I have argued that the future of Christianity lies in direct knowledge rather than submissive obedience to external sources of Christian authority (or any authority).
This does not entail that all sources of external Christian authority must be indiscriminately jettisoned; however, such external sources should be regarded as secondary concerning matters of knowing that must be tested against direct knowledge.
External sources are information sources, meaning they are sources of secondary thought. Left to their own devices, they do little but “form” thought. As such, sources of secondary thinking are truth as knowledge of reality, while primary thinking is truth as reality itself.
Secondary thinking is the objective and external imposing upon the knowledge-seeking subject via reflections or symbols. Primary thinking, on the other hand, is more akin to the creative discovery of the subject-within encountering the subject-outwith, igniting the sort of knowledge that results in a non-symbolic and creative transfiguration of reality.
The significance of direct knowledge over secondary knowledge is particularly pressing in this time and place, with its ubiquitous mass/social media and the advent of AI, yet even strict reliance on long-trusted external sources like the Bible no longer fully serves, as demonstrated by the blogger below who, four years ago, argued that Christians have no legitimate opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
How did said blogger reach such definitive conclusions? Through secondary Christian sources and secondary thinking, of course.
Here’s a sample of his reasoning:
Problem 1: The “Christian liberty” appeal is not applicable to a federal mandate by a governing authority, and thus each of these arguments misses the mark and is simply irrelevant.
Paul says in Romans 13:1-2, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”
Additionally, 1 Peter 2:13 says, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.”
This does not entail that all sources of external Christian authority must be indiscriminately jettisoned; however, such external sources should be regarded as secondary concerning matters of knowing that must be tested against direct knowledge.
External sources are information sources, meaning they are sources of secondary thought. Left to their own devices, they do little but “form” thought. As such, sources of secondary thinking are truth as knowledge of reality, while primary thinking is truth as reality itself.
Secondary thinking is the objective and external imposing upon the knowledge-seeking subject via reflections or symbols. Primary thinking, on the other hand, is more akin to the creative discovery of the subject-within encountering the subject-outwith, igniting the sort of knowledge that results in a non-symbolic and creative transfiguration of reality.
The significance of direct knowledge over secondary knowledge is particularly pressing in this time and place, with its ubiquitous mass/social media and the advent of AI, yet even strict reliance on long-trusted external sources like the Bible no longer fully serves, as demonstrated by the blogger below who, four years ago, argued that Christians have no legitimate opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
How did said blogger reach such definitive conclusions? Through secondary Christian sources and secondary thinking, of course.
Here’s a sample of his reasoning:
Problem 1: The “Christian liberty” appeal is not applicable to a federal mandate by a governing authority, and thus each of these arguments misses the mark and is simply irrelevant.
Paul says in Romans 13:1-2, “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”
Additionally, 1 Peter 2:13 says, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.”
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