My initial thoughts run to my (bloody, lethal) experiments with ChatGPT, and how I was able to trip it up with certain ontic traps. "Real" versus "not-real" was a recurrent theme, because these are much trickier concepts than they appear to be at first glance. The machine dug around for analogies, but could only reproduce materialist dichotomies (e.g. physical/non-physical, material/immaterial, factual/fictional, etc.) Dangerous terrain, for a thing that's been designed to simulate a mind. But dangerous terrain for actual minds, too.
Without delving into my own cosmology, I can say that my essay about "aliens" was more of an extended thought experiment than a specific claim about origin. I do think what I wrote is a possible -- and maybe even the likely -- explanation for the evidence, but the point I was trying to make was more about the deception itself, which you do a very good job of exploring here. Illusions are primary weapons of Evil. That's not the same as saying the entities who wield them aren't real. any more than we could claim the magician on the stage isn't real.
As you mention, the most important illusion isn't flying pottery or little grey men. Those could be manifested in "normal" material structure just the same as any other consciousness The trick -- just like the trick on the stage -- is inherent in the misdirection. We are trained and groomed to look up instead of down, look right instead of left. Or, in many cases, to look both ways until we're cross-eyed and dizzy.
In any case, I agree that the other component of the spell is the attention magnet, of the kind that turns mere curiosity into obsession, fear, paranoia. Or, even worse, into foolish reverence for the devil's latest toys and puppets. It happens with politicians too, and with ideologies. If something is occupying a huge slice of your time and attention with no benefits to reap and no actionable knowledge gained, that's likely a signal that you're being somehow deceived and misled, by someone or something that doesn't have your best interests at heart (to say the least).
Thanks. I didn't mention him here, and only remembered him after writing this, but have you ever listened to Jonathan Pageau? He has a related take here on all the "intelligences" (UFOs and AI alike) that we are reaching out toward but in some sense feel like they are reaching out to us, that we think we can control, but which are in fact controlling us.
I don't want to be overly relativistic here, but perhaps many of those dichotomies are far less fundamental than we have grown accustomed to thinking. Jordan Peterson hints at this well (albeit dangerously) with his approach to Scripture. Of course, there is a literalness to the Bible but the "un-literalness", the metaphorical, mythical, etc. meanings matter to, as Peterson points out to the neglect of the literal. Even if King Arthur never existed, he had a real effect on the development and self-consciousness of England and the English. Even if Achilles isn't "real" "he" has had more of an impact on the "West" than most of us will have (at least on this side of the veil).
From a more narrowly Christianity-focused perspective, I'm studying and debating with many different types of theological traditionalists who all claim to be right but spend all their time anathematizing each other. Each individual is probably well-intentioned, and I certainly hope so since I'm doing it too, but the problem here too is that rather than spending most of our time actually spreading the faith and building a relationship with God, we spend it neutralizing each other, and in doing so, I believe, playing into the devil's trap as you note there concerning ideologies.
A very prominent occultist named Alice Bailey wrote an influential book called, ‘The Reappearance of the Christ.’
Her thesis was very similar to your own, which is that the devil will mock the incarnation of the real Christ by becoming physically manifest as “Jesus.”
He will be the “second coming” of Christ, performing miracles and bringing the world together in peace through a Christ consciousness of inclusive love. Real Christians (paulites as she calls true believers) will be eliminated because they will know the deception.
It’s a very interesting read, and perhaps an accurate account of what will occur.
But you’re right, we need to focus on Him, not the enemy.
Thanks. I'd imagine a "fake Christ" in the vein of the Grand Inquisitor. The devil ultimately can't be completely new, he operates through perverted mimesis, but he also isn't that good of an imitator. He won't completely imitate Christ, he will also invert Him.
When I was little (8-10) the sight of a humanoid form that looked like a grey or fetoid would terrify me - like adrenaline , skin tingling , hands shaking , want to hide. They still creep me out reflexively. Bisone’s dark fallen ones finally made that make sense, Along with the other article about Neanderthals.
Mark's take lines up with the way several theology professors I had (speculatively) united Scripture (Genesis and Leviticus) with historical anthropology.
If there were a lot of questionably human beings running around back at the time of Adam and Eve and their immediate descendants, no matter whether you call them Nephilim or call them Neanderthals, then Genesis and a lot of the prescriptions in Leviticus start making a lot more sense.
I don't think I've read his article on Neanderthals yet, I need to check that out.
Can you imagine a future gene therapy push (vaccination campaign) where instead of making spike proteins, they make mRNA that incorporates into the human genome - that makes DMT?
Good stuff. Thanks for the mention.
