The Transformation Of Consciousness

If religion was an essential part of culture in the past, it certainly is not so today. There is no doubt that personal identity has historically been deeply tied to religious practise. But if this is true of the past, then irreligion is certainly an essential component of modern and post-modern societies today. The blindness of churches to this reality is profound and manifests itself in institutions that perpetually renew their efforts as they try and get people today to accept religion in its enculturated forms as a human value. This is ridiculous. And it is also frankly disrespectful of the validity of the attitudes and beliefs of irreligious people and societies, whom religions now come to see as adversaries.

The importance of the contemplative Christian life lies precisely in the fact that it is a simple witness to the possibility of the real presence of a living God who exists and is interactive beyond the confines of religion. The devout attitudes of a bygone society may be of interest historically speaking, but they have never had any real bearing on the authenticity of what it actually means to experience Christ or to find one's place in the world.

The production of order and regulation has nothing to do with the transformation of consciousness when it comes to God.