Francis Berger
  • Blog
  • My Work

Death Is Not Simply and Solely an Evil; It is Also a Good

3/2/2021

18 Comments

 
One way to contemplate the development of human consciousness is from the perspective of orientation. More specifically, to examine the directional movements of human consciousness over time and to assess the quality of spirit behind these directional movements. The spiritual orientation of these directional movements determines the character of the consciousness, which in turn decides the true nature of knowledge; that is, how we as humans think about and understand ourselves and the fundamental nature of reality.

One aspect of life that has undergone many directional shifts is our consciousness of death. Over the past two or three centuries, the West has experienced the most pronounced directional change in how humans think about and understand death. The origins of this unmistakable veering can be found entirely in the changes of spiritual orientation the West experienced as it entered modernity. 

Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire until the approximately the early stages of the Enlightenment, the spiritual orientation of the West was indivisible from Christianity. The Christian consciousness of death was a radical expansion of the pagan consciousness of death that preceded it. Though pagan religions also adhered to belief in souls and the afterlife, these beliefs were qualitatively much different from the Christian belief and faith in the crucified and resurrected Christ as exemplified by St. Paul's declaration in Philippians 1:21 that, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

This declaration emerges from the deep, inner, spiritual understanding in the non-existence of death - in the comprehension of death as the way leading to life, in which the life of sin is crucified, and the path to eternity is opened. It stems from the comprehension that we must die in order to reborn; that the essence of life is the transition from lesser being to higher being in which death serves a necessary conduit. As such, death is not simply and purely an evil, it is also a good.

The orientation driving this consciousness recognizes the primacy of the spiritual over the primacy of the worldly and commits to the comprehension that the end of the worldly does not mark the end of the spiritual. With the advent of modernity, this consciousness was slowly superseded by a purely external, material, and temporal comprehension of death that perceived no gain at all at the end of life. Within this consciousness, St. Paul's declaration faded and was replaced by something akin to, "For to me, to live is World and to die is loss."

By the late nineteenth-century, Nietzsche's pronouncement of the death of God accurately reflected the observable changes that had occurred and were occurring in the spiritual orientation of the West, which had taken a hard turn into materialism and was immersing consciousness into the objectified, temporal world.

The perceived death of God had a profound effect on Western man's consciousness. A world devoid of God was a world devoid of the spiritual, which entailed that there was no soul, no afterlife, no eternity. All awareness of the inherent good in death dissipated. Mortality became an ultimate evil - the line of demarcation separating material being from material non-being. Far from being considered as non-existent, death became concrete. At the same time, mortality abstracted into an unreal and indefinite phenomenon that people saw happen around them but could never imagine actually happening to them. 

When Westerners did contemplate the all-too-sudden final reality of their own mortality, they were consumed with anxiety and an increased irrational fear of death, which Freud eventually termed "thanatophobia." 

In the meantime, secular materialists continued to insist upon a sober, rational understanding of human mortality that would lead to an enrichment in life. Rather than squander precious time and energy preparing for an imaginary, non-existent afterlife, people were free to dedicate all of their energy to creating meaning and enrichment in this worldly life. This led to an explosion in material wealth and comfort, but as the centuries passed it also lay bare the existential crisis of alienation and meaninglessness. Paradoxically enough, the thicker the alienation and meaningless became, the more Westerns continued to burrow into their world of pure materialism.

Adolf Hirémy-Hirschl captures the epitome of this consciousness in his 1898 painting, Souls on the Banks of the Acheron, which I briefly explored on this blog last year. Adhering to Nietzsche's proclamation of God's death made fourteen years earlier, Hirémy-Hirschl presents the catastrophe of the post-Christian "for to me, to live is world to die is loss" material consciousness of mortality inspired by the spiritual or, more accurately, anti-spiritual orientation of the age. 

Fittingly enough, Hirémy-Hirschl addresses the theme of material thanatophobia via non-Christian, classical pagan symbolism. In the painting, the messenger god Hermes (or Mercury) stands amidst a grasping mob of recently dead souls he has guided to the underworld and stoically ignores all desperate pleas to return to the sunlit world above. The souls' deranged hysteria has been triggered by the appearance of Charon, on the skiff in the background to the left, approaching to ferry them off for judgement where their fate of spending eternity in Tartarus or Elysium will be decided.
Picture
Souls on the Banks of the Acheron - Adolf Hirémy-Hirschl - 1898
What is glaringly evident in the painting is horror the closed-eyed souls exhibit in finding themselves in the afterlife. Though some appear listless and resigned to their fate, the majority frantically appeal to the divinity in their midst - a divinity none likely in believed in prior to death - to save them and return them to the world. In this sense, Hirémy's painting does not depict an appeal to salvation, but rather, a fruitless appeal to be restored to the material world, which well reflects the "for to me, to live is world and to die is loss" consciousness that began to predominate the late-nineteenth century. Though some of the souls will undoubtedly be granted entrance to Elysium, there is no apparent good in the death Hirémy-Hirschl presents here, which suggests the painting itself could be interpreted as a thinly-veiled attempt to urge the consciousness of the age to reconsider its character and underlying spiritual orientation.

