Collected Essays of Valerie Lynn Stephens (Part 1)

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©2021 Valerie Lynn Stephens

ON THE MORAL IMPERATIVE OF CRITICAL THINKING NURTURANCE & DEVELOPMENT

What we refer to as ‘equilibrium’ is really a constant state of polarised flux. Or, stated another way: There is no such thing as ‘chaos’, rather, a state of invariable transition from one ‘phase’ or ‘state’ to the next. What human beings undergoing daily self-examination, growth and learning often experience can be quite frightening and painful when both exoteric and esoteric states of consciousness are misapprehended as anomaly or pathology. Indeed, this is no wonder, as steeped as Western culture has become in the Cartesian model of analysis practiced by both the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ sciences, and the so-called ‘layman’ in general. Furthermore, human beings are, by nature, both complex and fragile creatures. And this by extension also makes us both hyper-rational and irrational.

Indeed, even when we claim to be ‘rationalising’, as we say, a certain cognition and/or behaviour, we are using anything but pure logical induction and/or deduction, antiquatedly referred to as “Reason” to arrive at our conclusions. So, why is this subject so important, you may wonder? Clearer thinking is imperative because it is the cornerstone of all moral and ethical edifices and hence, a better world for all. As within, so without. That is to say, a genuine seeker of Truth and Justice will always follow suit with a refinement of their own critical thinking faculties. They do this knowing that if they improve their own understanding of themselves, others and the world at large, they will be more capable of making prosocial decisions both for themselves and, by ontologically organic extension, others.

This is why so many oppressive regimes militantly suppress any attempts by its ‘subjects’, to elevate themselves or to refine their reasoning faculties. And, this tactic of dominance and subjugation is at work in all forms of so-called ‘government’ including many ‘democracies.’ It is merely manifested and machinated in either more overt and/or covert forms. For truly, concepts such as “we the people” are, in and of themselves, subversive instruments which seek to deny and suppress the cold, hard fact of individual accountability.

The only thing that truly exists or is substantive is every individual’s choice to adhere to acts of harm or acts of help. And, a choice to embrace inaction and chronic indifference is also a choice of action. Thus, we can conclude, that intellectual refinement is absolutely essential for the continuing betterment of humanity, both individually and collectively. And while there will always be certain elements positioning themselves as the archenemy of such pursuits and intents, for those who choose the side of continued growth and learning: Be encouraged by the mire of anti-intellectualism in which you will find yourself. It means that you just may be...truly onto something.

BETWEEN REASON & FAITH:

LET US COME BEFORE HIM NOW

Romans 1:20

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

Can a rational person truly embrace the Judeo-Christian faith? The consensus is that they cannot. The consensus is that intelligence is in inverse proportion to one’s belief in those things that one cannot prove beyond the shadow of a doubt. The reductionistic stereotype of the ‘Scientist’ and the ‘Logician’ assumes that one must be engaging in some kind of ‘magical thinking’ and fallacy if they profess to believe in God.

The realm known as ‘Apologetics’ seeks to bridge, as much as is possible, this gap between Reason & Faith. It seeks to synthesize the Exoteric with the Esoteric. And indeed, many rational people begin approaching any kind of spirituality or religiosity with extreme skepticism. And this is not altogether the wrong approach. After all, the Scriptures make an allowance for honest, rigorous testing of all things, and in fact, admonish God’s children to exercise reason and discernment in all of our daily dealings.

Moreover, a descent into a kind of existential ‘Hades’ is how every believer’s faith is strengthened, refined and authenticated. The Lord answers all who seek him, and He gives wisdom to those who earnestly seek it. Asking questions, and even strongly doubting in numinous phenomena does not display a lack of faith-on the contrary, it demonstrates it! Only those who lack the humility to investigate everything because they think they know it all, are in danger of condemnation.

In Romans 1:20, we are told that God can be clearly seen in all of His creation and that no man will have an excuse in the end. I personally find it irrational to reject even a Pascalian Wager concerning the existence of a sovereign, omniscient and omnipotent Deity. Even given what little we currently have been allowed by God’s good grace to discover in the realms of Science, etc. I see plenty of evidence of the existence of God. Yet I see it, not only in the affirmatives, but in the negatives-or the lack of knowledge that our epistemological cup still runneth over with.

It seems therefore, more rational to me, (or perhaps just ‘wise’) that we lack any other equitably sufficient explanation other than what God reveals through special revelation and through general revelation through both His Word and His creation, and therefore, should not be embarrassed at all, as rational, thinking adults, to embrace the Judeo-Christian faith.

Furthermore, many mock the Judeo-Christian believer because they erroneously assume that they are merely taking the ‘easy way out’. Or they believe that they are engaging in childish naivete beyond their years. But I can attest from hard won personal experience, that choosing to follow Jesus Christ is anything but the easiest path. It is, if undertaken following a genuine conversion, that is, an entering into an intense battle between one’s basest nature and the will of God. And running this gauntlet is unlike any other than one will ever encounter.

