The antidote and ultimate vaccine for secularism is unseen reality. As I become increasingly aware of the influence of disenchantment, engaging unseen reality …”what is true and real” is crucial.
In my previous post I confessed to the influence of secularism, aka disenchantment, in my life. I am increasingly convinced that disenchantment is a source of dysfunction in my relationship with God. I choose disenchantment rather than secularism to describe my malady because secularism carries baggage which distracts from the core issue of disenchantment. I feel as though I have “hit the tar baby” and am grappling with a “Gordian knot”. ( my apologies for mixed metaphors) In this and succeeding posts, I want to share my struggle.
To reiterate, my struggle is not about losing my soul, it is about receiving God’s gratuity of abundant life.
Here are some definitions and thoughts:
Disenchantment: (my interpretation)
The ethos of our secular culture, the result of the Enlightenment and the Age of Reason… science, technology, and skepticism rule. Devoid of transcendence, all that is left with is individual preferences and choices. Only the material is real.
Enchantment:Pre-modern ethos dominated by supernatural forces, witchcraft, and ghosts. A world full of thin places, where the border between this world and the Other world was porous and leaky. People could be demon possessed or afflicted by witches. The night was full of occult menace and magic. Black cats were bad luck.
Both disenchantment and enchantment are worthy of deeper investigation, but from my cursory explanations, here are some observations:
- Scripture and its historical events occurred in the pre-modern context of enchantment.
- Enchantment, as described above, is illegitimate in our disenchanted culture.
- Although there is a great deal of interest in enchantment, i.e. superheroes, fantasy, science fiction, most people would disavow any reality for them, we have special categories for those who do not.
- Disenchantment rejects transcendence, paradoxically people continue to seek transcendence in their lives.
- Transcendence is the core of Christianity. Without transcendence, Christianity becomes a religious commodity, void of meaning and purpose.
Deeply shaped by the ethos of secular culture, engagement with transcendence is nonsensical, We are like fish, swimming in the waters of secular culture, blind to other reality. That cultural reality is the basis for “disenchantment” being the greatest challenge to a relationship with God.
Early on, disenchantment molded my understandings and practices. Exemplified by a secessionist view of the Holy Spirit, disenchanting the Spirit and relegating her work to a cerebral exercise. Additionally, incapable of embracing the mystery of Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper was observed as a memorial feast, avoiding any illusion to the presence Christ.
Various encounters during my spiritual journey have exposed the tension between disenchantment and enchantment, creating a nagging dissonance which is being revealed in these posts. Here are some things I am pondering:
To what extent has disenchantment (secularism) distorted my understanding of scripture?
Does believing something to be true make it real?
Is it possible my belief is a mirage, true but unreal?
Accepting the antidote and ultimate vaccine for secularism is unseen reality, how do I see unseen reality?
Why does it matter ?
Future posts will probe these questions.
Still on the journey