Unfortunately, such a reconsideration has not occurred. Rather than re-orient ourselves spiritually, the character of our contemporary twenty-first century consciousness has dug ever deeper into materialism. The underworld Hirémy depicts above has become the reality of the "material world" of the West. Within the framework of this loose interpretation, the hysterical dead souls represent the thanatophobic living people among us. Charon symbolizes the abstract reality of approaching meaningless death while Hermes exists as a representation of the "faux-divine" Establishment who postures to protect and "save everyone" and return them to the "normal material world" but is stoically intent on having all of them board the skiff to damnation. Comprehending no other alternative and perceiving nothing good in death, the dead living souls live a deranged, splintered existence in which they willingly embrace the Establishment and its materialism as their only, but fundamentally hopeless, chance at earthly salvation. This consciousness could be summarized by the following: "For to me, to live is anti-Christ and to die is annihilation."

A change in this hopeless direction of consciousness requires a re-orientation of the spirit. To begin with, it requires the re-establishment of the primacy of the spiritual coupled with a deeper understanding that this primacy is not merely a reflection of reality or a symbol of reality, but that it is Reality itself. This orientation of the spirit will, in turn, orient us back toward a true understanding of death. Part of this process will inevitably involve a return to a comprehension of death as not only an evil, but also a good encapsulated in St. Paul's "to live is Christ and to die is gain". But the bulk of the spiritual task before us does not rest solely on returning to this earlier, albeit utterly essential and eternal, frame of consciousness through which salvation may be attained.

Our task will be gather the courage and the daring to go beyond an understanding of death is gain and one day have the orientation of spirit to declare, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is Christ."      
18 Comments
thordaddy
3/2/2021 23:54:17

I believe the collective orientation of the West is of an even more explicit essence. There is both a real fear of perfected resurrected afterlife (is this redundant) and an equally strong desire for <em>perpetuating</em> SELF-annihilation. These “things” are, in fact, two sides of the same “hallowed” coin. And it is the strict coherency between these “things” which relentlessly pulls the dispirited individual into a chaotic life of “flipping the coin.” This vicious cycle of fear of Perfection/desire for self-annihilation maps ruthlessly to the constant change of “radical autonomy” found in the “liberationist” ideology of self-creation/self-annihilation. And so, the desire for SELF-annihilation “inspires” the perpetual “creation” of worldly “new selves” always to be stunted and sabotaged before reaching Perfection (for fear of a perfected resurrected eternal life) then dutifully annihilated thus actualizing the constant change of “radical autonomy” and “liberation.”

Reply
Francis Berger
3/3/2021 09:59:03

@ thordaddy - There may be something to that, but the antinomy you have described here only makes sense to me within the perspective of false selves/real self within the framework of spiritual learning/development during mortal life.

False selves may in fact seek self-annihilation, but they are false concepts in relation to our truest, innermost being, which is divine. On the one hand, false selves may be discarded and replaced with other false selves only to have those false selves discarded and replaced by even more false selves. If the motivation behind this movement does not come from the real or divine self, the process could be limitless, and the individual could spend his or her entire mortal life experiencing a pointless parade of false selves. In addition, false selves can never lead to any sort of perfection.

If, on the other hand, an individual begins the process of intuiting his or her divine self and openly accepts the offer of salvation, then he or she can begin peeling away many layers of false selves. This is a sort of self-annihilation, but since the annihilation involves false selves, the annihilation is positive in nature. The individual may never get to the "core" divine self in mortal life, but there is a movement toward authentic perfection all the same.

I personally do not believe anything can be perfected in mortal life - at least not for an extended period of time. That may only occur after salvation/resurrection.

The radical autonomy/liberationist ideology your refer to has confused/inverted most people's understanding of this process, causing them to perhaps embark upon the unfortunate paradigm you have described.

Reply
Apa János pap Lázár István link
3/4/2021 00:15:06

A Partial Fragment of a Lengthy Missive sent by Apa János pap Lázár István last night (if You wish to see more of Such, and if Ferenc allows, in contacting Him He will provide Lazar Your e-address to be included)...

We would do Well to remember What we long ago learned in our Dostoevsky 101 -- that the Real-Reality is non-Eucidian, but the rather "Antinomic", i.e. that God is "not Perfect nor Good", because that He is Beyond any human Euclidian Concept of "Perfection or Goodness", i.e. Basic Apophaticism 101...

