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The Elder of Vicksburg's avatar

excellent piece. I’m Orthodox (Russian) which tends to regard Christianity as the fulfillment of what our noble ancestors thought. That primal connection to people and place was not meant to be disregarded. another american bastardization of a bad enlightenment idea.

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Blake's avatar

Thanks for your dive into paganism. It helps answer the important question of what paganism in the modern world entails; it's not a literal restoration, but a spiritual revival of people and place, natural hierarchy, and transcendence. And all this, of course, outside of (though not strictly opposed to) Christianity.

That being said, I challenge the view that Christianity created liberal secular individualism through religious universalism, though the connection between Christianity, Liberal Individualism, and Universalism cannot be ignored. I don't want to be long-winded, but this trajectory is, if anything, the result of reformations, revolts, and separations from the deposit of the Church.

Properly understood, the Church is universal, but not homogenizing, the same as a good empire in the secular sphere. Rather than mandating crushing conformity, the Church mandates truth at a high level, while leaving intact the particular and localized expressions of this truth. In areas of preference or unknown matters, a diversity of thought and opinion is fostered.

Properly understood, the Church does not destroy the need for intermediary community and has not taught that man has direct access to God with no need of broader society. The individualizing nature of protestant thought, where each is a master unto himself about the deposit of faith, has nothing to do with the Church. The Church requires community to function.

Properly understood, the Church has not despiritualized the world, but imbued the entirety of creation with spiritual significance. Nor has the Church neglected the material order in favor of purely spiritual or afterlife matters, but instead emphasized that grace builds upon nature, a nature that we are obligated to foster and protect, including securing the common good for peoples, building places, and observing natural cycles.

It is true enough, however, that Christianity provides an arrow to time and the possibility of salvation. No more is reality stuck in endless loops, but it now has a past, present, and future. I hope the future of Christianity takes some lessons from the past and is able to move society away from the secular liberalism that is crushing man's spirit today.

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