Happy new year my friend. This line hit me: It is rather that the rise of historical consciousness in the modern era is itself a subtle if unintentional affirmation of the Incarnate Word.
This is precisely the arc Barfield has in mind with Final Participation. There is a evolution of consciousness facilitated by the withdrawal of Original Participation that is a necessary to make way for Final Participation. That sentence is basically Barfield's main idea in a condensed form.
Ah, Rod Dreher, yep that I got sucked up into that one too. I will try and join you on Luke's stream for at least a bit, but I am working so I might not be able to. Dreher's reaction was really weird because in the past he has indicated a hopeful universalist position. as I recall, but my recollection might be faulty. He refused the bait and did not take up my offer to come on Grail Country. I will see him in August and I am definitely bringing this up to his face. Probably as I serve him my amazing barbecue as a peace offering. People tend to be nicer in person than on X.
On the woke thing, I think you are right to point at it's Christian roots, however, I more specifically find it to resemble Calvinism, minus any notion of redemption. So it's a collection of the worst possible aspects of the worst expression of the faith. (sorry Paul if you read this, know I still love you my friend) Wokism is also anti-universalist, rabidly so, and not by accident. That said, I agree that we are all a little bit woke, because a kind of background Calvinism permeates North American culture so deeply we can't escape it. We just point to different vessels of wrath. I do think Wokeness has it's elect and unelect so is it Christian, yes, but it's based on an idolatrous version of Christianity. I say idolatrous because at it's heart is a worship of power, and all idolatry comes down to idolatry of power:
The idol of power has such a hold on some human minds that they prefer
a God who is a mixture of good and evil, provided that he is powerful, to a
God of love who governs only by the intrinsic authority of the Divine—by
truth, beauty and goodness—i.e. they prefer a God who is actually almighty to
the crucified God. (Tomberg, MOT)
This idol God almighty, is always the God of violence, the God of justice, not the God who refuses violence and who's justice is mercy. So I oppose wokeness for the same reason I oppose the broken forms of Christianity it resembles. I oppose it even in myself., which is why, despite what I just said, I have so many Calvinist friends :) and I live in a hyper progressive community in the bluest of blue states and manage to get along with everyone. Becoming anti-woke is absolutely a terrible idea (resist not evil) and just deepens the mimetic crisis of the culture war.
I don't want to turn the woke or the Calvinist into my enemies and, as North Americans we do all have tendencies in this direction, of which we are mostly unconscious, so ironically, wokeness actually turns out to be yet another closed world system enabled by the automatic in which nothing is actually done, and is quite soundly asleep.
"While so many lament the corrosion on those monuments of terror that once kept the wayward masses obsequious, divine providence is working to manifest the very heart of the gospel as its own sole motive. Only God's own beauty, only God's actual goodness and love, will yet draw all to God. Some hear the drums of civilizational war. I hear the sacred heart of Jesus Christ."
Beautifully put, Jordan. I hope and pray that this can ring truer and truer with each passing day.
On point 2: I thought of two paraphrases I’d like to share.
First, when Origen was shocked how easily Christians are willing to entertain ideas about God that they wouldn’t ascribe to their enemies.
Second, Bishop Barron who said that: There is no Feast of the Sacred Mind of Jesus. There is no Feast of the Sacred Will of Jesus. But there is a Feast of the Sacred Heart.
1. I heard you on Nate's live stream yesterday on Universalism and also related to your upcoming book, is there any good reason not to understand the portion of the Lord's prayer that "your will be done, your Kingdom come", to be expressive of and encapsulate your description of the reparative work ( I am not sure if you describe that as apokatastasis or something else) included in universalism?
2. You mention a book you contribute to on trauma, does that book have a title yet? If so, could you please share that title? Might you post a version of that article on this substack? Related to that, are there any titles you found helpful with that? Bessel van der Kolk? Cathy Carruth? others? Anyone you thought it wise to avoid?
1. I sign on to your suggestion. And since, as you well know, the Lord himself is the answer to the petitions we make in his prayer, he himself is both willer and willed, and he himself is the realization of that will as being and being in all (Col 3.11). Unless and until that is so, it is not yet God's creation, God's kingdom, God's will.
2. The tentative title of the volume of collected essays (for Orbis press) is, *Catholic Theology and Trauma Theory*. I might indeed published a version of it on here at some point. My main engagements in trauma theory proper is indeed the great Cathy Caruth (whose work I love), as well as Jean Laplanche and (in the background) Robert Jay Lifton. For the trauma theologians, Flora Keshgegian, Serene Jones, Shelly Rambo, Miroslav Volf (among others). I'm closer to Volf's view but critical of all, with the help of Gregory of Nyssa and Maximus.
Happy new year my friend. This line hit me: It is rather that the rise of historical consciousness in the modern era is itself a subtle if unintentional affirmation of the Incarnate Word.
