Francis Berger
  • Blog
  • My Work

Missed the Point? Dismissed the Point? Then What's the Point?

8/3/2022

14 Comments

 
Belief in the existence and reality of the spiritual war is a major tenet of Christianity. With this in mind, one would have presumed that Christians would have been percipient to the spiritual substance, significance, and seriousness of what transpired in the world in 2020.

One might also have expected that Christians would have been at the vanguard of recognizing, understanding, and resisting the immense evil that tore through the world in 2020 and continues to ravage the world today.

And by resisting, I do not mean running out into the streets fueled by revolutionary zeal, pitchforks firmly in hand. The resistance to which I refer happens primarily in the heart – in the perceptive discernment and rejection of evil, which then ignites a fiery hunger to push on with greater determination toward God and Creation.

And in cases where a Christian individual or institution succumbed to the immense demonic pressure that the spirit of non-existence and self-annihilation unleashed in 2020, well, one would have hoped such failure might lead to repentance – to the sincere acknowledgment of weakness, corruption, and sin – so that the weakness, corruption, and sin could be washed away instead of compounding the demonic pressure.

One would like to believe that Christians really do care about their salvation; that they would go to great lengths to defend it. More importantly, that they would use this defensive “from” position as a launching pad to aspire toward a glorious “for”. That they would not merely cower to protect themselves from evil but would courageously aim for the Good with increased devotion and ardor.

Because Christians believe in the existence and reality of the spiritual war, one would not have expected the leaderships of most Christian churches to side – willingly and fanatically – with the spirit of non-existence and self-annihilation when he declared the churches to be non-essential “services”. One could not have anticipated that most of the believers within these churches would so sheepishly obey the anti-Christian dictates and trustingly tolerate the oppressive abuses.

And now, more than two years later, one is dismayed to find many of the most intelligent and well-read defenders of the faith callously dismissing the spiritual substance, significance, and seriousness of 2020 via a seemingly endless stream of rationalization, justification, obfuscation, and denial.

One is discouraged to see the keenest Christian minds – steeped in centuries of precious tradition – resort to word games, strategic thinking, and self-deception whenever they are asked about the obvious evil that has been flooding the world since 2020.

One assumed that these Himalayas of the mind would have been among the first to recognize the point of 2020, but even if they missed it then, one holds out hope that they will eventually “get it” and stop flippantly dismissing it.

But most have dismissed the point.

So what’s the point?

There is still world enough and time to get the point, but that requires honesty and the right motivation.
14 Comments
The Continental Op
8/4/2022 03:16:35

For many to profess disappointment or deeper disturbance or concern, to have questions and doubts, may be flying too close to the Protestant sun. And sedevacantism is the same dialed up to the max.

Reply
Francis Berger
8/4/2022 08:16:22

@ TCO - Yes, you've put your finger on something very important there. As far as I'm concerned, the events of the past two-and-a-half years are so deeply evil that they should supersede all denominational/sectarian/doctrinal differences.

The enormity and magnitude of evil we have experienced should ease rather than exacerbate questions and doubts for all Christians, regardless of "what kind" of Christian they profess to be. It should propel us all to a) see the evil for what is and b) strive for Good that supersedes the evil.

Unfortunately, this hasn't been the case. Instead of finding obvious and undeniable common ground, the point has apparently succeeded in burying Christians further into their respective "camps". Sadly, most of these camps are making the wrong choices in relation to the point -- and yes, non-choice also counts as a choice.

Reply
bruce charlton
8/4/2022 08:35:45

One of the ways in which people miss the point is by failing to distinguish between past and current church corruptions.

In the past the corruptions were essentially hypocritical - the church professed Christian ideals, but the Men failed to live up to them or exploited them.

But now and increasingly, the church has adopted evil as good; and regards good as evil - and leads its flocks away from Christianity in a purposive and strategic manner.

This makes All the difference.

Reply
Francis Berger
8/4/2022 12:55:50

@ Bruce - It does make all the difference. There's the misconception that perfection is expected. I certainly don't expect perfection from the churches. Few people do; however, I do expect sincere Christian motivation instead of near-perfect alignment with global totalitarian agenda masquerading as Christianity.