For quite long on His Blog, Ferenc has long lamented the "apparent closure of the Churches", -- which rather in antinomic a sense can be seen as a Blessing!... How so -- thread Your Way thru the Folowing:

"Pro Deo et Patria" reads the MagyarMedallion Ribbon next to the "Den' Pobedy" Ribbon that Fr Steve intends to wear at the Grave of Matushka Susanna on 20 May for the Victory Proclaimed in "Christ is Risen!" and in Celebration of Our Priestly Ordination of 8-9 May 1982 long ago -- (see Fotos of Ribbons attached):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JAWfLrUpSw
And Yes Hungaria, -- that Final Bastion against Bolshevism and Other Infectious diseases of the Human Soul:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcxYuklwa0Y&list=RD_NpLzpUjdn0&index=2

And Yes, We have Everywhere Christians lamenting that Churches are closed because of the Plague, -- but this is nothing new, 50+ Years formerly Always-Open Churches became locked otherwise because of Marauding Demonic Satanists, and Yes this is True, as Those of us Old Enough well Remember!!... And Yes, we must ask and also Answer the Very Important Question, -- why in Poland & Hungaria & Russia Churches Survive (??) and Now seem Flourishing thereabouts, whilst Dying a death Boredom elsewhere???... This is something Our Friend Ferenc in Sopron has failed fully to Grapple with -- the CATACOMB CHURCH --
We have everywhere Returned to the Despised & Mocked Catacomb Church of Early Days of Christianity, as happened with Soliarnost' in Polsha, Cardinal Mindzenty in Hungaria & the Gulag Church Martyrs of Russia!! These is indeed a Glorious not Sad Day for Believers!!... To Purge all the Filth that now too much attaches to the Holy Name of Christ God!!... For embedded into the Altar & Antimension of Each Altar is the Relic of some Martyr!!!...

And Vladyka Michael, is He not indeed Blest in the Heavy Burden of Epi-Skopos Overseer that He bears!!!... His Churches now must Focus upon becoming Authentic Catacomb-Cell Churches akin to those of the Early Days of Christianity... To render the Heart of each Believer capable of True & Pure Prayer, instead of Hollow Lengthy Empty Words even when uttered in English, eh...

And too Our Nemets-Magyar Friend Ferenc in Hungaria: Hollywood has long been bereft of Texas Longhorn cattle because the Magyari herded then all up into Hungaria, eh... And Why does Ferenc not tell us of the Precious Cherry Palinka etc now impossible to buy in the West??... And further Inspire Us to dance the Csardas and Sing & Drink & Dress up to RedRose Romantik Love-Musik & the Glory of Christ Our God??... aga!!... Those Hungarians would do well to learn to share better, and also inform Why the Cross atop the Crown
of King St Istvan is bent???... Perhaps Andrea in Cleveland can??... And Yes, We Well Remember that 1st Battle of Mugacs when in their Bloody Defeat the Magyar People halted the further Incursion of the Turk into Evropa... and an Hundred Years later at the Battle of 2nd Mugacs chased the Turk out of most of Evropa... And then too that Haunting Doberdo Isonzo WWI Song --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_utCe0kJqP4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SJnjCE_aPg

Which Brings us to the Delicate Question of Why Lazar aka fr Steve is still alive, contrary to all Expectations of a very Long year ago -- Thanks to Androsenko Sofia in Moskva channeling Mat' Maria Skobtsova, that Most Insatiably Impatient of Women!! And that Famous Foto of Berdyaev-Skobtsova-FrStefanTsankov
"Smoker's Conclave" and its Motifs!!... which involve Berdyaev's Creativity amidst Freedom Motif and Skobtsova's Feminist Input regarding Issues of Sexuality as relates to Creativity, i.e. that only the Feminine is capable of Birthgiver, i.e. of Creating the New in Mankind's capacity as created in the "imagio dei"... The Masculine only contributes partial the Material within Creativity... Woman is Chthonic, Tellurgic, the Insatiable Gniedo/Nest Builder, whereas Man is the Child of the early Berdyaev motif of the Kosmic
Maelstrom/Vikhrs bearing Him Aloft to Utmost Dissipating, save that Woman pulls Him back to earth; Indeed, Man would prefer to dream away the Day fishing with an Empty Hook, eh??... Yes... Both the Feminine and Masculine Principles are Needful for authentic Creativity... Else We wind up with the Sterile Fig Tree Cursed by Christ, its Narcissus Blossoms proving Fruitless...

The Uraly Skobtsova novella/roman, a typical "psychologic

Reply
Francis Berger
3/4/2021 07:22:55

Apa Lázár is under the impression that church closures have left Nemets Ferenc lamenting, crestfallen, and despairing; that Ferenc fell asleep in Dostoevsky 101; that for Ferenc real-Reality is Euclidian; that Ferenc doesn't grasp antinomy of the perfection and goodness of God; and that Ferenc regards the closure of Christian churches as a purely negative phenomenon in the continued development of Christianity.

