[Now, let me consider particulars:
“The definitional exclusion of divine causation1” makes “empirical inquiry2” possible.
“Empirical inquiry2” situates “this definitional exclusion1”.
“Divine Providence3” brings “empirical inquiry2” into relation with “the possibilities inherent in divine causation1”.
“Divine Providence3” puts “empirical inquiry2” into context.]
Comment on pg. 22 continued from last blog.
[Here is my technical way of phrasing what I said in the last few blogs.
Religion exists in the realms of mediation3 and possibility1. Science exists, by definition, in the realm of actuality2.
The relation between the two is not exclusive. In other words, the phrase “science versus religion” is a red herring, a false trail, and an invalid opposition.
The relation between religion and science has the same nested structure as the relation between religion and sovereign power.
Religion1 makes science2 possible.
Science2 situates religion1.
Religion3 brings science2 into relation with the possibilities of religion1.
Religion3 puts science2 into context.]
[There are advantages for insisting that God and nature are exclusive, especially when Modern Progressives are on the side of “reason” and “scientific advance”, which are just other words for “scientific inquiry”.
Progressives grasp for sovereign power in order to institute their secular expertise, their “reason”, thus constituting their Public Cult for the Promulgation of Reason, under the Guidance of Nature, not God.
Their apparent opponents are derided as thinkanti-reason and consciencesuperstition.
Even scientists get the scapegoat label if they do not support the “reasonable” political causes, which are “scientific” only because “they rigorously exclude superstitions like Christianity”.
Once the Public Cult of Progressivism declares that “any thinkgroup that rigorously excludes superstitions like Christianity” is “based on reason”, the parody of science comes full circle.
Wicca priestesses and Sociology Professors are two thinkgroups that rigorously exclude superstitions like Christianity. Both are, by definition, “scientific”.]
[Why do Modern Progressives imagine that God and nature are exclusive?
In the previous blog, I listed the dynamic sets of differences that ground the Progressive Symbolic Order.
Note how, with each generation, the differences become more and more deceptive. Words shift meaning. Does “scientific advance” equal “scientific inquiry”? Progressives will use the terms interchangeably. The same goes with “divine action” and “superstition”.
Deceptive? Yes, because “excluding divine action” does not eliminate “superstition”. It transforms “superstition”.
“Reason” does not guarantee “scientific advance”, especially when the arena of “reason” is limited (by the sovereign) through certification. Did all those scientists in the Soviet Union not have stellar credentials?]
[Here are the generations of dichotomies of the Progressive imagination.
Remember, the (perhaps unconscious) goal is to deny that the moral religious and philosophical natural nested forms intersect.
First generation of oppositions:
divine action (must be excluded): scientific inquiry
Second generation of oppositions:
divine action (must be excluded): scientific advance
Third generation of oppositions:
superstition (must be excluded): reason
Fourth generation of oppositions:
Christianity (must be excluded): Modern Progressivism]
[So why do Moderns constantly imagine that God and nature are exclusive?
Well, they want to deny that the moral religious and the philosophical natural nested forms intersect. They do so in a very entertaining way:
Modern Progressives parody the exclusion of divine causation that is fundamental to modern science.
For modern science, this exclusion limits the realm of scientific knowledge to Peirce’s category of Secondness: that is, to brute force, cause and effect, and dyadic interactions. Even chaos theory, where a single event can yield dramatically different outcomes (depending on the initial conditions) is scientific in this regard.
In order to parody this, Modern Genius starts by overlaying the distinct actualities of “a methodological exclusion of divine action (that limits scientific knowledge to the study of actuality2 alone)” and “scientific advance”, with the apparent opposites of “superstition” and “reason”.
“Exclusion of divine action” is paired with “against superstition”.
“Scientific advance” is paired with “reason”.
Only one more association is needed: Christianity is “superstition” and Modern Progressivism is “reason”.]
Summary of text [comment] page 22
Schoonenberg stated that sin is not against God’s will about our nature, but against God’s will and wisdom expressed in our nature.
He then immediately added a caveat concerning essentialism. Sin is against “essential laws” of natural and supernatural reality. Sin is against positive laws insofar as they (the positive laws) are justified by these essential laws.
[Schoonenberg artfully waffles. What does he mean? Here is my guess.
Sin is an action that is contextualized along the doubled axis of thinkdivine/thinkgroup and along a Real axis of lawessential.
Thinkdivine and thinkgroup are exclusive (to some extent).
Think and lawessential intersect.
Therefore, God and nature are not exclusive. The nested forms of God and nature intersect.
Thinkdivine acknowledges the essential laws (natural and supernatural Realness).
Thinkgroup expresses the organizational responses to that Realness through positive laws.]
Summary of text [comment] page 22
[The Sadducees could not execute alleged zealots. Why? They did not hold sovereign power. The Romans did. This explains the political manipulation of the Roman Governor in the execution of Jesus.
In addition, the Pharisees and other elites played a game of shunting dissatisfaction with their own sovereigninfra religion into hatred of their military overlords, the Romans.
They succeeded only too well. Typical of sovereigninfra religions, they were not aware of the consequences of their actions.
The Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Was the fall of the second temple an exercise in lawessential?]
Summary of text [comment] page 22
[So why do infrasovereign religions project thinkanti-object and consciencemost foul onto innocent people?
First, it goes with thinkpro-object and consciencemost_wonderful. Imagine how liberating one must feel once one has “the solution”.
Second, it strikes fear into those who sort of belong to the organization . You know, the ones that do not want to be stigmatized and hope to get along. These subjects are scared into conformity. Conformity reduces political resistance.
Be skeptical of show trials. Be skeptical of golden calves who say, “Why can’t we all just get along.”]
Summary of text [comment] page 22
[At the time of Jesus, the Jewish sovereigninfra religion was focused on ritual purity. “Ritual purity” was “the objective that brought all individuals into organization”.
The Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes constituted a sovereigninfra religion that dictated which buttons fit the buttonhole of ritual purity.
To the extent that they achieved sovereign power, all other factions were declared to be “without buttonholes or buttons”.
If anyone claimed to have an alternate, the Pharisees stigmatized them. The offenders adhered to false doctrines (projected thinkimpure) and harbored evil intents (conscienceimpure).]
