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Protect yourself
Borgification of the Church
All tyranny requires these elements:
Collective Conformity
**************
Some months ago, I ran across a blog article by Cameron Schaefer called Change is a Community Project. His article should be called the Borgification of the Church. For those of you who are not Star Trek aficionados, well…those of us who are will just laugh near you.
I was Locutus of Church. Now I am John free INDIVIDUAL. My battle cry: Resistance is ESSENTIAL!
But before many of you dear readers can get to the RESISTANCE part, you must first come to understand that it is NECESSARY to resist. Eventually, we’ll get to WHAT to resist.
Mr. Schaefer is a twenty-something blogger sitting around in his underwear…Oops…I just had an Eric “Phenomenal” Simmons flashback. But the difference between moi and Mr. Simmons is I am going to advocate that you DO read what is being written: right, wrong, or heresy. I fully expect y’all can see the truth. I fully believe you can get the right answer. (With our without my–considerable–help.)
>snicker<
So click on the link and read his blog post.
I expect to see Statist/Collectivist doctrines advocated by writers like Alexander Strauch, or the intellectual thugs at SGM, or the rank and file Catholic priest, or sundry Institutional Church leaders. They have made a career out of slavish commitments to historic dogma in the name of biblical purity. They are who they are.
>shrug<
But who Mr. Schaefer is…well that is something else entirely.
I recognize Mr. Schaefer is doing what most bloggers do: writing about things that are important and offering some stream of consciousness commentary. He isn’t writing a theological treaty. He is not interested in dissecting our individual/cultural mindset as much as observing its failings. He is interested in advocating a solution to our individual/cultural failings by putting forth some potent philosophical and moral commentary. By his own admission, he is offering lessons in skilled living. The content of the lesson is Collectivism. He offers the individual/cultural failings as self-evident: and the solution to those failings as self-evident. This is very telling. It is a measure of how far the statist/collectivist concept has penetrated our culture and permeated the Church.
That is what makes Mr. Schaefer’s commentary so illustrative: he represents the rather typical, rather average churchgoer.
When the man on the street can name the Borg battlecry, “We are Borg. Resistance is futile,” without a blink, you’ve created a cultural icon. When the average man in the pew advocates collectivist ideology without the blog equivalent of a blink, you’ve achieved the hive mind. The hive mind is…really, really bad.
The global push towards statist/collectivism is an insidious and disastrous trend. If Mr. Schaefer’s blog post is an indication, then the ideology of collectivism has penetrated deep into our public conscience in profound and sinister ways.
I have seen the trend for some time. When I first launched this blog, I posted A People of Freedom A people of Serfdom and noted that we–in the modern age–are resurrecting historic doctrines that have always oppressed people. At the heart of those doctrines is the push towards collectivism.
Hang on a tick…I’ve got to do something. Since we don’t share the hive mind, I’ll have to make sure we are all on the same page and singing from same sheet of music. I will give two definitions.
Collectivism: a social organization politically and ethically enforcing human interdependence. The intentional subordination of individual will, ability, and objectives to the “greater good” of the collective.
Statism: The state is sovereign and wields all power for its own best interest. Man, his life and substance, is subordinate to State will. This particular political organization has gradations of expression from the mixed political environment of America to the absolute Statism of Sparta.
(Anyone ever seen 300, the really cool film that brings the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC to mythical life? Zach Snyder opens the film with a lesson on Spartan life. Newborns are tossed over a cliff for the smallest imperfection and inducted into military training as soon as they leave crawling behind. Spartan Mothers bore their children with the expectation that the State owned them from birth, reportedly saying to their beloved tykes: “Come home with your Shield…or on it.” This kind of an Uber Christian baby dedication is the supreme expression of Statism.)
The Church suffered a slow induction into the Statist/Collectivist spirit from about 70 AD until it took its final doctrinal form in the writings of Augustine Bishop of Hippo in 370-ish AD. The Catholic Church through the middle ages embodied the Statist/Collectivist theology in the Medieval Three Estates–this social/political theology dominated the Dark Ages until St. Thomas Aquinas introduced Aristotelian rationalism back into western thought.
The millennia of the Dark Ages stand as historic fruit of the statist/collectivist doctrines that dominated that time period. Unfortunately, most people think of those years like a JR Tolkien novel: romantic, chivalrous, honorable, magical, and abounding in the simple foods of milk and honey. I like Dungeons and Dragons as well as the next maladjusted social outcast, but this nostalgia was NOT the Dark Ages.