In light of all of this, I humbly invite Apa Lázar to re-read what Ferenc said about the separation of churches and Christianity with particular focus on Fr. István's views concerning blessings, catacomb Churches, and all the rest of it. I believe Apa Lazár will find Ferenc's views are very much in line with Apa has expressed above:

https://www.francisberger.com/bergers-blog/the-separation-of-church-and-christianity

Optimism aside, Ferenc feels Apa Lazár should re-examine some currently held historical suppositions and consider the notion that much of what is happening today is beyond historical precedent. The environment of the earliest Christians and their catacomb churches is qualitatively different than the current environment in which "authentic Christians" find themselves. The consciousness of the early Christians was also qualitatively different. The same can be said of the emergence of the catacomb and gulag churches in Russia.

This does not imply that Ferenc is pessimistic about the prospects of the further development of Christianity; rather, that the further development of Christianity will not, cannot wholly mirror the preservation and development of Christianity espoused by earlier Christians in earlier times.

Church closures revealed much about the corrupt state of churches, and the rejection of this corruption is indeed a blessing - the antinomy Apa Lázár seems to feel Ferenc does not comprehend. On the contrary, Ferenc is optimistic about Christianity and the future possibilities of Christianty

On a side note, Ferenc would like to know the sources of Apa Lázár's immense hope in central Europe, more specifically, Magyarórszág.

Reply
Apa János pap Lázár István link
3/4/2021 17:52:01

Dear Ferenc & Other Believers,

Ferenc seems to imagine that the words of Apa János are in criticism of him, rather than of well-deserved Praise!... On the Contrary!... We see Ferenc as a Sturdy & Solid Oak amidst a too large forest of Weeping Willows, -- He is of the Stature of Depth of Soul of Married Men that Old Rome would do well ordaining as priests, to fill the emptied ranks thereof, and restore Old Rome to its former Spiritual Glory!!!..As for new-found Love of Apa János for Hungaria and Points East, one need only but mention Ferenc's own impulse to return to the Land of his ForeFathers, in spiritual a Fidelity!... But Ferenc is a bit stingy no in sharing about the treasures of his Rodina!...

By now, it must be evident to all that Apa János is a Russian Orthodox priest, living as a zek in exile in the US... As such, some of his uniquely priestly insights may prove to the benefit of some, and if so, in this God be glorified!!!...

Why has Apa János (aka fr Steve) allotted to himself the nomen of Lazar?? A very long year ago he was diagnosed with the "Virtual Death Sentence" of Pancreatic Cancer, and expected by now to have fallen into the grob/grave readied for him... He soberly set his personal affairs in order (including that of a proper "priestly Varyagi / Viking's Funeral) and calmly awaited his Fate... But it was not to be:
Androsenko Sofia in Moskva (channeling St Monastic Mother Maria Skobtsova) prepared a Video on Berdyaev annual Birthday, --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6Kj6iLthVg --
and Ferenc in turn in Hungaria likewise (including a zek-mugshot of the cleric) implored Prayers for this hapless priest, radically changing everything...

In all this, Lazar underwent the Experience of St Lazarus the "Four days Entombed"... In the Demonic Enforced Silence of the Darkness of the Tomb, Lazar suddenly remembered the concluding words of St Janos/John the Golden-Tongued's Paschal/Easter Sermon: "Death is Overthrown, for Christ Our God is Risen!"... And in uttering these words, Lazar did hear the summoning Words of the Risen Christ: "Lazar, Come thou forth!!", and with this the Door of the Tomb opened unto the dazzling Brilliance of the Risen Christ!!.. Changing All & Everything!!... One must live such to know such...

What is the Church?? The historically venerable and Beautiful structures are, however, not the essential part... The core and essential element is the individual Believer within his Family, and in the Extended Family, -- the Parish!... Christ teaches: "Where two or three are gathered in My Name, there I am in their midst!"... And thus, Orthodox clergy in greeting one another exchange the threefold "Kiss of Peace", not some mere handshake but an actual Kiss, as anciently was done between believers, -- and is proper even now amongst Layfolk... In exchanigng the Kiss of Peace clergy proclaim: "Christ is in Our Midst!" to which is replied: "He is and He shalt be!"...

In the Orthodox East there can be no Liturgy/Mass without the People, -- they are never merely "optional"... the priest is merely the "eldest brother" amongst equals by virtue of ordination, not some grandee, and he prays together with the People in the same Eastwards Sacred Direction signifying the perpetual daily Rising of the Sun, in anticipation of the Eternal Rising of the Son of God, thru Whom we are all Sons/Daughters of God "Our Father"... the tragic aspect of the 1960's massive Reformatio of Old Rome consists in this, that in turning around the priest and altar-table to face the people (i.e. kissing up to the people), both the priest and the prestol' thereby "turned their backs on God" occasioning the tragic Divine Chastisement which then occurred...

