Hi Richard, still a faithful reader - I've come over to your Substack so that I can comment more easily.
I think you need to be very careful with definitions and explanations here, especially if you intend to stay within the bounds of orthodox Christianity (notice small "o"). So far, I can see that there would be a limited amount of space to do some considering of the issue, as in the origins of the archetypes of the tarot cards. What I wonder is, although the author of the book is Catholic,, as is, I believe, Morello, why is this bubbling up now?
My best friend, who succumbed to breast cancer a few years ago, started out as an Evangelical and became very interested in EOrthodoxy. I thought she would follow me into Orthodoxy, but she didn't. She had some large fears, one of which I think was that Orthodox priests wouldn't be able to deal with some of her beliefs that were out at the edge. She was both right and wrong; some - maybe most - wouldn't have been, but some certainly would. We drifted apart her last few years, but she kept in touch enough to tell me about her foray into Christian esotericism; she even had a Teacher in our small town. She had a dx of CPTSD stemming from some very adverse experiences she had had, and I think one of her large fears was that God was not interested in, or not capable of, defending her from the real evil spirits/powers that are out there. Her situation was very complicated, and she never really came to the place of trust in her own safety in God's universe (Dallas Willard), but I think her Evangelical-only background (she was raised in a fairly militantly atheistic home) didn't allow much room for guardian angels and the intercessions of the saints, though I think intellectually she was not opposed. Her lived experiences made her seek the esotericism alternative, because it promised her some power/control over her unseen environment.
So I wonder if, in the world of so much uncertainty and evident evil happenings that people are perhaps noticing more now than in (esp) America's post-WWII past, Western Christians are groping for something that is qualitatively different than the materialism in which we have swum for so long, and this is one way it's showing up.
"...the Christian imagination, especially in Protestantism, has become excessively materialistic and moralistic." Not to mention politcized. Yep, you were freaking me out there at first, brother, but I calmed down by the time I got to the end of your post.
Speaking of keeping Christianity weird, have you read Michael Frost's book "Keep Christianity Weird"?
And last, but not least... "lay your cards on the table" -- haha I get it!
That said, one of the best reasons to just simply not go "there" is out of love and respect for our weaker brothers and sisters, so as to not confuse and disillusion someone who does not have the maturity or intellectual flexibility to place a discussion such as this in its proper context.
Sacred magic, ritual, and the braced body re-learning it’s safe to be enchanted again. This is exactly where my signal hums. Grateful you’re daring the weird.
I’m looking forward to this series! I am very curious about this. “Magic” spans a wide variety of beliefs and applications, and I look forward to a thoughtful and nuanced discussion.
I have a daughter who is very attracted to the edges of Christianity, especially in Reiki and other healing practices. This concerns me, perhaps unjustly. I look forward to your analysis.
As you said, a large hurdle is just going to be defining 'magic'; it's much too broad of a definition currently to be helpful in this materialist culture of ours. Generally I lean towards magic as being that which is (1) supernatural and (2) evil, but we are so material as a culture and have been for so long that the biggest issue faced here is seeing things as supernatural just because the natural explanations have been forgotten.
I finished "Hunting Magic Eels" a few weeks ago - it was very helpful as I think about parenting a kid into Christian faith and being with close friends who've given up on Christianity because it doesn't seem to jive with the rationalistic worldview their science education instilled in them.
I had an interesting conversation with my seven year old about angels the other day - she asked me "why doesn't God just watch over me? Why do we need angels?" From a rationalistic perspective I agree with her, I'm not sure the cosmology of the Hebrew Bible is actually real in any sense; but it is necessary to engage with it to stretch our minds to the infinite distances the Kingdom of Heaven actually contains.
Hi Richard, still a faithful reader - I've come over to your Substack so that I can comment more easily.
I think you need to be very careful with definitions and explanations here, especially if you intend to stay within the bounds of orthodox Christianity (notice small "o"). So far, I can see that there would be a limited amount of space to do some considering of the issue, as in the origins of the archetypes of the tarot cards. What I wonder is, although the author of the book is Catholic,, as is, I believe, Morello, why is this bubbling up now?
My best friend, who succumbed to breast cancer a few years ago, started out as an Evangelical and became very interested in EOrthodoxy. I thought she would follow me into Orthodoxy, but she didn't. She had some large fears, one of which I think was that Orthodox priests wouldn't be able to deal with some of her beliefs that were out at the edge. She was both right and wrong; some - maybe most - wouldn't have been, but some certainly would. We drifted apart her last few years, but she kept in touch enough to tell me about her foray into Christian esotericism; she even had a Teacher in our small town. She had a dx of CPTSD stemming from some very adverse experiences she had had, and I think one of her large fears was that God was not interested in, or not capable of, defending her from the real evil spirits/powers that are out there. Her situation was very complicated, and she never really came to the place of trust in her own safety in God's universe (Dallas Willard), but I think her Evangelical-only background (she was raised in a fairly militantly atheistic home) didn't allow much room for guardian angels and the intercessions of the saints, though I think intellectually she was not opposed. Her lived experiences made her seek the esotericism alternative, because it promised her some power/control over her unseen environment.
So I wonder if, in the world of so much uncertainty and evident evil happenings that people are perhaps noticing more now than in (esp) America's post-WWII past, Western Christians are groping for something that is qualitatively different than the materialism in which we have swum for so long, and this is one way it's showing up.
Dana
"...the Christian imagination, especially in Protestantism, has become excessively materialistic and moralistic." Not to mention politcized. Yep, you were freaking me out there at first, brother, but I calmed down by the time I got to the end of your post.
Speaking of keeping Christianity weird, have you read Michael Frost's book "Keep Christianity Weird"?
And last, but not least... "lay your cards on the table" -- haha I get it!
That said, one of the best reasons to just simply not go "there" is out of love and respect for our weaker brothers and sisters, so as to not confuse and disillusion someone who does not have the maturity or intellectual flexibility to place a discussion such as this in its proper context.
I think the subject of "sacred magic" might fit into the ongoing battle over icons, that started within the Byzantine church.
Sacred magic, ritual, and the braced body re-learning it’s safe to be enchanted again. This is exactly where my signal hums. Grateful you’re daring the weird.
I’m looking forward to this series! I am very curious about this. “Magic” spans a wide variety of beliefs and applications, and I look forward to a thoughtful and nuanced discussion.
I have a daughter who is very attracted to the edges of Christianity, especially in Reiki and other healing practices. This concerns me, perhaps unjustly. I look forward to your analysis.
As you said, a large hurdle is just going to be defining 'magic'; it's much too broad of a definition currently to be helpful in this materialist culture of ours. Generally I lean towards magic as being that which is (1) supernatural and (2) evil, but we are so material as a culture and have been for so long that the biggest issue faced here is seeing things as supernatural just because the natural explanations have been forgotten.
I finished "Hunting Magic Eels" a few weeks ago - it was very helpful as I think about parenting a kid into Christian faith and being with close friends who've given up on Christianity because it doesn't seem to jive with the rationalistic worldview their science education instilled in them.
I had an interesting conversation with my seven year old about angels the other day - she asked me "why doesn't God just watch over me? Why do we need angels?" From a rationalistic perspective I agree with her, I'm not sure the cosmology of the Hebrew Bible is actually real in any sense; but it is necessary to engage with it to stretch our minds to the infinite distances the Kingdom of Heaven actually contains.