I have often reviewed 'esoteric' spiritual teachings from the last decades of the twentieth century - and even among those that I would regard as genuinely Christian, and which there is considerable insight and wisdom; there is an recurrent error.
And that error is to make spiritual generalizations about the spiritual uplifting of the generality of people in the world. Purported plans and schemes about how the mass of people can and should be raised to a higher spiritual level - perhaps presaging the believed-in 'second coming' of Jesus Christ.
In other words; the spiritual teachings tend to become political - albeit a spiritual kind of politics. And indeed, this usually seems to the the major motivation. A person has some kind of (partly valid) insight or inspiration, and then makes it into some kind of a system by-which (it is claimed) God intends to raise-up many or most Men before the longed-for second coming.
Now, despite believing that we are in the End Times; I do Not believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ for reasons I have set out before - I regard this as a post-Jesus error. So, naturally I regard it as mistaken to reason in this way.
But with the events since early 2020 to hammer-home the message; it seems ever clearer to me that we are supposed to set-aside mass considerations with respect to salvation and the spiritual war in general; we are supposed to stop being political.
This is very difficult, because most people are more deeply convinced of their political convictions than of anything else. Yet, I think it is being made evident to us that to be political is intrinsically and necessarily to ally oneself with the powers of evil.
As the months go by, and it becomes undeniable that all powerful social institutions are now on the side of Satan; the only path open to Christians gets to be that of working from one-self (and those one loves, directly and personally).
...In brief: to commit oneself to the side of God, Good and the divine creation and to follow Jesus Christ - and leave the rest to God.
We need to develop a real faith that this is what God wants us to do; and that insofar as we can achieve it in our-selves - then God will work through us.
Furthermore; that God can, will and does work through the 'group' of human individuals who are thus aligned: God will do this and we ought not to be interfering.
Any and all individuals who are (at any particular time) aligned with Good; are-being deployed for the Good of the world by God in invisible and unknown ways. This is happening all the time, and it is why Good remains undefeated, and continues to win victories - despite overwhelming global demonic-serving power versus the apparent worldly-powerlessness of real Christians.
But these are not 'political' victories, to be read-about in the mass media or official announcements; they are spiritual victories - and often directed at the post-mortal salvation of particular people who are open to them and desire them.
In a nutshell; I believe that we are intended to work from our own actual individual situation - regarding this mortal life as a time for recognizing and learning from the experiences God offers us; and having a real, practical and courageous faith to leave the large-scale social organizing to God's creative work behind the scenes.
The old term is divine providence. In these times we are called-upon to have faith in divine providence as never before - including that, as Christian, we recognize our own free agency, and the need for us individually to exercise it - because that is how God does good, and indeed the main (or perhaps only) way that God can do good in such a world as now - when socio-political group-good is dead and gone.
And this is easy for God to do - it is what God does; but is almost impossible for us to see - and actually impossible for us to predict: hence the absolute need for faith, sustained by solid hope in the resurrected life to come.
Note: This may seem nebulous at first, because so utterly unfamiliar - yet anyone who really understands Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings has been given the best imaginable lesson in the workings of providence for Good.
2 comments:
Another aspect to “spiritual politics” I have found myself brooding on, and which you have written a bit about before, is manipulative speech in the apparent service of spiritual ends. Even as I have been fairly successful in disengaging from worldly politics in the last couple years and focusing on supernatural reality and the spiritual war, I find myself occasionally tempted by old habits and wanting to use speech to manipulate people to join the right side. I find myself thinking tactically about how my next words might work toward helping someone realize they are on the wrong side, by amplifying their cognitive dissonance or invoking fear in them.
It is not bad to seek to bring someone on the right side, per se, but there are “dark arts” whose use puts one on the wrong side. When one believes that one is right, rhetoric and manipulative speech may seem justified.
The spiritual war is not a political war. Political patterns of thought and speech put one on the wrong side. They reveal a heart in the wrong place, with hope placed primarily on the decisions of other men. Spiritual politics reveals a lack of faith in God as a co-creator, let alone the primary Creator.
What is needed is honest, courageous, heart-speech - if speech is needed. As you say, leave the rest to God and Divine Providence.
@JG - Yes, I spent many years engaged in public political rhetoric, and find it hard to break the habit. wrt not trying to 'manipulate' someone onto the right side - its a good point. If someone apparently joins the right side, but for the wrong motivation - they have not really done so: because motivation is primary.
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