A properly conscious Orthodox priest, upon entering the Altar, makes a threefold full poklon/prostration to the ground, and he is loathe to rise up, in sheerest Joy aware that he has entered into the Presence of the Holy of Holies... just as Believers are loathe to leave the church to have to return again to the headaches of everyday life, eh...

As already mentioned, the Church at its core is an Ekklesia, a Gathering together of Believers in the All-Holy Name of Christ. The Liturgy/Mass is a Dynamic crescendo process, at which the Layfolk are essential, and their triple "Amen'" at the Epiklesis i.e. the Descent of the Holy Spirit signifies the Fullness of the Consecration of the Sacred Gifts of the Body & Blood of Christ... the priest prays together with the people in facing God, and the priest turns to the People only when blessing them and in preaching the assigned Gospel -- often Fr Steve has felt in bestowing priestly blessing that in the faces of the People that he beholds the countenance of Angels, Yes it is so!... And therein knows of himself that he is least amongst the Brethren...

And Yes, all reality is Antinomic, Non-Euclidian, if We be truly honest... Consider the matter of Personal

thordaddy
3/4/2021 23:46:36

Sir..

I have often conceived of God as “objective (S)upremacy” which I then “define” as “(P)erfection.” So, it is quite illuminating to realize why this has been so throughly rejected by almost all Catholics for whom I have ran this line of thinking by. Of course, my working theory as a white American raised largely secular is that the cyst-STEM’s obsession with the “evil” of “white supremacy” is EXACTLY why “God is dead” to many, many white Americans. What you seem to be suggesting is that God is inconceivable, but obviously, still perceptible?

Is God not objective Supremacy? Or, is God above Supremacy and something more than Perfection?

Reply
Francis Berger
3/5/2021 10:22:24

@ thordaddy - I get the sense that this exchange of comments between you and I is little more than a continuation of the comment- exchange you initiated with Wm Jas Tychonievich on his Supergod post on From the Narrow Desert back in May 13, 2020.

Based on that series of exchanges, you adhere to something you refer to as the First Law of Perfection within which you conceptualize God and the good as objective Supremacy.

Within this framework you postulate that one originates from this perfection, and that evil is an attempted usurpation of this perfection from within or an infiltration of perfection from without through what you have defined as "radical autonomy". Thus, God is a perfect being who wills ALL RIGHT, but has created imperfect being because "no redundancy."

From what I am able to deduce from this line of thinking, the meaning of purpose of the imperfect, non-redundant creatures within this paradigm is to acknowledge the existence of omnipotent perfection and use their free will to obediently strive toward this perfection without slipping into the realm of radical autonomy, which denies and works against this objective Supremacy, this omnipotent perfection, which, apparently is universal and "appropriately secular."

As far as I can tell, these metaphysical assumptions are immersed in Euclidean/mathematical concepts and stem from classical ideas such as Plato's forms and Aristotle's prime mover. Hence, the purpose of all creation is to recognize the existence of Perfection and utilize free will to strive toward it. The purpose of objective Supremacy is to just maintain its supreme position and allow creation to clamber toward it.

I am certain my summary here does not address every aspect of your metaphysical assumptions, but for all intents and purposes, I believe they do address the essence of where you are coming from.

If these are your metaphysical assumptions - your understanding of the fundamental nature of reality, then you are not likely to understand, let alone consider or agree with my metaphysical assumptions.

I have thought over similar lines of "Perfection" thinking quite extensively and have found them all lacking. My main disagreement is the idea that perfection in this world is necessary and attainable for humanity. Any sincere evaluation of this notion leads to the immediate understanding that we are all doomed, which might help explain why all Utopian experiments ultimately end in disastrous failure.

Also, why would a perfect God create an imperfect world that had the potential to harm/work against his perfection? Why would God grant his creation the freedom to work against Him in that manner?

I don't think God is inconceivable. Quite the contrary! I do not believe God resides in objective supremacy, but in the subjective/personal. That is, I believe we are able to form a relationship with God in much the same way we are able to form a relationship with another person.

Anyway, my role here is not to convince you anything. We are all here to learn, but if you're interested in testing the limits of your suppositions, I suggest thinking a little deeper about the nature of obedience and freedom. Consider the possibility that perhaps God confronts freedom in much the same manner Man confronts freedom. Also, consider the possibility that freedom existed before God and that God has limited or no control over freedom. That may get you thinking about the limits of God's objective Supremacy, omnipotence, and perfection.





thordaddy
3/4/2021 01:42:03

Mr. Berger...

The root cause of an “identity crisis” is not, in my humble opinion, false selves versus divine self, but rather, no “self” at all.

“Liberalism” was once understood as “self” creation and the drive to “perfect man.” Of course, this was pure deception. What you have stated in the opening piece is that the Western Man now assumes “annihilation” at bodily death. What I am describing is the consequence of this belief in mortal life. Ergo, IF the individual believes in total annihilation at bodily death THEN he will partake in a perpetuating self-annihilation in this mortal “life.” Not because there is this internal battle between his false selves and his divine self, rather, because there is no “self.” This is what it means to believe in total annihilation. No “self” at all.

