Francis Berger
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Recognizing and Acknowledging "The Point" Was The Point of 2020

12/27/2020

16 Comments

 
"Things coming to a point" has been a central theme of Bruce Charlton's superb and insightful blogging over the past decade. Dr. Charlton draws the phrase from C.S Lewis's That Hideous Strength, in which the concept is described in the following manner: 

"If you dip into any college, or school, or parish, or family--anything you like--at a given point in its history, you always find that there was a time before that point when there was more elbow-room and contrasts weren't quite so sharp; and that there's going to be a time after that point when there is even less room for indecision and choices are even more momentous. Good is always getting better and bad is always getting worse: the possibilities of even apparent neutrality are always diminishing. The whole thing is sorting itself out all the time, coming to a point, getting sharper and harder." 

As I mentioned above, Dr. Charlton has been blogging about things coming to a point - about the line separating good and evil becoming increasingly clearer and the space of neutrality between them increasingly diminishing - for years, but his recent observations on the subject suggest the process has ended in 2020.

Put another way, 2020 obliterated the gray area between good and evil. The sharp, hard point that had been building for decades, if not centuries, has finally materialized. Things are no longer coming to a point. In 2020, things have come to a point. 

I fully agree with Dr. Charlton's lucid observation. Even a cursory glance at the events of 2020 (the birdemic, lockdowns, the global totalitarian coup, election fraud, faux Brexit) reveals that evil did indeed become undeniably direct, clear, simple, and obvious over the course of the year. 

Thus, the overall point of 2020 is the understanding that we have reached the point; but what does this entail? Dr. Charlton summarizes the meaning of things having come to a point in the following manner: 

In sum, when things have come to a point - life-choices will be substantially (this can never be absolute, due to our mixed-nature and mixed-motives) simple, dichotomous and direct. The choices will be between God, Love, Beauty, Truth, Virtue, Harmony... and the negation of these.

Once we have people choosing against-Good, against God, consciously and with their eyes wide-open; then that will also be the situation when people will choose eternal damnation in preference to the gift of salvation and eternal life as Sons and Daughters of God - they will reject Heaven and choose to reign in their own personal Hell.

This is the end game; yet we can see that this must be carefully prepared if the situation is not to 'backfire' from the perspective of evil...

The clearer that choices become, the more likely that the mass of distracted, cloudy-minded, muddled, partly conscious and not-yet-fully-corrupted people will perceive the situation and choose Good.

So - a world of things coming to a point is also a world in which it is easier to discern Good. Much easier...

The iron fist has emerged from its velvet glove; the wolf has shrugged of his sheep's clothing. Strategic deception becomes a thing of the past.

For Men of Good intent - life becomes clear and simple - right choices are easy to recognise.


After that - it is up-to-us, each as individuals. 

Dr. Charlton further clarifies the matter in the following:


The Good side are those who support the goals of God's creation, and who hope to join with God in the eternal work of creation - the evil side are those who oppose this.

Things coming to a point mean that it is becoming ever-more clear cut whether we choose the Good side or the evil. There is less blurring, less chance of confusion. Our choices, therefore, cluster - since the Goodness and evil are so clear and separated; when we choose, therefore, we know what we are doing.

Our choices are more conscious, more deliberate - more significant.


It is worth noting that the ease of recognizing good and right choices does not imply that mortal life will become easier or better for those who choose to side with good. On the contrary:

This creates all kinds of problems, suffering, hardship, But in a world such as this one, coming to a point is a Good-thing. By 'Good' I mean in a spiritual and eternal sense - not a materialist and this-worldly sense. The process is Good for our souls, even when it is bad for our minds and bodies.

If we take full awareness of "the point" to be the point of 2020, then the active, conscious, and committed choosing of a side - that is, the active and conscious commitment good or evil - must become the overarching point of 2021 and beyond. As Dr. Charlton notes: 

People have agency, people can choose evil, and they are apparently doing so in very large numbers. If so, they have made their choice and Will live with that choice (unless or until they repent it, which usually gets harder with time).

This is a test for everyone: it is a test for Christians. Christians are confronted with worldly-expediency versus spiritual virtue again and again, every day and in multiple situations; and their response (I mean their response in their own thinking) will necessarily go one way, or the other way.

Our true motivation is recurrently being tested, hence refined and strengthened.

This is Good and we ought to be grateful; because this is exactly theosis; it is how we grow in divinity (or the opposite).


A crucial item to remember as we confront "the point" of 2020 and move toward 2021 is that failing to be "a saint in all virtues" does not disqualify one from being on the side of good. Conversely, possessing considerable virtues does not render one immune to working for the side of evil. Motivation and repentance are key in determining which side an individual ultimately chooses: 

Individuals are always a dynamic and evolving mixture of virtues and vices, good behaviours and bad; and modern fighters on the side of Good may well be notably flawed in terms of feebleness of virtue, proneness to sin, and selfish short-termism of behaviour... yet (thanks to the 'infinite' power of repentance) they may still be on the side of Good.

While, on the other side - the side of evil; individuals may have considerable virtues, and display considerable altruism and steadiness of purpose... yet these positive factors serve, in the end, merely to increase their dangerousness to the cause of Good.


To sum up, the point of 2020 was the recognition that things "have come to a point". The point of 2021 will be the choice individuals make in light of this recognition.

No one will be spared this choice going forward. 

