21 levels of Self-Deception: THIRD EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

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perfect, and there is no ‘journey’ to undertake, no need for ‘salvation’ or ‘redemption’ (at least in the traditional understanding of these terms). The religious may also resent the suggestion that their particular faith is exclusively narrative. Refer back though to Grace Jantzen’s idea that a ‘natal’s’ expression will be ‘performative’ — ‘…they will tell stories’, she says. I think we need new stories now. We need stories that will be understood as purely allegorical and not mixed up with history or with philosophy or theology. Alongside, we need stories of others that show grace at work. And perhaps most of all we need to weave our own encounters with the world into stories of who we are — of our own adventures in the world.

If we feel this urge to change things, then how is change best achieved? Three alternatives: Just offer a powerful alternative story. Make people heroes and heroines of a new story. Don’t change the story directly, but focus instead on changing ourselves and encouraging others to change, so that we are more likely to take up alternative ways of living. This third alternative was the focus of some of the thoughts in this book, where a process of ‘letting go’ and ‘unveiling’ of the self was encouraged as a means of realising our true identity and thus living a more conscious life in relation to others, to nature and the wider universe. Presumptive? Perhaps, but choosing the ‘unveiling’ route must come from a place of humility and the activist should begin with themselves!

Why ask people to change at all? One reason I’d offer is that we are in a very serious predicament with climate change, loss of bio-

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