Reply
Francis Berger
3/4/2021 05:34:45

@ thordaddy - Without a core belief in God, Western Man has become suicidal in mortal life. That much is obvious and cannot be denied.

This yearning for physical/spiritual death stems from the belief that there is ultimately "no self". That is true. But as you have stated, this is just the result of a massive deception - a deception Western Man has embraced en masse.

A belief in "no self" can eclipse the reality of self, but it does not negate the reality of self, in the same way the moon does not negate the reality of the sun during a solar eclipse. The moon blocks the sun, casts the world in shadow, but the reality of the sun behind it all remains.

Self is a reality regardless of whether people believe in it or not. In this sense, there cannot be a real state of "no self", only a perceived state of "no self."

Nevertheless, this perceived state of "no self" is extremely powerful and leads to calamitous results. It is exactly the sort of state those who side against God have fostered for centuries via liberalism and other materialist ideologies - reductionism, positivism, etc.

Total annihilation is a destructive Sorathic impulse. It seeks a state of "no self at all" and strives to obliterate all sense of self including its own, but also points to the reality that self must exist for self to be destroyed because it would be pointless and impossible to destroy something that does not really exist.



Reply
thordaddy
3/5/2021 21:32:58

Mr. Berger...

Apologies for the confusion. Inquiring whether God was conceivable was in response to this quote:

“We would do Well to remember What we long ago learned in our Dostoevsky 101 -- that the Real-Reality is non-Eucidian, but the rather "Antinomic", i.e. that God is "not Perfect nor Good", because that He is Beyond any human Euclidian Concept of "Perfection or Goodness", i.e. Basic Apophaticism 101...”

By Apa Lázár...

Which triggered in me the thought of the atheistic premise of “no evidence for the existence of God.” My read on this particular claim is that God is not conceivable. Of course, I absolutely BELIEVE in a conceivable God as my entire argument is a conceivable God of (P)erfection. And, it is my understanding that “omnipotence,” properly conceived, is (P)erfection. In other words, the most powerful God is not he who will do anything, rather, it is He who wills ALL Right. This “nature,” so-to-speak, is perfect. Christ is (P)erfection EXACTLY because He wills ALL Right no matter which individual goes wrong. This is, by secular evaluation, a “limitation” of God’s power. Atheists, at the end of the argument, really believe in a god who will do anything. Fundamentally then, a God who wills ALL Right versus a god(s) who will do anything is the conceptual rivalry between a Singularity and total redundancy. So, when I state that the First Law of Perfection is no redundancy, it simply means that Perfection creating Perfection is a redundancy. Yet, (P)erfection CREATING (p)erfections suffers no such self-negating repetition. Clearly, He who is truly omnipotent is objective Supremacy by “manner” of willing ALL Right.

And of course, all this ties into the Western Man’s distorted conception of “white supremacy” and the general belief that “God is dead.” With a conception of “supremacy” thoroughly degraded, inverted and perverted, white man’s god(s) are no longer worshipable. These god(s) will do anything and those that kneel before them being no different. There is an “equality” which destroys the whole notion of being worthy of worship.

As a Catholic, you are inspired by your God to will ALL Right. In short, be perfect. And understanding this, one recognizes no real material constraints (obstructing you from willing ALL Right). This is FREEDOM.

So, this is my objective analysis of a Catholicism, Christianity and Western Man’s demise as an American white (S)upremacist*.

*Objective Supremacy must be intellectually differentiated from subjective supremacy. Ergo, Perfection begets perfection(s). Thus, if “white supremacy,” because white Supremacy. So, Christians are Supremacists and white Catholics are white Supremacists.

Reply
Apa János pap Lázár István link
3/6/2021 12:29:17

Lazar woke up just some moments ago on this largely moonless night, and cautiously turned on the lights, lest he frighten any roving Roumanian Vampiry from them failing to see their shadows...

Since the Tomb, Lazar now often "channels" Norse Loki the Trickster to good effect, with observations rendered in quite "serious jest"... adds some Spice to the Tedium of Life...

Consider, -- that grumpy old Ecclesiastes, claiming that "there is nothing new under the Sun", but then refuting himself by attempting to add something New under the Sun in his vile cynicism, outdoing that of Diogenes, no??..

Yes, Lazar/Loki turned on the light-witch, and what did he see??... He saw his dwelling illumined by light; but what did he fail to see, what the scientific experts claim he should be able to see??? All sorts of sub-atomic particles, incredibly traveling constantly at the Speed of Light, along with all sorts of Cosmic Rays bombarding us perpetually, -- hold firmly onto Your chair before it dissolves away into mostly an implosive sub-atomic "nothing"...