There's also the business of false historical comparison. To claim the the Church acted worse during the Black Death is beyond comprehension. My basic impression is that Church did the best it could back then given genuine plague circumstances. I can easily understand why priests abandoned their posts and parishes in fear. People were literally dying in the streets, often in the most gruesome of ways. That doesn't make the way the Church acted then right or noble, but at least it's comprehensible. But to compare that to the manner in which church leaderships across all denominations behaved when they were ordered to shutter their doors for the birdemic and then claim that action was not worse than the actions taken during the Black Death . . . there's something seriously regrettable and wrong nestled within that line of thinking.

Reply
Lady Mermaid link
8/5/2022 04:09:47

The inversion of good and evil is a major difference in today's world that is often missed, including by myself.

Human nature will never be perfected on this side of eternity. There have been plenty of vile men w/ access to spiritual authority (Pope Alexander VI). However, none of those men ever tried to alter the definition of good and evil. Everyone living during the corruption of the Renaissance papacy still knew what was right or wrong even if one often failed to live up to those ideals.

In today's world, what is wicked is now considered to be the height of virtue. That's the deadly aspect of the litmus tests. Everyone will stumble at times. That's not the issue. The problem is that many modern people, including most churches, are actively desiring evil. Look at the vast amount of money being raised voluntarily to assist women in having abortions out of state in the past few weeks.

Modern man's spiritual compass is pointing completely in the wrong direction. That's what differentiates today's world from the past.

Reply
Jefrey Cantrell
8/4/2022 18:28:25

During the Black Plague, churches still conducted services went about their business of saving souls. Today, however, they all closed down despite all Christian denominations professing that saving souls it the most important thing in the world. I cannot help but believe that one major source of this hypocrisy is that today, most people don't really want a God who will judge them and their acts and therefore they are so fundamentally unable or unwilling to see the nature of their acts as fundamentally evil. (I think the best way to describe this failure is a failure of discernment of truth.)

Reply
Francis Berger
8/4/2022 21:13:13

@ Jefrey - That's certainly a part of it, I'm sure. There's no estimating just how severely damaged modern people are. It took me years to understand just how damaged I was (and still am to some degree).

Reply
bruce charlton
8/5/2022 13:13:19

I re-read this, and the following passage captures exactly my dismayed incredulity:

"And now, more than two years later, one is dismayed to find many of the most intelligent and well-read defenders of the faith callously dismissing the spiritual substance, significance, and seriousness of 2020 via a seemingly endless stream of rationalization, justification, obfuscation, and denial.

"One is discouraged to see the keenest Christian minds – steeped in centuries of precious tradition – resort to word games, strategic thinking, and self-deception whenever they are asked about the obvious evil that has been flooding the world since 2020.

"One assumed that these Himalayas of the mind would have been among the first to recognize the point of 2020, but even if they missed it then, one holds out hope that they will eventually “get it” and stop flippantly dismissing it.

"But most have dismissed the point."

I had suspected that near-silence in the face of this catastrophe implied either a failure to recognize, or support for, The System - and I find this severally confirmed.

The way I think it works is that the major churches are part of The System - 'therefore' those who are primarily church-orientated cannot wholly reject The System.

Instead they try to operate from a non-existent middle ground that is occupied by mainstream 'right wing' politics such as American Republicans/ Libertarians/ Trump; or the British Conservatives.

Yet there is no middle ground between The System, and opposition to it; because there is no middle ground between what Satan wants and God's creation; and The System (as is, here and now) is affiliated with Satan and aiming at a demonic agenda.

IF a traditionalist is genuinely operating at a 'mystical church' level, then The System and the institutional churches can be opposed - but when a self-identified Christian does not recognize and oppose The System and its evil motivations; this suggests strongly that the affiliation is to The System, overall.

Having said all this, some traditionalists within Christianity discerned clearly the global System evil unveiled in 2020 - such as Abp Vigano, or a blogger such as Mundabor.

My concern is that - until they recognize and acknowledge that this is only possible by use of personal discernment - which must at root be intuitive - then they are living in 'Bad Faith' and thereby weakened and made vulnerable. I don't see any unsurmountable difficulty about this, except that it is unprecedented; but I personally would not have any spiritual difficulty in affiliating to any specific Christian church (I mean an actual priest/ pastor in a particular building etc accessible to me) - and in principle this could be very helpful to my Christian life.

Such does not exist for me; but it may exist for others - and I am very pleased for them when it does.