Think Dark Ages, think rats. Think plagues, and famine, 50% mortality rates. Think wearing the same sparsely washed clothes for…years. Think of not bathing because the Church tells you it is selfish to do so. Think of death from catching a cold. Think of not living much past twenty. Think of terror every day you wake up fearing that God will bring sickness, kill your flocks or steal your babies. You do what you can to appease that God and then appease the demons that come with the new moon, or the witches that fill the forests. Think of being stretched on the rack, having a limb chopped off, put in an Iron Maiden, placed in the stocks and pelted with sewage for the smallest social offense, because the Church affirms its absolute right to “discipline” the evildoer. Think of being owned by the guy in the castle who taxes the hearth that keeps you warm and won’t let you chop wood in his forest for heat. Think of living inside a hut made of little more than mud, sticks, and grass, and know that modern homeless people build better shelters out of cardboard and shipping pallets. Think of living in your garage…with ALL of your pigs, geese, and chickens. Think of the excrement shoveled and piled outside your door and being required by law for carting that sewage to the communal property for fertilizer. Think of knowing that fertilizer would make your garden grow better; your Croft land has lost its life. Think of never being able to leave your croft: you are a slave. Think of working from the age of three. Think working 16 hours a day; to work less is to hear a sermon on sloth, or indolence, or selfishness. Think of the Bells for Church services morning, noon, and night where you are told that it is your divine obligation to submit to the authorities appointed over your life. Think of wars that ranged the length and breadth of Europe as Lords demanded service to go plunder another Lords holding–all in the name of God.
This is the real Dark Ages.
Theologically and Politically, Man was organized into three distinct groups in the Medieval world called the Three Estates: Serf, Aristocracy, and Clergy–those who work, those who fight, those who pray. The statist/collectivism of the Medieval Three Estates is effectively Christian Eugenics.
Eugenics is the philosophical belief that humans should be socially engineered and genetically altered to serve “society.” Christian Eugenics then is the philosophical belief that God engineers people to take a specific role in “society.” Because God appoints their place, individuals have a moral obligation to serve as cogs in the massive machine of human existence playing out a preordained role: a role that is part of the “Prior work of Grace.”
For a thousand years, the Feudal (statist/collectivist) assumptions, directly founded in Augustine’s statist/collectivist theologizing, produced one of the darkest millennia of Western History–a history whose fruit is death, destruction, and oppression–indefensible by any standard; a theological and political organization that cannot reasonably be embraced by men who suggest they have humanity’s highest and best interests at heart and Divine blessing as their guide.
It took Man the better part of 1500 years of Western history to BEGIN understanding that it is individuals and INDIVIDUALISM that bring the greatest manifestation of liberty, freedom, prosperity, and health. And another 200 years for individualism to be given a place where divine blessing could empower human potential without the state plundering, or the collectivist theologizing condemning thinking as divine sedition and burning folks at the stake. The greatest manifestation of !!!!CHANGE!!!! has its expression in INDIVIDUALISM.
I will give Cameron Schaefer–and other’s like him–the benefit of the doubt. He probably doesn’t know the origins of the collectivism that he advocates, nor its utterly evil historic record; which means his commentary is offered in idealistic ignorance. He has accepted those ideas with little or no critical evaluation, and is (admittedly) mindlessly parroting what he’s been told.
No one wants to be accused of mindless parroting, but the alternative is the utterly self-aware advocacy of evil. And make no mistake, advocating statist/collectivism is evil because the outcome of those social organizations destroys people.
The Borgification of the Church is taking many forms from sundry voices, driven by hijacked Bible passages and demagogued through the historic Assumptions, Presuppositions, and Filters of Augustinian influence.
The call is to all INDIVIDUALS….
Resistance is Essential!
Comments
18 Responses to “Borgification of the Church”
Got something to say?
To those who would make me a slave; “Assimilate This” =/\=
I think you misunderstood the aim of my post. Most likely it’s because I didn’t do a great job explaining. Either way, I was not advocating collectivism or that one should simply abandon their individuality or identities in sake of unity.
I am a huge fan of F.A. Hayek and Milton Friedman and agree that liberty for individuals to determine their destinies as they see fit is one of the greatest things we should fight for – it’s a huge reason I’m in the military.
I was simply trying to make the point that lasting and meaningful life-change (i.e. overcoming an addiction, changing long-held habits, etc.) rarely happens in isolation — it requires meaningful relationships, a community of people to hold you accountable and support you in your endeavors.
Individuality is great, I was focusing more on isolationism. Relationships are powerful and help enable us to reach our full potential – you don’t have to forsake your liberty or individuality to be a part of a great relationship.
Anyway, just my two cents. Didn’t want you to think I was a mindless communist sitting around in my underwear pushing the world towards collectivism.