This is precisely the arc Barfield has in mind with Final Participation. There is a evolution of consciousness facilitated by the withdrawal of Original Participation that is a necessary to make way for Final Participation. That sentence is basically Barfield's main idea in a condensed form.
Ah, Rod Dreher, yep that I got sucked up into that one too. I will try and join you on Luke's stream for at least a bit, but I am working so I might not be able to. Dreher's reaction was really weird because in the past he has indicated a hopeful universalist position. as I recall, but my recollection might be faulty. He refused the bait and did not take up my offer to come on Grail Country. I will see him in August and I am definitely bringing this up to his face. Probably as I serve him my amazing barbecue as a peace offering. People tend to be nicer in person than on X.
On the woke thing, I think you are right to point at it's Christian roots, however, I more specifically find it to resemble Calvinism, minus any notion of redemption. So it's a collection of the worst possible aspects of the worst expression of the faith. (sorry Paul if you read this, know I still love you my friend) Wokism is also anti-universalist, rabidly so, and not by accident. That said, I agree that we are all a little bit woke, because a kind of background Calvinism permeates North American culture so deeply we can't escape it. We just point to different vessels of wrath. I do think Wokeness has it's elect and unelect so is it Christian, yes, but it's based on an idolatrous version of Christianity. I say idolatrous because at it's heart is a worship of power, and all idolatry comes down to idolatry of power:
The idol of power has such a hold on some human minds that they prefer
a God who is a mixture of good and evil, provided that he is powerful, to a
God of love who governs only by the intrinsic authority of the Divine—by
truth, beauty and goodness—i.e. they prefer a God who is actually almighty to
the crucified God. (Tomberg, MOT)
This idol God almighty, is always the God of violence, the God of justice, not the God who refuses violence and who's justice is mercy. So I oppose wokeness for the same reason I oppose the broken forms of Christianity it resembles. I oppose it even in myself., which is why, despite what I just said, I have so many Calvinist friends :) and I live in a hyper progressive community in the bluest of blue states and manage to get along with everyone. Becoming anti-woke is absolutely a terrible idea (resist not evil) and just deepens the mimetic crisis of the culture war.
I don't want to turn the woke or the Calvinist into my enemies and, as North Americans we do all have tendencies in this direction, of which we are mostly unconscious, so ironically, wokeness actually turns out to be yet another closed world system enabled by the automatic in which nothing is actually done, and is quite soundly asleep.
"While so many lament the corrosion on those monuments of terror that once kept the wayward masses obsequious, divine providence is working to manifest the very heart of the gospel as its own sole motive. Only God's own beauty, only God's actual goodness and love, will yet draw all to God. Some hear the drums of civilizational war. I hear the sacred heart of Jesus Christ."
Beautifully put, Jordan. I hope and pray that this can ring truer and truer with each passing day.
Let the drums sound! Providence, work quickly!
On point 2: I thought of two paraphrases I’d like to share.
First, when Origen was shocked how easily Christians are willing to entertain ideas about God that they wouldn’t ascribe to their enemies.
Second, Bishop Barron who said that: There is no Feast of the Sacred Mind of Jesus. There is no Feast of the Sacred Will of Jesus. But there is a Feast of the Sacred Heart.
This entire post is helpful to me. Thank you, Jordan! 💗
Hi Jordan,
Two quick things-
1. I heard you on Nate's live stream yesterday on Universalism and also related to your upcoming book, is there any good reason not to understand the portion of the Lord's prayer that "your will be done, your Kingdom come", to be expressive of and encapsulate your description of the reparative work ( I am not sure if you describe that as apokatastasis or something else) included in universalism?
2. You mention a book you contribute to on trauma, does that book have a title yet? If so, could you please share that title? Might you post a version of that article on this substack? Related to that, are there any titles you found helpful with that? Bessel van der Kolk? Cathy Carruth? others? Anyone you thought it wise to avoid?
Gratefully
Hey Andrew!
1. I sign on to your suggestion. And since, as you well know, the Lord himself is the answer to the petitions we make in his prayer, he himself is both willer and willed, and he himself is the realization of that will as being and being in all (Col 3.11). Unless and until that is so, it is not yet God's creation, God's kingdom, God's will.
2. The tentative title of the volume of collected essays (for Orbis press) is, *Catholic Theology and Trauma Theory*. I might indeed published a version of it on here at some point. My main engagements in trauma theory proper is indeed the great Cathy Caruth (whose work I love), as well as Jean Laplanche and (in the background) Robert Jay Lifton. For the trauma theologians, Flora Keshgegian, Serene Jones, Shelly Rambo, Miroslav Volf (among others). I'm closer to Volf's view but critical of all, with the help of Gregory of Nyssa and Maximus.
Jordan