly suspect the birdemic pecks the demonic elite are peddling today and the future pecks they will attempt to push in the future all have nefarious spiritual objectives:

A Future Vaccine to Prevent Knowledge of Soul and Spirit From The Fall of the Spirits of Darkness (Bristol: Rudolf Steiner Press, 1993; GA 177), p. 85. October 7, 1917 85 –

“The time will come – and it may not be far off – when quite different tendencies will come up at a congress like the one held in 1912 and people will say: It is pathological for people to even think in terms of spirit and soul.

‘Sound’ people will speak of nothing but the body. It will be considered a sign of illness for anyone to arrive at the idea of any such thing as a spirit or a soul. People who think like that will be considered to be sick and – you can be quite sure of it – a medicine will be found for this. . . .

The soul will be made non-existent with the aid of a drug. Taking a ‘sound point of view,’ people will invent a vaccine to influence the organism as early as possible, preferably as soon as it is born, so that this human body never even gets the idea that there is a soul and spirit.

“. . . the heirs of modern materialism will look for the vaccine to make the body ‘healthy,’ that is, make its constitution such that this body no longer talks of such rubbish as soul and spirit, but takes a ‘sound’ view of the forces which live in engines and in chemistry and let planets and suns arise from nebulae in the cosmos. Materialistic physicians will be asked to drive the souls out of humanity.”

October 27, 1917 199-200 – “. . . the spirits of darkness are now among us. . . . “. . . I have told you that the spirits of darkness are going to inspire their human hosts, in whom they will be dwelling, to find a vaccine that will drive all inclination toward spirituality out of people’s souls when they are still very young, and this will happen in a roundabout way through the living body.

Today, bodies are vaccinated against one thing and another; in future, children will be vaccinated with a substance which it will certainly be possible to produce, and this will make them immune, so that they do not develop foolish inclinations connected with spiritual life – ‘foolish’ here, or course, in the eyes of materialists. . . .

“. . . a way will finally be found to vaccinate bodies so that these bodies will not allow the inclination toward spiritual ideas to develop and all their lives people will believe only in the physical world they perceive with the senses. Out of impulses which the medical profession gained from presumption – oh, I beg your pardon, from the consumption [tuberculosis] they themselves suffered – people are now vaccinated against consumption, and in the same way they will be vaccinated against any inclination toward spirituality.

This is merely to give you a particularly striking example of many things which will come in the near and more distant future in this field – the aim being to bring confusion into the impulses which want to stream down to earth after the victory of the [Michaelic] spirits of light [in 1879].”

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