Reply
Francis Berger
8/5/2022 20:25:44

@ Bruce - "IF a traditionalist is genuinely operating at a 'mystical church' level, then The System and the institutional churches can be opposed - but when a self-identified Christian does not recognize and oppose The System and its evil motivations; this suggests strongly that the affiliation is to The System, overall."

Yes, that's it in a nutshell. I have no qualm with the 'Mystical' Church Catholics who oppose the System. The gates of Hell defense makes sense at that level. And if the Church is a mystical entity, then surely it can be transformed instead of attempting to restore it to its former dominance. If the Church can be positively transformed, it could take on a more mystical role in Catholic life, a role that grows out of and transcends the external, obedience-based model.

At the same time, I am wary of the fact that many Catholics literally desire to replace the System with their own restored traditional-obedience system -- that all they wish to do is wind back and the clock and go back to circa 1400.

"My concern is that - until they recognize and acknowledge that this is only possible by use of personal discernment - which must at root be intuitive - then they are living in 'Bad Faith' and thereby weakened and made vulnerable."

Yes, this is a problem, but I suspect many do acknowledge that they are using personal discernment. At the same time, I see a lot of Bad Faith. A lot of externalization supported by nothing.

Moreover, a great many Catholics appear to be mollified by the gates of Hell promise and are just going along with the flow of totalitarian evil because, hey, the Church can't lose. This was clearly reflected in the asinine views the Catholic Trad-bots posted during that so-called debate over at the O.

But there are some Catholics who appear to be at the breaking point and are even talking schism.

A transformed Catholic Church based on its mystical essence would be a positive development.

Reply
Jeffrey Cantrell
8/5/2022 20:32:42

I believe you are correct. In the end, everyone must make the choice between good and evil. Moreover, everyone must do so by him or herself. One is alone in making the choice and bears the consequences of that choice, personally, and alone. While being a member of like thinking and acting "congregation" may be comforting, it is irrelevant to personal salvation. It is absolutely worthless to be part of a crowd all going to Hell. While it has always been true that we are caught up in the midst of an eternal battle between good and evil, there is no longer a middle ground in which people can coast. That middle ground is disappearing and it is obviously doing so. The choice today is stark.

Reply
Anti-Gnostic
8/7/2022 02:41:59

The fundamental problem is we lack sufficient will to power. If you want to stop the Left you've got to punch them in the mouth. For most of us, our mouth-punching days are well behind us.

I was hell on wheels in the 1980s. I should have used that time acquiring more martial skills and forming paramilitaries. Because ultimately Christianity requires a Christendom. Otherwise, Christians become like the Desert Fathers, driven from their holy places by bandits.

Ideological debate will not save us; it's actually why we're in this awful conundrum. Christians debate arcane doctrine and metaphysics while the Left debates what territory and institutions it will hold and what people it will place in charge of them. It's like the apocryphal quote that there are a dozen versions of: "Amateurs study strategy; professionals study logistics."

Americans in particular are obsessed with being "right;" it's actually more important to be effective. Otherwise you're just a middle-aged book club.

Reply
Francis Berger
8/7/2022 20:27:37

@ Anti-Gnostic - Will to power? It's far too late for that, I'm afraid. But even if it wasn't, it would still be the wrong approach.

I don't think people have a handle of where we are at the moment and what is likely to happen over the span of the next five years.

Forget about punching leftists in the mouth. We're all going to get punched in the mouth, repeatedly, seemingly endlessly -- even the leftists.

As I noted in the post that set off that insipid "debate" over at the Orthosphere, the altar-civilization model is done, which means "reaction" is done. Something else is needed, but Christians are still too focused on externals.

https://www.francisberger.com/blog/creation-is-freedom-from-reaction

https://www.francisberger.com/blog/countering-totalitarianism-requires-creation-not-reaction

Reply
Jeffrey Cantrell
8/7/2022 22:19:43

I concur. While I am very much a direct action guy, there is great danger in adopting a combative, “punch them in the mouth” attitude. Traveling down that path if fraught with the danger of becoming just another Sorathic thrall bent on destroying for the sake of destroying. There are situations where that may be needed, but for me, I still choose to think about God, rather than the evil in the world.

Anti-Gnostic
8/9/2022 04:42:45

I think you're just talking about hunkering down with Rod Dreher in M. Night Shaymalan's Village, ultimately going extinct.

https://www.amerika.org/politics/how-the-benedict-option-broke-your-family/

Reply

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.