tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post8642609861807229307..comments2024-03-01T14:27:35.794-08:00Comments on Albion Awakening: Globalism or damnation? Mistakenly conflating the needs for National and Christian revivalBruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post-41054392217319052822017-05-23T07:53:03.100-07:002017-05-23T07:53:03.100-07:00William,
I totally agree- I think you're spot...William,<br /><br />I totally agree- I think you're spot on. Some people have called the connection between the contemporary spirituality culture and leftism "spiritual humanism". I think it is noteworthy that the nondual traditions of the East (for which Western spiritualists hold in such high regard) have historically been at the antipodes of modern spiritual humanists. Those cultures have been overwhelmingly hierarchical, conservative and certainly not "progressive". Perhaps the typical modern Occidental is drawn to the pantheistic perspective because it resembles philosophical materialism by way of its essentially monistic framework? But, as you alluded to, they don't recognize "the many" because they mistake nondualism for monism.<br /><br /> Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04865413665629644313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post-37703943141257677492017-05-22T12:43:08.748-07:002017-05-22T12:43:08.748-07:00“Liberalism is the political expression of spiritu...“Liberalism is the political expression of spirituality by emphasizing the importance of equality and social harmony. “<br />I realize you weren’t saying this, Chris, but it’s a common misconception. It confuses the absolute and the relative. Yes, ultimately all is one in God (equality) but manifested reality, the world of the many, is hierarchical and must be or else nothing could be differentiated from anything else. Nor could consciousness ever evolve from a primitive state. The task of the spiritual person is to keep a balance between the one and the many, between essential equality (oneness is a better word – there’s no such thing as equality really) and hierarchical realization. The ladder of being doesn’t just have one rung.<br />William Wildbloodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post-24636809791938891002017-05-22T10:11:20.312-07:002017-05-22T10:11:20.312-07:00@Chris - I believe there is a way *forward* - inde...@Chris - I believe there is a way *forward* - indeed, that there is *only* the way forward, because we cannot go back to a previous tradition - the world has changed and we have changed (the two are inextricably linked). <br /><br />(All attempts to revert to an earlier stage of human cultural or religious evolution - evolution in the sense of developmental-unfolding accrding to divine destiny - have failed completely.) <br /><br />We have been stuck, for about 200 years, in a phase that was meant to be a short and swift transition between childhood and adulthood; as a society, we in the 'Western' nations were meant to be the first to reach adulthood, but instead we chose to remain perpetual, metaphysical adolescents who refuse to grow up, and consequently (generation upon generation) we have expanded the faults and failings of adolescence to an ever greater degree. <br /><br />To acknowledge the above, Christians need to acknowledge fully that Time is real and Salvation History is linear - Christ's incarnation death and resurrection changed the cosmos, before is different from after and now is spiritually different from 200, 500, 1000 years ago - but until now Christians have only half acknowledged the implications. <br /><br />(This perspective comes from Owen Barfield, mainly.) Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post-71135949457864808842017-05-22T08:49:05.651-07:002017-05-22T08:49:05.651-07:00BC,
Sorry for veering away from the subject of th...BC,<br /><br />Sorry for veering away from the subject of the post. Incidentally, I responded to my friend in a way that largely mirrors what you said in your comment. He answered with the claim that his liberalism logically flows from his spiritual worldview, "While religiousness is characterized by devotion to a specific tradition, set of principles, or code of conduct, spirituality is associated with direct experience of self-transcendence and the feeling that we're all connected. Liberalism is the political expression of spirituality by emphasizing the importance of equality and social harmony. Spiritual experiences seem to make people feel more of a connection with others- the boundaries we normally maintain between ourselves and the world tend to dissolve during these experiences. These feelings of self-transcendence make it easier to recognize that we are all part of the same ultimate Reality, promoting an inclusive and egalitarian mindset." <br /><br />It seems to me that folks like my friend simply do not accept the authority of Tradition, as such, which has its source in Divine Revelation. The reason for this, I think, is a dogmatic adherence to the individualist political/spiritual anthropology of modernity. And that perspective itself was the product of the endless pre-modern conflicts between the followers of different religious traditions. <br /><br />It seems to me that this is a conundrum. We don't wish to reject modernity wholesale, particularly its good aspects like classical liberalism, but we also want the fullness of spirituality that comes from Tradition. That can only be the case (I think) unless we can point to a principled and hard demarcation line between classical and "progressive" liberalism. I an doubtful if that can be done.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04865413665629644313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post-51802382956852813182017-05-21T22:24:19.487-07:002017-05-21T22:24:19.487-07:00@Chris - I can't comment on specific unknown-t...@Chris - I can't comment on specific unknown-to-me people, of course; but the seriousness and integrity of spiritual but not religious peple is usually compromised by their acceptance of the sexual revolution in one or more of its facets. <br /><br />Or, if not that, then they are corrupted by one or more of the aspects of modern secualr Leftism (equality, antiracism, diversity etc). These become - whether acknowledged or not - the true bottom-line of evaluation; the true priority - and spiritual demotivation and expediency is the outcome. <br /><br />Spirituality is the means, religion is the end - and you can't live spiritually on the basis of means-only, lacking a goal. Inevitably, you become corrupted. Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post-33332005733546747472017-05-21T14:24:05.876-07:002017-05-21T14:24:05.876-07:00The British population is indeed being replaced. I...The British population is indeed being replaced. In major urban centres it's very plain to see. The changes in demographics since the mid-90s are staggering. Many refuse to accept the evidence of their eyes though. They choose to live in denial instead. <br /><br />British society and culture is also being corroded from within from pernicious redefinitions of the family and gender identity. But you're absolutely right, Bruce. A blast of 'nativist' anger would do no good at all and only serve to further the interests of those who long for our disintegration. What's needed, in fact, is less Britain and more Logres - the inner, spiritual side of the country. Albion is another word for the same thing, of course. And that's what's required - an eruption of the hidden power of Logres/Albion into the visible 'day to day' world of Britain.John Fitzgeraldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13951246561259007162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post-62368553522746552552017-05-21T13:39:51.832-07:002017-05-21T13:39:51.832-07:00BC,
I recently had a discussion with an old frien...BC,<br /><br />I recently had a discussion with an old friend from my "spiritual but not religious" days. What's interesting to me is that he's just as (if not, more) antagonistic to the errors of modernity as the Traditionalist is. He addressed the hedonism, ennui, frenetic agitation, alienation, nihilism, and the evils emanating from the worldview of scientism/materialism. But, not surprisingly, he identified "religion", (particularly the Abrahamic faiths) as being "part of the problem" because of their fundamentally divisive character and their emphasis on <i>belief</i> and not on <i>experience</i>. He went on to say that the notion of revelation found in many of the theistic traditions is dangerous and destructive because it logically entails a moral imperative to either convert or fight those who don't join the fold. He basically argued for what amounts to a "new religion", one that embraces the positive aspects of both modernity and Tradition..... pretty standard spirituality talk.<br /><br /> What do you think is the primary problem with this pov? Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04865413665629644313noreply@blogger.com