Oh, I took it as sarcasm.
John- How does Eric Frohm fit into your thinking?
musicman,
Until you mentioned his name I hadn’t knowingly read any of his work. The casual read I gave some of Fromm’s work peaks my interest.
His methods of ”Escape from freedom”
Authoritarianism
Destructiveness
Automaton conformity
Has obvious application to many human motive choices. I wouldn’t have put in it his words but I do think people “escape freedom” I think people ABANDON Freedom.
Since I don’t know the length and breadth of his rational I don’t know what else I might agree or disagree with.
Where does his psychoanalysis fit into your thinking? I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts?
Cameron,
Hail and well met …. People whose ideas are the subject of my commentary are welcome to weigh in or their own behalf or add their .02 or 1.02. Its all good.
However, I do have further thoughts. I’ve read your post quite a few times and … well. I’ll weigh in again… in detail in a bit.
Peace!
Well I find much that is challenging and fascinating-Fromm first published this work in 1941 at the height of Facism and National Socialism. Not a highpoint in modern society, as far as tyranny is concerned. His chapter on The Reformation is stunning-I’m still not sure I can grasp most of what he observes, and I don’t always agree-but his ability to articulate why and how we turn to systems of thought that degrade us is well worth the read. I first picked it up because of a passing reference to it in one of Eugene Peterson’s books. Your discussion on collectivism and the Dark ages of Westeren culture reminded me of his work-I’d be curious on your thoughts if you ever get around to him. I’ll try and post some quotes as I dust it off….
Fromm-pg 97 of Escape From Freedom
“We have seen how ardently Luther and Calvin emphasized the wickedness of man and taught self-humiliation and self-abasement as the basis of all virtue. What they consciously had in mind was certainly nothing but an extreme degree of humility. But to anybody familiar with the psychological mechanisms of self-accusation and self-humiliation there can be no doubt that this kind of “humility” is rooted in a violent hatred which, for some reason or other, is blocked from being directed toward the the world outside and operates against one’s self.”
Were you recently watching “Last Stand of the 300″, John? What you said about the Spartans sounds like what I saw the other day.
Hey Ellie,
the movie I’m refering to is the subject of this wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_(film) if you watched the national Geographic version you probably got a more historic rendering of spartan life. but the movie was REALLY fun.
Musicman!
Interesting. I have lots of thoughts on the true reasons for Calvin and Luther’s synthesis. Of course when I first read their stuff I was inclined, like most, to embraced their man centric hatred as something implicitly righteous—that was tradition and orthodoxy after all. For lots of reasons that can’t be addressed in this blog post that sort of hatred—the almost vile repudiation of all things man and human can not be righteousness, even if it is suppose to be a precursor to embracing the Grace of God. (I.E. Luther’s “Proper distinction between law and Gospel”) So, Fromm’s quote is sparks my interest further. I will probably dig into his work to see how he synthesizes the source of that ability hating, self-hating ideology.
Though, contrary to Fromm, I am reluctant to think the sources are really psychological. I have a theory that I am working to develop that all psychological problems are really philosophical failures: philosophy being the iterative process how we find, define, and act on values. People who are in psychological conflict usually have two or more “values” that they are trying to simultaneously act on and find themselves in utter conflict because the values are mutually exclusive. Man is not made to operate with such inconsistencies, hence our almost pathological need to systematize the cause and effect, the meaning and intention of our lives.
(I have lots more to say about this…)
Anyway, the conflict of pursuing those colliding values creates the symptoms of disharmony, anxiety, and all other psycho symptomatic stuff.
so… if you dust of another quote or three that would be great. More food for thought!
Cameron…
I wanted to respond because, well, my commentary isn’t just a misunderstanding. Collectivism is all through your life lesson post and it isn’t limited to those in need of drug rehab. I can appreciate you didn’t intend to advocate anti individuality: that is why I can cut you—and others like you—some slack. However, your .02 cents is illustrative of my original point. Your advocacy is so implicit that you don’t notice its origin or the logical outcome of your life lesson.
Being the wordy sort I have mucho verbosity on this particular subject. So, I have too much to say about what you wrote to address in this post. Actually I have lots to say about how collectivism gets introduced into the Church and intellectual and theological failures that advance collectivism. Of course your brief post does not contain all of these… or even many of these events. Your advocacy to collectivism is implicit… and that goes to my initial point: average church folk embracing collectivism without knowing its source, and outcomes.
Hence, the Borgification of the Church.
First, let me address your contention that your post was aimed at those looking for help with drug addiction. While I do notice that you listed drug addiction in your list the assertion—even on casual reading—seems like an over simplification. I’m not trying to play “Gotcha,” but I am trying to point out how the life lesson is presented.
