The computer I use for blogging has suddenly been cut off from the internet by enforced wi-fi changes, and solving this may be a process that takes...well, a couple of weeks or three. Until then blogging will done from a small tablet device, therefore necessarily... concise.
The self-styled anti-Left corner of the internet is mostly filled with revelations, analysis, and discussions of the latest Shocking News that one or another modern Western institution is corrupt and incompetent. How long before people realize that this is not "news". Yes, this is true, and true of all modern Western institutions... Whether that be political parties of all kinds, the civil…
These days are the death throes of Christianity as an institution-defined and institution-led phenomenon; the death throes of Christianity as a thing church-defined and church-rooted. Those who follow institutions will be led away from Jesus, will not follow Jesus. Those who follow Jesus will be led away from institutions.
Watching the series " AD " (which has way too much explicit torture and violence, the inclusion of which is a sign of unrepented spiritual malaise on the part of its makers) I realize how much people crave spiritual power; and regard spiritual power as a validation. This is analogous to the craving for technological power; both as a way to control and exploit nature (this-world) for benefit; and…
When I was aged 20-21, I was very strongly attracted by DH Lawrence 's novel, Women in Love ; and I have been re-listening to it in the excellent audio-book version read by Ruth Golding, and available free at Librivox . I am only around half-way through, and there have been some excellent chapters so far, and there are some more to come, that I recall - although I also remember the the novel ends…
Over at The Notion Club Papers blog ; I provide textual evidence that Frodo - with part of his mind, at least - was actually planning to claim the power of The One Ring for himself, even before entering Mordor. I describe some of the incremental steps that culminate with the scene on the slopes of Mount Doom when Frodo first explicitly makes this claim.
I am re-watching a 2015 TV series AD: The Bible continues ; which is supposed to be a dramatization of ("based on") the Book of Acts I had seen when it came out. It is pretty enjoyable in a melodramatic way. and worth a look - a reasonably sincere production; if you are not too concerned about embellishments and looseness. I am also reading Taliesin by Stephen Lawler (1987). In both of these (as…
Some forty-plus years ago I met somebody who had a holiday job working at Balmoral Castle - the Queen's Scottish Highland home; and he told me what she ate for her usual breakfast - a meal that he was apparently involved in serving. So the question is: What did this chap tell me that Queen Elizabeth II had for breakfast? I shall reveal his (simple) description tomorrow; but meanwhile there is the…
We cannot plan stuff and stick to that plan (force it through if necessary), except to make it worse. Maybe there was a time when good strategizing was possible, but if so, that time has gone. But what I do see, in individual lives and also in the lives of nations; is that key moments, cruxes, arise; when there is one right thing to do ... Or Not. Good strategy amounts simply to this: Recognizing…
Some scholars claim this is an image of Mediocrites Socrates's older brother, Mediocrites (c 485 BC-?), is regarded by most modern Westerners as the most successful and (therefore) most emulation-worthy of all philosophers; although we know nothing specific about him; and he never said, did or wrote anything interesting, honest, or of any value. While Socrates was condemned to death by poison,…
Gollum in reflective mood At my Notion Club Papers blog ; I give three favourite passages from The Lord of the Rings, in which Gollum's talk - while he is dominated by the Smeagol persona - sometimes displays a moving lyricism.
The ending of Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner* is one of my absolute favourite pieces of music; for its dramatic complexity but also the unsurpassed grandeur of the sound and harmony. The mood (in this except) begins with a vision of the new home of the Gods Valhalla, expressed in great chords dominated by the special sound of Wagner's brass instruments . But then all kinds of more dissonant (and…
What follows is an attempt to explain that we are profoundly mistaken when we try to picture God's creation as an objective and unavoidable reality - because that is excluding the foundational role of love. Our picture of ultimate reality, needs to have love as the basis. This has many implications, including an inescapable role for each individual person. Matthew 22: 36. Master, which is the…
In the past, it was a reasonably effective way to become a Christian (or a better Christian) to learn and practice Christian knowledge systems - such as theology, the history of Christianity, the Bible, doctrines, rituals etc. In other words, once upon a time, some generations ago; knowing-about and talking-about Christianity had some relationship to being a Christian; some correlation to the…
If we have concluded (perhaps from reading the IV Gospel ) that it is true that Jesus came to save sinners; then Christianity is neither a doing nor an achieving religion - and being a Christian is not about self-transformation during this, our mortal life. All of these attainments are mostly about our character and circumstances - and as such they are contingent and selective... Whereas Jesus…
One of the reasons that so many deeply-dissatisfied atheist-materialists are repelled from Christianity; is that Christianity means picking a church or denomination and then obeying it. As with a gang or cult; the prime demand is for loyalty to the institution; and this is enforced by initiation through loyalty tests. Typically, the covert is required to believe and affirm some things he regards…
It embarrasses me when anti-Left bloggers use the word "Marxist" to describe modern Western governments and society. There are no Marxists in The West now , at least not in politics or public life; and have not been for several decades. Indeed; there are in practice no Marxists even among those who proudly embrace the term for themselves! This is evident from what they actually say and actually…
I can understand why negations such as obedience, service and humility became popular things to advocate (including in Christianity - but also as part of many other religions and ideologies); as an intended corrective (or, at least, limiter) to motivations that are sinful or lead to evil - such as pride, selfishness and the seeking of personal gratification. That may be the intent - but if so, it…
The question of motivation is one that has occupied me since before I began blogging; because I regard the modern West as a profoundly demotivated society. And without powerful and robust motivation - we are easily externally manipulated, and indeed come to desire and depend-upon external motivations. This much was recognized more than a century ago by CG Jung, whose therapy and philosophy was…
As a teen and young adult, I wanted to read books - especially fiction, especially novels: so I did. I read a lot of books even when I was very busy doing other stuff: e.g. studying at school or college - even when I was working as a doctor, even when I was a House Officer/ Intern - even when doing the 80 hour shift at weekends... My point is that I wanted to read novels, so I made time to read…
Functionality is taxed, parasites are subsidized and enforced - there, in a nutshell, is the reason why the globalist totalitarian project has already collapsed; because this is happening in all social institutions, and the effect is synergistic. There is now no way out, because there are more parasites than functional people or groups: the parasites have wealth, power, and influence. Of course,…
There are many situations in the modern world where people are in a situation that they know something, but cannot explain it; they cannot justify this "knowing" in terms of their underlying assumptions - their "metaphysics". In such situations, their knowing is weakened to the point that it is usually overcome easily, and the person is unable to resist the corrupting effect of immediate and…
Hobbits have Big Hands: the argument is presented at my Notion Club Papers blog .
I have often written about the twin ultimate-problems ( ineradicable insufficiencies ) of this, our mortal life; under the headings of Entropy and Evil . My understanding of reality is that its fundamental divisions or units are eternal Beings, i.e living -Beings; such that (to modify the title of William James's book ) this is an Pluralistic Animistic universe; i.e. there are many fundamental…
The Occult Revival in the West (esepcially the UK, spreading to Europe and the USA) began with Madame Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society in the late 1800s which led to the Golden Dawn magical societies. This regarded the fount of secret wisdom and magical power to lie in the Far East of India, China, Japan - but especially India in the early 20th century. Theosophy also gave a structural…