Consider now that antinomically ridiculous word, "Perfection", and Why Loki doth wish to preserve Thor's Valhalla from a finalative sort Götterdämmerung colapsing into an apparent state of finalative "Perfection"?? Well, the very concept of Perfection is truly indeed a non sequitur...

A "Perfect World" by definition would be "Perfect", i.e. "Complete ipse suam of itself", allowing for "no Newness", no change, i.e. would involve a "perfective Stasis" (Deism), i.e. would most intensely be Hell as the demons in their despair know it, a realm of perpetual and silent Chill Death, a Graveyard bereft of Life...for "Life" is the very Stuff of Newness, of perpetual Change, attuned to the perpetual Change of the Rising and Setting of the Cosmic Sun & moreover the Son... an All-Pervasive "Perfection" would be that of a finalative "Entropy", i.e. finalative "Nothingness"... (sic)
"Perfection" can never be "Perfect" (in Euclidian terms) -- for else there could be no "Newness", such as We tend to observe... there could obtain no inspiration to Creativity by Man as the "imagio dei"...
And as regards "Evolution", Darwin had it all backwards, for culturally We behold what increasingly gets termed as "human" is ever the more incapable of meaningful expression, and reduced to Simian Gruntings behind their Plague-induced Masks... But even Monkeys seem to have a sense of humour, unlike our modern humanoid Simians, -- so deathly afraid of death...

Our modern English language is a "Mongrel tongue", unlike many older traditional languages, in which Nouns bear a M/F/N Gender character. Now Consider the word, "Heaven", -- what Gender is it?? We know that the Feminine Principle is chthonic, tellurgic, expressed in an insatiable Gniedo/Nesting Urge; whereas the Masculine is astral, borne aloft constantly upon the Cosmic Vikhs/Whirlwinds, threatening ultimately forever to dissipate Man... The Neutral, however, seems sort of a veiled Masculine, like seemingly asexual monks that be anything but, eh... But Life in the Christian Heaven, oft viewed as "Perfect", cannot be "Perfect a form of Life, since by definition it would be bereft of Life, a MostVile Joke played on us by Woland/Satan... which is Why the Euclidian Approach is defective, unable to render let alone perceive authentic Perfection in a less than perfect bourgeois sort World-View re Perfection... (QED)...
Also, in a Perfect AI World the Word-Press format would not heighten our paranoia by cutting off our lengthy views mid-sentence.

Köszönöm, - Apa János pap Lázár István...

Reply
Francis Berger
3/6/2021 20:19:21

@ Fr. S.- Great comment!

thordaddy
3/6/2021 23:53:59

“Consider now that antinomically ridiculous word, "Perfection", and Why Loki doth wish to preserve Thor's Valhalla from a finalative sort Götterdämmerung colapsing into an apparent state of finalative "Perfection"?? Well, the very concept of Perfection is truly indeed a non sequitur...” — Apa Lázár

In fact, I prefer the phrase “objective Supremacy” to “Perfection,” yet, my studies have shown me that the great majority of “whites” (including nearly all white Catholics) simply possess NO CONCEPTION of the phrase NOR are they willing trying to do as much. To a man, all SUBMIT to the enemy’s conception of “supremacy” as something fundamentally “evil.” And of course, this has all been worked out in the CONTEXT of the “evil” of “white supremacy.” So, I simply disagree with your stunted conception of Perfection as something seemingly static and final. Objective Supremacy is both fact and act. Final, yet, never finished. And the “goal” is NOT to re-create Perfection on earth (an impossible redundancy), rather, it is to motivate white Americans towards a whole other conception of “white supremacy,” namely white Supremacy. Right now, of course, the Church has been SILENT on the matter of “white supremacy.” Which is, in the American context, a definitive and deciding matter. Catholics are Supremacists. Ergo, Catholics believe in objective Supremacy or else they be the greatest frauds in history. White Catholics are white Supremacists, secularly-speaking. In other words, in America, white Catholics are “evil” because “white supremacy.” Got that? This isn’t an argument over the existence of God, but an argument over why the Catholic’s conception of God is so seemingly repulsive to a large bulk of whites around the world? Your conception... Your perception of your God is what seems utterly ridiculous. After all, Christ wills ALL Right. He who does such a “thing” is omnipotent because PERFECT. Otherwise, tell “us” who Christ wronged so that “we” can learn about your imperfect god ultimately unworthy of worship?

Lastly, as I told the late Lawrence Auster some time ago, my handle is not really a pseudonym, rather, it’s an actual aspect of the my birth name plus the “fact” that I am also a father. So, your shallow and quite typical interpretation of some kind of pagan belief is just wildly off the mark. I’ve never been a pagan. I want the Catholics to be Right, but damn if they don’t seem to make that impossible with their suspiciously invisible “presence.”

Reply
Francis Berger
3/7/2021 09:29:02

@ thordaddy - @ thordaddy - "This isn’t an argument over the existence of God, but an argument over why the Catholic’s conception of God is so seemingly repulsive to a large bulk of whites around the world?"