In Ephesians, we are reminded that we are not battling against flesh and flesh, but against dark principalities which flesh alone, cannot slay. Becoming a Christian is also more of a choice to submit one’s whole being into a relationship with the Lord over all of creation who holds the power of both life and death. That, is anything but an easy commitment! That is to say, choosing to believe in God is not undertaken by genuine believers in a cavalier manner, or with an intention of escapism. On the contrary, embracing God’s will and choosing His Truth, places accountability squarely upon our fragile mortal shoulders in a way that no other so-called ‘religion’ or philosophy can or does. If that is not an indication of its authenticity, I don’t know what is. After all: What person seeking to escape reality and to abdicate their own personal responsibilities, would choose this?! None.

Moreover, even the naturalistic evidence points more and more towards the authentic historicity of the Holy Bible. Even the ‘miracles’ recorded therein, actually have naturalistic explanations, even if every little detail has not yet been revealed to us. In truth, what we refer to as ‘miracles’ are merely a manifestation of those realities (but realities nevertheless) which we cannot fully grasp. The realms of human study often referred to as ‘theoretical’, are merely ‘theory’ for the time being. Some ‘theories’ will become ‘discoveries’, and others, will merely fall by the wayside according with the will of the One who knows all, and providently guides and directs all towards his intention that all should be given a chance to repent and to return unto Him before the end.

Yes, in the end, we will all find it both wise and perfectly logical to bow before Him. But let us instead, taking a leap of both Reason and Faith, choose to come before Him at present, and He will tell us all that we need to know. And in due time, everything will make perfect sense.

INDIVIDUALISM AS COLLECTIVISM

It is often assumed by the more conformant members of any society, that the collective as placed before the individual, is of a higher moral order. And while traditionalism, in itself, does perhaps initially seek a higher moral imperative just as non-traditionalism does, the latter approach is, in the end, more holistic and sound. The issue with blind obeisance and conformity is that it fails to employ, as a kind of psycho-spiritual tool, the necessary resistance to the very system which it supports; a system that is inevitably ill-fated to transmogrify into its moral opposite in the face of human turpitude and lassitude.

Swiss philosopher and psychoanalyst Carl Jung once defined individuation as the end result of the strivings of the individual's own need to more authentically actualise itself in the face of oppressive collectivism. It is, in a sense, a psychic collection of 'scars', skills and revelations acquired in the struggle for self-mastery and fulfillment. Further, assuming that the 'individuated' and more 'actuated' self should naturally have more to contribute to society as a whole and not less, and in a much healthier and efficacious way, the latter approach of individuation over conformity more comprehensively addresses the moralistic gravitas and ethos of each individual's higher calling and needs as well as those of the society they dwell in.

TOWARDS A SOUND THEONOMY

“He who obeys God needs no other authority.”-Petr Chelčický

A true anarchist is, in truth, fiercely righteous. Further, true anarchy seeks not freedom from ALL moralistic governance, rather freedom from the unjust oppression and afflictions of petty tyranny and a false and subverted moralism, either from within or without. And, contrary to common understanding, the orthopraxis of anarchy seeks to place full accountability upon the shoulders of the individual, rather than the State or any other external agency.

Anarchy in its purest form applies the sound wisdom of self-governance tempered with and guided by the individual's keenest conscience concerning Good & Evil, and help vs. harm. A true anarchist practices not lawlessness, but rigorous moral and intellectual discipline . A true anarchist seeks to be the author not of chaos and confusion, but of symmetry and synthesis. For the purpose of endowing man with a radicalized freedom is not to empower his lowest and basest impulses, rather, to free him FROM such shackles so that he may more authentically develop his higher self and aspirations.

Moreover, a true anarchist also knows that he cannot achieve a lasting bond between his primeval self and his spiritual self without a full prostration before the ministrations and daily instructions of His Creator God. For His God is a God of perfect and ultimate Law & Order. And insofar as he leans upon the sovereign authority of the Almighty God and the Holy Spirit, is he freed from the unholy contracts of a 'freedom', both facile and ultimately, eternally and insufferably binding. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there, there! my good anarchist, awaits your true FREEDOM!

HELL-BENT ON HEAVEN

If you have not gone through Hell to find Christ, and to reach Heaven, then your Faith is most likely false. So many of the so-called 'brethren' have deceived themselves that their brand of religiosity is 'superior' to that of those who have gone down a more labyrinthine, yet authentic path towards Truth. But true faith, if it is to be both dynamic & effective, must be borne from the depths of Despair & Faithlessness. Each individual disciple must separate from the 'masses' in order to become malleable to God's will & God's will alone. Sanctification is surrender-in-action. When left to our own fallible & reprobate intellects, we merely digress. When left to our own perception & 'opinion', we get lost in the world. 'Reality' and the perception thereof may indeed be 'relative', but Truth is absolute! That is its very essence. And Truth requires nothing less than a complete prostration before the shrine of human vulnerability & reverence before the One Who authors & guides its ministrations. Therefore, dear Truth seekers, never judge yourself or others by the seeming aimlessness or curvilinearity of the peripatetic's path, but by the endurance & persistence & sincerity of its sojourner.

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