Father keeps asking but I don't think he's listening.
That happens with grown-ups.
This is my best reply: (His com box is closed - so he's definitely not listening.)
Spiritual but not religious means non-binary in all its forms.
It seems to me there is a gnostic strain at work in gender ideology - a sort of crypto-Catharism. It might be described more at 'spiritual - not religious' - which is why I tend to equate the multifaceted aspect of gender/identity with the Otherkin/Therian type spiritual movements. One gets the distinct impression from many of the discussions that it is a cocktail of neo-pagan/Theosophical/Hindu syncretism. One needs to peel back the layers of language and dissimulation to expose the root of the phenomenon.I said that.
Spiritual but not religious encompasses all of that. Institutional religion is rejected. There is no religious order, no one spiritual direction, no set of doctrine, no dogma, no authority, no one set of rules - it is non-binary. It is permissive of everything... relatively speaking. One cannot harness the wind.
William Bloom who combines a long-standing interest in New Age approaches to spirituality with an identity focus in international relations, wrote:"We are in changing times. Our culture and technology are continually transforming, and the intellectual certainties of the last few hundred years are no longer secure…It is our need to find a new authenticity in our spiritual lives — to bring back fully into our consciousness — the sacred dimension of life, but we want to do this in a way that honours personal freedom and personal growth. In essence, then, we are turning to the teachings and experiences of what is called the ageless wisdom, but we are doing so with completely new attitudes."
A key element of our changing culture is that we are discarding old religious forms and re-creating our spiritual and sacred world. - Theosophical Order of Services
People are not listening. They ignore the signs of the times.
What?
Being 'spiritual' but not religious means you are 'a good person'. It means you donate to worthy causes like animal rescue (but nothing Prolife), that you luv and tolerate everyone (except the meanies who want to keep your best friends Neal and Bob from getting married and adopting a cute baby), that you recycle and compost (although the new encyclical puts a whole new slant on that one), and that you really feel it would be best for Great Aunt Martha to be euthanized and everyone else in the family agrees because nobody wants to see her in pain (because it's all about the feelings of those left behind you know) and since Auntie will be an angel in heaven (which you and I know is theologically sauteed in wrong sauce!) then she'll be OK with it. I could go on and on with the hipster bulls*it that passes for spirtuality but I am fairly certain you get my point.
ReplyDeleteLOL! I do.
DeleteI should have said everyone in the family wants Great Aunt Martha to die with 'dignity'. So important to use the correct terms, doncha know!
DeleteBecause everyone goes to a better place.
DeleteBecause everyone goes to a better place.
DeleteHmmmm...when I google the image of the man embracing whatever that sculpture is (because, who is he? Is it Richard Rohr?), I only get returns from Abbey Roads. Can one deduce that this is, finally an actual picture of Terry J. Nelson? I think there is a preponderance of evidence that says "yes."
ReplyDelete