My initial thoughts run to my (bloody, lethal) experiments with ChatGPT, and how I was able to trip it up with certain ontic traps. "Real" versus "not-real" was a recurrent theme, because these are much trickier concepts than they appear to be at first glance. The machine dug around for analogies, but could only reproduce materialist dichotomies (e.g. physical/non-physical, material/immaterial, factual/fictional, etc.) Dangerous terrain, for a thing that's been designed to simulate a mind. But dangerous terrain for actual minds, too.
Without delving into my own cosmology, I can say that my essay about "aliens" was more of an extended thought experiment than a specific claim about origin. I do think what I wrote is a possible -- and maybe even the likely -- explanation for the evidence, but the point I was trying to make was more about the deception itself, which you do a very good job of exploring here. Illusions are primary weapons of Evil. That's not the same as saying the entities who wield them aren't real. any more than we could claim the magician on the stage isn't real.
As you mention, the most important illusion isn't flying pottery or little grey men. Those could be manifested in "normal" material structure just the same as any other consciousness The trick -- just like the trick on the stage -- is inherent in the misdirection. We are trained and groomed to look up instead of down, look right instead of left. Or, in many cases, to look both ways until we're cross-eyed and dizzy.
In any case, I agree that the other component of the spell is the attention magnet, of the kind that turns mere curiosity into obsession, fear, paranoia. Or, even worse, into foolish reverence for the devil's latest toys and puppets. It happens with politicians too, and with ideologies. If something is occupying a huge slice of your time and attention with no benefits to reap and no actionable knowledge gained, that's likely a signal that you're being somehow deceived and misled, by someone or something that doesn't have your best interests at heart (to say the least).
Thanks. I didn't mention him here, and only remembered him after writing this, but have you ever listened to Jonathan Pageau? He has a related take here on all the "intelligences" (UFOs and AI alike) that we are reaching out toward but in some sense feel like they are reaching out to us, that we think we can control, but which are in fact controlling us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h79SINKwmjA
I don't want to be overly relativistic here, but perhaps many of those dichotomies are far less fundamental than we have grown accustomed to thinking. Jordan Peterson hints at this well (albeit dangerously) with his approach to Scripture. Of course, there is a literalness to the Bible but the "un-literalness", the metaphorical, mythical, etc. meanings matter to, as Peterson points out to the neglect of the literal. Even if King Arthur never existed, he had a real effect on the development and self-consciousness of England and the English. Even if Achilles isn't "real" "he" has had more of an impact on the "West" than most of us will have (at least on this side of the veil).
From a more narrowly Christianity-focused perspective, I'm studying and debating with many different types of theological traditionalists who all claim to be right but spend all their time anathematizing each other. Each individual is probably well-intentioned, and I certainly hope so since I'm doing it too, but the problem here too is that rather than spending most of our time actually spreading the faith and building a relationship with God, we spend it neutralizing each other, and in doing so, I believe, playing into the devil's trap as you note there concerning ideologies.
Excellent article.
A very prominent occultist named Alice Bailey wrote an influential book called, ‘The Reappearance of the Christ.’
Her thesis was very similar to your own, which is that the devil will mock the incarnation of the real Christ by becoming physically manifest as “Jesus.”
He will be the “second coming” of Christ, performing miracles and bringing the world together in peace through a Christ consciousness of inclusive love. Real Christians (paulites as she calls true believers) will be eliminated because they will know the deception.
It’s a very interesting read, and perhaps an accurate account of what will occur.
But you’re right, we need to focus on Him, not the enemy.
Thanks. I'd imagine a "fake Christ" in the vein of the Grand Inquisitor. The devil ultimately can't be completely new, he operates through perverted mimesis, but he also isn't that good of an imitator. He won't completely imitate Christ, he will also invert Him.
When I was little (8-10) the sight of a humanoid form that looked like a grey or fetoid would terrify me - like adrenaline , skin tingling , hands shaking , want to hide. They still creep me out reflexively. Bisone’s dark fallen ones finally made that make sense, Along with the other article about Neanderthals.
Mark's take lines up with the way several theology professors I had (speculatively) united Scripture (Genesis and Leviticus) with historical anthropology.
If there were a lot of questionably human beings running around back at the time of Adam and Eve and their immediate descendants, no matter whether you call them Nephilim or call them Neanderthals, then Genesis and a lot of the prescriptions in Leviticus start making a lot more sense.
I don't think I've read his article on Neanderthals yet, I need to check that out.
Can you imagine a future gene therapy push (vaccination campaign) where instead of making spike proteins, they make mRNA that incorporates into the human genome - that makes DMT?
I don't know if we can be sure that that hasn't already been a feature of the original COVID "vaccines"
Maybe some batch numbers 🤔
Even as many of those who were against the vaccine (Rogan, etc,) go all in on psychedelics…
Thank you!