First, the title of your post: “Change is a COMMUNITY Project.” You start the post with a rejection of national speakers and life coaches and their corresponding philosophical assertion that Change is from within. There is an overt logic in the Church that says personal growth is a function of group participation. The logic advocates accountability—meaning group scrutiny—as the agent of change. By your own commentary individuals do not have the power to change within: the inconvenient truth is real change only takes place in quality COLLECTIVE relationships.
To summarize, I count no less than 3 separate types of “community” solutions for change in your post.
Furthermore I notice that the fix for your personal and social ill’s always revolves around participation in a group. I will address in later posts why personal change has nothing to do with group participation, the true source of “Collective Wisdom,” Isolation vs Individuality, and the myth of Group Accountability. (I have briefly addressed this myth in The Myth of Accountability and Team Leadership and will dissect this further in subsequent posts.)
And lastly, your book recommendation, Bowling Alone, stands as one of the most glaring collectivist advocacy.
I browsed Bowling Alone and did some brief research on Robert Putnam, the author. He didn’t originate the ides of Social Capital, but his book does deliberately set out to advance and expand the concepts behind Social Capital.
Putnam (among others) defines social capital like this:
I am not going to respond to all of his work, but to say that this is really collectivism lite. It remains curios to me that DEFENDERS of DEMOCRACY believe that by advocating the “society” or “greater good” or “civic mindedness” they are protecting the power of the individual. For all of these vague entities to benefit requires the sacrifice of the individual.
Putnam is an intelligent man so I am perplexed by what comes across as a profound misunderstanding of American governmental form and social organization. America is a Representative Republic (NOT a democracy) and the social organization of American is laissez-faire capitalism. (Well, it was capitalist for the first one hundred years of its existence. And then for the last hundred years or so it was a mixed economy until recently. In the last eight years America has taken a profound turn towards National Socialism. But I digress.)
Putnam, beyond offering a whole bunch of non sequiturs, seems to be mostly interested in redefine Democracy to really mean anything and everything civic—anything and everything “common good”.
His logic goes something like this: “Oh… look at all the pretty leaves on the trees. Now notice the leaves come from branches. It must be branches that make leaves, therefore to have lots of pretty leaves we must all be branches.”
Putnam’s cause and effect of “Social Capital” and the cause and effect of a vibrant American Life utterly misses the root causes of human interaction. Metaphorically speaking he seems oblivious to the function of dirt and sunshine or seeds: the seeds of my metaphor being the function of capitalism, rugged individualism, that the governing philosophy that protected all men in their individual pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness.
I contend that there is no such thing as “Social” capital. Putnam’s presumption of social capital is really a tragic failure to identify cause and effect—which was the point of my leaves and branches, dirt and seeds metaphor. All “social” capital is really individual value being bequeathed to the group whether they have earned it or not.
Anyway, Cameron, as I said in the beginning if you are not intentionally advocating collectivism then that makes my original point that much more potent. My original point: the average church goer advocating elements of Collectivism with little or no critical review of its content, outcomes, or history.
For those of you who are interested in my take on what really drives successful social interactions? I will whet your curios mind with these thoughts. I am working through a theory on what drives successful interaction and so far I have identified these elements. This list may or may not be complete but I’m inclined to think it is pretty close.
I am not going to expand on these in this post. But I offer them as fodder for the over arching conversation. The elements of this list are biblical and eventually I will explain where they come from. For now remember, collectivism in its compulsion eliminates all of the above.
Keep your ears open dear reader for those who exhort to join the Brotherhood of Man and the sacrifice to the “Greater Good.” When you hear the collectivist crying Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, know that blood shed is just around the corner.
Happy Festivus John…
Merry Christmas to all!
John,
Please stop by survivors and say something brilliant.
Find your Tums first-you’ll need them…
[...] fuel of collectivism is our desperate need for Authentic Identity. Share and [...]
every time I read or hear “Resistance is Futile” I think of this particular post…
so for giggles sometimes I visit cakewrecks.com and this one cake made me think of this borgification post actually…. so I am sharing the link with you guys so you gets the giggles too..cause you can never laugh enough..
hopefully this link will work I don’t normally do this:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_wGr8njEWjtI/SmOCZ92fY3I/AAAAAAAADqs/CdVhWhQqpx4/s1600-h/Torren+S+(anon)+.+ow+.+spelling.JPG
oops, their site is actually cakewrecks.blogspot.com
and yeah, the link to the pic worked!….ok, enough silliness
[...] Collective Conformity [...]