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

T W E N T Y - O N E L E V E L S

the name of ‘progress’ and ‘development’. Now it is time to reverse this trend — to give back priority to the flora and fauna and to live more modestly on the Earth. There might be an element of sacrifice — to give up some of the convenience of fast travel, colossal building projects and high-tech gadgetry for a simpler, gentler, quieter life. But it is sacrifice only in the sense that the modern world has become an addiction. Sacrificing this would lead to the renewed abundance of nature. The pleasures for which sacrifices are made might be restored nature. It might be a people restored to themselves in mind, body and soul instead of split apart by a financial economy and by consumer capitalism that have become completely abstracted from real life. Our pleasure might be deeper, slower pleasures in contrast to the superficial fun that is snatched between work that is loathed. There might be worshippers of beauty, silence, slowness, peace, grace, kindness, conversation, humour, art, celebration and carnival.

Religion obviously offers an allure to supernatural power! We like the idea (some of us) that the supernatural could impinge on nature. We like the thought that God could choose to intervene in human affairs. And perhaps, at the root of this, we like the thought that us frail humans could have a say and an influence on the supernatural world. That is an almost irresistible and charismatic prospect of power! So, yes, there will always be religion, I suspect. Reducing the mysterian to normal reality robs a lot of people of their cherished beliefs of interacting with the infinite!

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