Post #4023194

2026-07-23 00:45 UTC

It has not been possible to squelch what seems to be an innate human desire to seek gnostic and mystical experiences, and a corresponding tendency to regard the visible world as only part of the story. The notion of "the veil" in Western discourse, construed as an intangible barrier that prevents the ordinary human being from perceiving that which lies outside or beyond direct human perception, is a long-established and powerful one. Hence as Christianity has become ever dryer and more like a mere business or religious bureaucracy, a thing chiefly intended to lay down rules for humans to obey, belief in the mystical has flared up to occupy the spiritual void. Needless to say, all attempts to stifle this natural curiosity about mysticism only backfire. The harder the Christian authorities amp up their repression and indoctrination, the more people have come to believe that they're hiding something or they don't actually have the spiritual answers. (cont'd)

Replies (1)

@mxchara@seattle.pink 2026-07-23 00:57

It's a little appreciated fact that "Western" #science grew up in concert with Christianity. European universities existed first for the purpose of training up people to make better priests and clerks and lawyers; only later did universities come to be seen as seats for teaching all academic and technical subjects. Many of the earlier scientific investigators were Christian priests for these persons were likely to be the best educated and have the greatest accessibility to resources (not to mention free time for study and research.) But then came the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, which was prompted chiefly by the war of authority between the established Church and secular rulers who didn't like that the Church had grown into a storehouse and arbiter of scientific knowledge, as one sees in the fight over defining the Solar System. (cont'd)

Open ##4023349