Failing to recognize the point as "the point" or attempting to maintain some semblance of neutrality after acknowledging "the point" will also count as choices in 2021. Needless to say, neither of these "non-choices" will count as a choice for good. 
16 Comments
Gringo Viejo link
12/28/2020 06:11:38

I guess it's time to cut bait or fish.
See ya in the funny papers.

Reply
Jason
12/28/2020 06:40:02

But you guys don’t actually do anything to resist what in your minds is evil. Just bitch about it on your blogs, wallowing in your purity and self-righteousness.

Reply
IdahoJoe
12/28/2020 07:27:59

jason, you consummate TROLL!!! You have blown your cover waaaaaay too early son :-( DUMB

Reply
Francis Berger
12/28/2020 14:20:16

@ Jason - As opposed to what? Semi-anonymous commenters who wallow in their own purity and self-righteousness and do nothing more than accuse bloggers of doing nothing more than bitching on blogs? The post does not address anyone's perceived purity or self-righteousness. Nor does it pertain to what is "evil in my mind", but to evil that, at this point in time, should be clear, direct, and obvious in the mind of every honest and clearheaded individual. Recognizing this direct and blatant evil as evil is, in itself, the primal act of resistance because it inevitably forces an individual to make choices. Contrary to what you propose, these choices inevitably involve "doing." And with all due respect, it is strikingly presumptuous to claim to know the limits of what I do in terms of resisting evil.

I'll have you know that I have just started a "Let's Blast All the Evil Scumbags on Earth to Mars or Someplace" Kickstarter Funding Campaign. My goal is to raise a trillion dollars, and I will use the money to pack every evil sonofabitch I can get my hands on into Elon Musk-constructed spaceships and rid the world of evil once and for all!

How's that strike you in terms of doing something? Let me know if you care to contribute.

Reply
William James Tychonievich link
12/29/2020 19:46:21

I’d love to help, but I’ve already donated all my spare cash to Peas for Knees!

brentg
12/28/2020 09:11:20

Excellent article - thanks for taking the time to write it. I've heard Trump referred to as 'the revealer', at least in the political sense.

2021 will bring us in the USA to a major decision point, and likely early in the year. Almost surreal...

Reply
bruce charlton
12/28/2020 09:34:11

"the point of 2020 was the recognition that things "have come to a point". The point of 2021 will be the choice individuals make in light of this recognition."

Very good! That seems like the best way to face this year. And perhaps even something that could be put-across to other people, in conversation. Along the lines of: "2020 has shown you the nature of the world, and the two sides; now it is up to you to decide which side *you* will take".

Reply
Francis Berger
12/28/2020 09:50:05

Thanks, Bruce. I owe you a debt of gratitude for continually addressing the subject on Notions. I believe you're right - 2020 has shown us the nature of the world and the two sides. Deciding which side to take is now unavoidable.

Reply
John S. Russell
12/28/2020 12:31:48

As a young adult, perhaps in my late twenties, I recall a conversation with a colleague in which I revealed that to an increasing degree I saw issues as less black and white. If I were to have that conversion today I would say the opposite. Until reading your post, I had attributed this to my growing older and my ever increasing experience. Terminal geezing? I must now admit the possibility that there is an additional contributor. Thank you for your post.

Reply
Francis Berger
12/28/2020 14:00:35

@ John - Thanks for the comment. As you say, a stronger sense of discernment should be a hallmark of aging precisely because of experience, but I don't think this generally holds true anymore. Many older people have immunized themselves against learning from experience. They would rather continue to believe the mass inversions and falsehoods they have accumulated throughout their lives. In other words, they are seemingly content in their active and conscious choice to side with evil despite the obvious harm it does them.

Reply
Ohio Guy
12/28/2020 18:00:45

Francis, as I read your well thought words, it seems I remember reading similar material in the KJV of the bible, forget which book. Needless to say, your acuity on the subject matter is vividly in focus. Cheers, Ohio Guy

Reply
William James Tychonievich link
12/30/2020 15:05:26

"Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision" (Joel 3:14).

Reply
ApoloDoc
12/28/2020 18:30:26

A central issue of this is widespread denial of our sin nature, that every one of us is opposed to God unless & until we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. The idea that “basically we are good but occasionally do bad” has undermined the principles our Founders relied upon, and is a tool for the utopianist-control freaks. To stand with Isaiah when he has this vision of God (Is 6) and identify our brokenness is unthinkable!

Your point is sound that the differences are getting harder to ignore. I can see more black Christians realizing how they have been betrayed by the Dems, so there is some awakening. May God strengthen His children for the days ahead!

Reply
Michelle
12/29/2020 10:53:14

I have to somewhat disagree.
I believe 2021 will be the point. 2020 was about changing the truths that life and society was based on, and 2021 will be the year the the Systen will decide what to do with the people who are not on board with the new 2020 truths. I just read Spain is making a list of all people who refuse the vaccine.

Will people change their distracted, cloudy, sleepy minds when they see a child being ripped from a non-vaccining mother's arms? I can tell you- my closest friend at the beginning of the year, whom I lost to covid (hes still alive), would believe that the child should be removed from a non-vaccining mother.

Reply
Whitney
12/29/2020 16:09:32

That is a different and apt spin on "lost to covid". I have lost many also

Reply
Francis Berger
12/29/2020 20:39:00

@ Wm - Peas for Knees. Another noble cause!

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