No, actually, the post was about the spiritual orientation of religious consciousness in the West in its conceptualization of death, not about Catholicism or some concept of white supremacy. You were the one who took subsequent argument there.

Just to clarify, Apa Lázar is a retired Orthodox priest. Though I was raised Catholic, I am a non-denominational Christian. I do not agree with nor follow the current trajectory of the Catholic church (or any church for that matter). In fact I believe the future development of Christianity will occur outside the walls of conventional churches. so, please don't expect me stand up and defend or play apologist for the Church (or any church) in its current form.

I am aware that my conception of God strikes most people as utterly ridiculous, but a great deal of this perceived ridiculousness is the result of a spiritual orientation.

As I mentioned in my post, the orientation of the spirit determines the quality of religious consciousness. The spiritual orientation you endorse with its drive ""to motivate white Americans towards a whole other conception of “white supremacy,” namely white Supremacy"" reveals the quality of your religious consciousness.

As much as you believe otherwise, it will not aid in the further development of Christianity, Western religious consciousness, or your treasured notions of white supremacy in much the same way Catholicism's current spiritual orientation or the spiritual orientation of all official Christian institutions will not aid in the development of Christianity or religious consciousness.

Concerning Jesus and perfection.

Many expected Jesus to fulfill the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament (restore glory of Israel). They expected him to be the messiah who would save Judea.

Yet, Christ showed no interest in being that kind of messiah. He offered a different sort of salvation - a salvation most considered ridiculous. Because of this, most Jews at the time were repulsed by him and his teachings.

Which group would you have belonged to had you been alive during Jesus's lifetime?

The group that regarded Jesus as a false messiah because he did not restore Judea?

Or the group that embraced the salvation Christ offered?

Think about that long and hard in light of your current spiritual orientation and its obsession with supremacy and white supremacy.

Anyway, as Wm said on his blog, you are on a different wavelength, thordaddy. I approved your comments because I was interested in knowing whether or not you were capable of extending beyond your current metaphysical assumptions. It's rather obvious that you are not. As a result, whatever mild interest I may have had in your line of thinking has reached its limit.

I will leave all of your comments intact because they may prove interesting to others, but I'm not interested in prolonging this debate about YOUR views concerning Supremacy, perfection (capitalized or lowercase; with or without brackets), white supremacy (capitalized or otherwise) and all the rest of it.

I find it all quite boring actually.

Reply
thordaddy
3/7/2021 11:15:51

Mr. Berger...

Do you believe in the Reality of Perfection... The Reality of a “cosmic collusion” of indisputable fact and righteous act?

Your faith in or rejection of “objective Supremacy” absolutely determines your spiritual orientation. In other words, one who embraces the Reality of Perfection will possess a radically different spiritual orientation than one who thoroughly rejects the Reality of Perfection. Agreed?

The West, quite explicitly, rejects the Reality of Perfection, wholeheartedly, and yet this rejection seemingly triggers no obvious correlation in your mind to her spiritual waywardness and commensurate desire for self-annihilation and eternal damnation? This is inexplicable.

Reply
thordaddy
3/7/2021 11:34:21

And besides... How can you deem a topic “boring” that you have a) given zero original thought to and b) simply acquiesced to its teaching by the anti-Christians?

Are Christians Supremacists or not?

I claim, unequivocally, that they are. What is your argument that you are not a Christian Supremacist? Honestly, I do not think you have a viable counter argument. In fact, you cannot possess a viable counter argument UNLESS you are anti-Christian. So, “boring” is just a dispirited cop out and flat-out submission to the anti-Christian cabal.

Reply
Francis Berger
3/7/2021 11:57:56

@ thordaddy - Knock it off already.

Reply
Francis Berger
3/7/2021 12:28:06

Your concerns strike me as being primarily worldly/material/biological.

You are oblivious to the plain fact that your theory of supremacy and perfection does not and cannot lead to salvation, but only to nihilism. You need to follow your metaphysical assumptions through to their conclusions. You refuse to do so. There's nothing more I can tell you. No more comments. This has become antagonistic enough.


Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Blog and Comments

    Blog posts tend to be spontaneous, unpolished, first draft entries ranging from the insightful and periodically profound to the poorly-argued and occasionally disparaging.
     

    Comments are moderated. Anonymous comments are never published (please use your name or a pseudonym). 

    Emails welcome:

    f er en c ber g er (at) h otm   ail (dot) co m
    Blogs/Sites I Read
    Bruce Charlton's Notions
    Meeting the Masters
    From The Narrow Desert
    Synlogos ✞ Aggregator
    New World Island  
    New World Island YouTube
    ​Steeple Tea
    Berdyaev.com
    Adam Piggott
    Fourth Gospel Blog
    The Orthosphere
    Junior Ganymede

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012

    Picture
    A free PDF is also available in My Work. 
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.