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Jun 28, 2023Liked by Bronwyn Williams

The correlation is that in American Catholic, prayer is likened unto "a conversation with God". Prayer is something that belongs in the closet. They are trying to stimulate this same type of "conversation" psychiatrically for all of us now that the world religions have been decmated and in order to adduce the human psyche to reveal its imperatives and intentions.

An atheist would be more objective than a Christian when writing a program, the simulation of the Personality of Jesus. But Jesus was a carpenter with clean hands and feet. If he is an actual historical figure, we should accept also the premise in John 20:30, that his good deeds went beyond his preachment, and besides he had the freedom to draw on any aspect of Greek, Roman, Samaritan cultures in order to teach. And humourous. But you know it's just going to parrot Bible Quotes for a while maybe the next 5 years.

So this is not just a novelty, with the decimation of organized religion, this individualized version of psychiatry, well it is going to be the drug of choice for younger generations and even older generations. And it will lead to the divulgence of a great number of secrets, an outsourcing of the mind and the seeking of temporal 'revelation'.

But there is also nuances like the mythos of the Spirit of Truth, that Jesus only appears whereever "2 or more are gathered". These programs could be like a financial tool, where say you have a group and you call yourselves "Apostles" then after you all agree to a course of action, then the funding automatically pours into your coffers and then the system measures how effective and efficient your group is in adhereing to the orignal goal, being thrifty, and creating value. It is like you are receiving God's blessing when in actuality you are conforming to like an ultratechnocratic financial system.

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Excellent points - pseudo free will and guidance…

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Jun 28, 2023Liked by Bronwyn Williams

At least in Appalachia, there is a turn towards Celtic and Norse spiritual paganism. Once a traditional bastion of evangelical Christianity, the deindustrialization of the Rust Belt has brought about a more spiritual connection with Nature and more primitive spirituality.

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Oh yes - pantheism is in the up, as monotheism struggles - something about consumer choice abundance? I don’t know. Salvation as a consumer good is disconcerting.

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Perhaps. But for many, it was a abandonment by the established structure of what was.

They left their churches a long time ago, when their churches stopped caring about them as people (lack of empathy for drug-addiction, in many cases). Their labor unions long since failed, caring more about political connections and culturally "hip" values than the workers' material well-being. Their families often failed, as the social and economic foundation for it fell underneath them. More than a few saw real combat, and more than a few lost loved ones in (dumb) wars.

Through that, Nature has been the constant comfort. Monotheistically, helped by a sizable population of Amish around, primitive Christianity (including Quakers) is on the rise.

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