Tuesday 20 February 2018

Charlton's Second Law and things coming to a point (TCtaP)

Robert Conquest's Second Law was on the right lines - but needs revision: indeed it continues to need revision beyond my original formulation of Charlton's Second Law - this is because, here and now, we are in the situation of Things Coming to a Point (TCtaP).

That is, situations are resolving to very simple dichotomies - indeed to a single simply dichotomy: God, or something else. Thus:

Any organisation not explicitly built upon God will, sooner or later, become anti-God.

(I shan't provide 'evidence' for this, because if the evidence of everything all around you and every hour of everyday in the arena of public discourse is insufficient... well, nothing I could state here will be sufficient.)

Because Things are Coming to Point, we cannot compromise about the fundamentals - we cannot let means distract us from ends; we cannot allow supposed expedience to divert us from the fundamentals, we cannot afford to be (it is not longer prudent to be) reasonable and sensible.

Doing the Right Thing means appearing (to those doing the wrong thing) to be dumb, silly, evil, reckless.

The Left is, indeed, showing us the way - because for Leftism (which is, of course, ultimately evil) matters of expediency, efficiency, effectiveness, and so forth mean just exactly nothing. Leftism has torn down or is tearing down sex, sexuality, marriage, the family, friendship and all social institutions (the military, police, law, politics, churches, clubs, medicine, education, science... all of them)...

And this doesn't matter because the The Left is in pursuit of ultimates. Conservatives, Republicans, Libertarians - all reasonable and rational people - are, by contrast, merely arguing from expedience - arguing for efficiency, effectiveness, peace, prosperity, security, decency and other nice stuff - none of which matters ultimately, because they are all merely means to something else.

The Left knows what its goal is; but those who oppose the Left try to erect means in opposition to the Left's uncompromising goal of damnation for all (or, as many as possible). It is a pitiful mismatch.

TCtaP implies that we can only oppose the uncompromising demonic Left with God-uncompromised. God first, God at the heart of things...

2 comments:

MultiplayerMario64 said...

If things are truly coming to a point then it must be that honest Christians from different denominations have observed this from their own viewpoints. Some catholic examples from recent days:

https://dwightlongenecker.com/the-lumbering-beast-from-the-east/

https://www.crisismagazine.com/2018/put-not-trust-trusting-souls/

Bruce Charlton said...

@MM64 - Yes indeed. I was first convinced that these were the End Times by Fr Seraphim Rose, of the Russian Orthodox Church overseas. The phrase, things coming to a point, was made by CS Lewis in That Hideous Strength, and he was not making a denominational point but speaking from a Mere Christian perspective*.

TCtaP has its positive aspects - which is perhaps why God is allowing it to happen: things become very clear, sharp, dichotomous - so that our vital decisions and choices are made equally clear - and we are made to understand how much is at stake.

*(Admittedly, I suspect CSL would probably have excluded Mormon theology from Mere Christianity - on what I would regard as spurious metaphysical/ definitional grounds - but I see no evidence that he knew anything at all about Mormonism - as most people don't. It took me about five years of considerable effort to get clear about the nature of Mormon theology - at which point I embraced it as true (this was late 2012). Unsurprisingly, I am therefore not much interested in hearing/ considering the views of the great mass of people - Christians and otherwise - whose acquaintance with Mormon theology is casual and superficial, with hostile prejudice, and/ or gleaned from hostile and prejudiced sources!)