Just a reminder, eight years on - referencing the current environment of optimism among the self-styled "based" online - that we live in a totalitarian civilization; and that to desire for its revitalization by the results of an election is the kind of sin implied by the Antichrist phenomenon - to place one's hope in one who is not Christ, but in important and fundamental respects - a this-worldly net-opposite of Christ*.
Recall too, that this-worldly pessimism Is Not Despair.
Nor is optimism a Christian virtue; indeed, it may be an evil coping-mechanism.
With matters as we know they are in The West; we should hope for the best (because we do not know everything) -- yet our hope needs to be not of this world; but we should expect things to get worse - because that is where we are+, and the trend for generations, with self-destruction baked-in; and "the worst" is what Western people deeply and overwhelmingly want.
*Of which the "queue a-none" PSYOP was a prime instance: its mantra being that we ought-to "trust" [i.e. assume the positive inner motivations of a mainstream politician, and team], "the plan" [i.e. The System - i.e. external and human guidance; and do not take personal responsibility for your value-discernment].
+Things are much worse than you think: progressing over more than two centuries, by now the rot goes very deep and very wide. Reset to an earlier phase is impossible - it has never happened, and it never will.
We can hope for a transformation of this world under the influence of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let's not forget that Christ transformed the Roman Empire from a pagan stronghold into the foundation for Christianity in Europe. But given the general direction away from Christianity over the last 3 centuries, one that has been accelerating since the 1960's, we should expect more perversion. I believe a true break from that direction will look quite different - but we may hope.
ReplyDelete@F " we may hope."
ReplyDeleteYes, but what for? Surely not the result of an election...
https://charltonteaching.blogspot.com/search?q=voting+evil
Hoping for a revitalized, but fundamentally-evil, totalitarian empire is... well, Not an admirable trait!
My 'default settings' very much align with 'this-worldly pessimism'.
ReplyDeleteHowever surely this sort of view is at odds with procreation and starting a family? I am by no means an 'anti-natalist' but what is the justification for having children when we should 'expect things to get worse'?
The result of the current election will stop things getting worse in some areas but it won't change any of the fundamental problems because it won't address them. The disconnect from the spiritual will continue and maybe even worsen because the superficial improvements will mask the underlying spiritual deterioration to those who put their hopes in this world. I'm not saying it's a bad thing that the winner won as the opposite would have been much worse but it won't do any real good either. Not where it matters.
ReplyDelete@Michael - Marriage and family are not this-worldly calculations. To try and justify them on that basis has led us to where we now are.
ReplyDelete@William - It is how things are overall which ought to matter, and I don't see any serious grounds for optimism in the re-election of a President who presided over 2020 - the birdemic, lockdown/ SD, the peck, and the summer of "MLB".
ReplyDeleteBut evidence never can determine evaluations; and whatever happened/ happens, those who are a priori convinced of DTs underlying good intentions can and will explain-away... anything.
Myself; I just don't see reason to believe in the (deeply hidden) good intentions.
@William - At present I regard this election result as the backlash of the (Ahrimanic) Great Reset totalitarian establishment against the (Sorathic) destructive-chaotic establishment. Those who want to prop up System functionality, pushing back against those who want global war and social collapse.
ReplyDeleteThe Sorathic is the more advanced evil, but the Ahrimanic is the more dangerous to salvation - there is a constant development of totalitarians into nihilistic chaos-mongers.
However, destruction is much easier to accomplish than System functionality; and the Sorathic faction is very strong; and is intends (via DT) to provoke full war in the Middle East.
>Nor is optimism a Christian virtue; indeed, it may be an evil coping-mechanism.
ReplyDeleteYes, interesting. Optimists think in terms of detached 'evils' (e.g. famine, war, mental illness) which are external and abstract and may be fixed by the application of know-how and technology. Whereas of course discernment of motivation is crucial. The growth of knowledge or the prospect of being saved by Science keeps one's attention firmly outwards. Is this the real motive of the optimist?
Sharp observation that optimism can be an evil coping mechanism. Criminals often think the next thing is going to pan out, the appeal is going to come through, or that their enemies wouldn’t dare attack them.
ReplyDeleteI of course agree with Dr. Charlton during the times I'm inclined to serious reflection. Nevertheless I'm on occasion a weak man, and I let out a hearty cheer when Trump prevailed.
ReplyDeleteMore generally than politics, what I find most disappointing is that all too often people don't even seem to have an idea of something good to aim towards. 20 years ago, you could ask someone how to make the world a better place and many people would be able to give an answer of something that actually would make things better.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, many people just seem to want benefits for their group within an assumed to be inevitable Ahrimanic system (which wasn't assumed to be inevitable even 25 years ago). I don't think anyone has a comprehensive answer especially since we've been on the wrong track for so long. There's nothing wrong with seeking to do good without a comprehensive plan; that's the best most of us can do. But unfortunately, many of the plans that are presented just aren't anything worth striving towards.
@NLR - I'm sure you are right.
ReplyDeleteYet, most of the plans for making the world better from a generation ago were actually (double-negative) plans for making it less-bad - which is why the did not survive. That's still the case for almost all political "hopes".
There are "positive" aspirations - but these amount to strengthening The System; which amounts to subordinating the individual to System requirements. 100-plus years ago, this kind of nationalism had some genuine spiritual appeal.
But now we know what it actually leads to, and anyway people *cannot* (and, I would say, should not) subordinate their personal consciousness into the mass consciousness, and live "for" The System/ The Nation.