culture

Preserving the Legacy

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The world is in chaos. Politics is reality show. As I write this forest fires are burning up parts of LA while a deep freeze grips the US south. Climate change is changing pretty rapidly. I fully expect humanity to survive, and in centuries, prosper again. It’s just going to be rough and cruel.

One thing I’m doing is preserving philosophical and religious books to people that I know will be interested in them, that will preserve them, and give them away to reliable folks if needed. In the disasters that are here and ones that may come, these things that guided me may guide others. It’s a chance to leave something to help those in the future, and in a personal way.

I sit here and know the world isn’t ending but parts of it are, and many ways of life will. I ask what matters to me, what taught me, and what will help others. I ask who I can trust and who will care. I ask a lot of questions right now about a world I will one day not be in.

It’s a humbling experience. I am looking at books asking what helped me become who I am, wanting to pass it to people who aren’t me and knowing I won’t be there. I feel myself stretched forward in time, asking what’s next. I have to think about what will help someone unknown grow, what preserves what is good today.

It’s an enlightening experience. I have a large library but have to ask what truly mattered to me and will matter to others. I can see a pattern, a timeline of what books helped me grow, and it helps me understand myself. I can ask what will help others.

It’s also an experience I want to share. I recommend you do this if you have some specific holy books – or any books – to preserve. It makes you think, appreciate what you have, who you are, and who you can trust. It’s a way to think of the future.

So here, as we face a lot of challenges, take a moment to save what matters to you spiritually. Leave something for those to come. Maybe it’ll help shape the future into a better way just like it shaped you.

-Xenofact

The Iron Prison of The Incoherent God

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I continue to speculate on the future of Christianity and “anthropomorphic monotheistic” religions. Mostly Christianity because I live in America. I’ve started looking at some of the utter crazy I see, from Christian Nationalists, to conspiracy theorists, to politicians who manage more than two faces. I’ve started thinking it’s a kind of prison.

Let me back up a bit.

First, when I discuss monotheism, I’m describing anthropomorphic monotheism, which assumes an all powerful omniscient deity who is also possessed of identifiable human traits and idiosyncrasies. I’m not talking the more abstract or neo-Platonic or transcendent ideas, but “ultimate power that in its true form is basically a superpowered person.” I find it’s an idea people who believe rarely question theologically despite the fact it’s hard to reconcile considering.

Anyway, I noticed people who had these beliefs also contain a heavy amount of weird instability if not outright insanity. It finally struck me that be it true believer or religious scam artist, this idea will drive you nuts as it’s about prison.

If you truly believe in a god that is all-powerful, all-seeing, and as biased and emotional as you that’s utterly terrifying. There is no escape from them. There is no bargaining with them. They are just as messed up as the average person and they control the universe. To believe in such a god is to believe you are permanently trapped and at their mercy.

You are in prison you are never getting out and the being in charge is is just as erratic as anyone else. Try figuring how people cope with that.

But let’s say you’re a megachurch pastor or conspiracy podcaster. Truth doesn’t matter a lot, as you’re here to make money. You just have to talk about the Superpowerful Man Who Controls all, but you don’t have to believe. You might not even be able to believe considering your career in bullshit.

But you’ll still go a little crazy and definitely sound crazy because you’re still in prisoni

If you’re just a religious scam artist who praces anthropomorphic monotheism, you essentially have a writing problem – your prison is the tales you spin.. You have to explain why the god you don’t believe in is like they are. You have to explain their human side and their omnipotent and omniscient sides. You are essentially managing the theological equivalent of an extended cinematic universe, mixing marketing and continuity, and almost certainly failing. Your theology is going constantly need maintenance.

This is going to be hard. There are always going to be holes in your story and you’re always editing and re-editing your theology. After awhile that will probably make you a little unbalanced, as you’re always changing and always under threat at making a mistake. This probably explains why so many “religious” public figures seem to give up after awhile and just mouth platitudes.

I think in our complex modern world, facing so many challenges, with so much knowledge, it’s hard for anthropomorphic monotheism to continue. The rapid changes of the world are hard to explain. The theological challenges difficult. The burden of mass media “keeping up” is hard.

I think there future of Christianity is going to be more crazy from people coping with the prison experience and the constant rewrites. But I also think there’s going to be more shrugging and mouthing platitudes because people who are faking belief are tired and figure they can just lie and get away with it. Hypocrisy and insanity.

Our world is more complex than limited theological ideas. Ramming it into such a mold is madness, and the wages of such activity is madness as well.

-Xenofact

The Cross Disintegrates

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I’ve been wondering about how people will regard Christianity in America in the future. This is for obvious reasons (the religious right, hypocrisy) and the personal (I love to speculate). Truth be told, I don’t see it being anything good.

First, it’s really obvious that the Religious Right et al has made Christianity synonymous with “Bigoted, sexist, homophobic, reality-denying wealth-worshiping asshole who’s a total hypocrite.” Yes, plenty of American “Christians” violate their own religious tenets which is obvious as hell when you have even a passing understanding of the teachings of Jesus. They also do not care that they are hypocrites and have no spiritual curiosity, if they ever had any. Honestly it’s kind of a joke how Christianity has gotten branded.

Secondly, the media has run with this because the Religious Right is loud. They have money, they are publicity hounds, and they are of course politically active – and useful. The Religious Right has been happy to get involved in everyone else’s damn life, and of course the media amplifies that. Plus the American media loves to both-sides things even when people are ranting or opportunist.

Third, the Religious Right is and will be defined by horrible things. Climate denial. Cruelty towards immigrants (despite a lot of that being critiqued in the Bible). Racism. Selling out. People will be hurt by this, people will be hurt by them, and they seem to enjoy that.

Fourth, and sadly not addressed, I think that non-religious right Christianity hasn’t really fought back. Sure I see some truly good people, you can find all sorts of people doing good things. But I don’t see a fight for the soul of Christianity in America which you’d think would be really freaking necessary. There’s so many people being utter assholes in the name of Jesus, you’d think there’d be a willingness to battle.

But I just don’t see it. Some of it sure, but not enough that’s big, bold and in your face. Christians should be utterly pissed at the legacy of grifters like Robertson and Falweel and the like. They should be out there in people’s faces. Heck, maybe some kind of big public act of repentance and penance that would name names.

For whatever reason, the Religious Right has defined Christianity these days. I don’t see that going away, barring some kind of gigantic Great Awakening/Bonfire of the Vanities type activity. Which might happen, but I’m not holding my breath.

So the future of Christianity, in America, is that the Religious Right has pretty much won. They have the dominant description of Christianity. It’s a cruel, greedy, unstable, pile of hypocrisy glad to elect and worship any grifter that comes along. I don’t see it changing too.

What this means is that in future political and social changing, Christianity – even people who aren’t religious right – will be judged as if they are. People won’t be looking to be Christian if they’re not into the whole asshole paradigm That is if anyone is even looking for a specific religion.

I feel a strange . . . sadness to all of this? First, that there’s just so many assholes, of course. But I feel bad for the non-asshole Christians even if I’d wanted them to fight more. I supposed I’d have liked to see a transition to a broader spirituality, but it feels like part of it will be utter, life-ruining, life-endangering failure.

But I don’t see a future for American Christianity where “Christian” isn’t at least secondarily associated with “awful person.” Maybe there will be some kind of syncretic reformist movement, but that’s just maybe.

–Xenofact