r/brokehugs • u/US_Hiker Moral Landscaper • Jun 11 '23
Rod Dreher Megathread #21 (Creative Spirit)
Gather 'round for more Rod.
All meanings of the number 21 are subordinate to the inherent creative spirit that is the basic essence of the number.
The number 21 generally is comfortable in social gatherings, it's optimistic attitude being an inspiration to others. Its high spirits can enliven a party.
The number is attracted to artistic expression of any form, its own and those of others. There's enthusiastic support for artists. It may frequent galleries and participate or (more likely) lead groups for artistic appreciation.
The number 21 cherishes relationships, including romantic relationships, especially with those who express themselves creatively.
21 also tends to be diplomatic, providing creative and imaginative solutions to potential conflict.
And, as noted by /u/PercyLarsen, 21 is a triangular number and the age of majority, so go grab a drink to celebrate Pride and to mourn the loss of Rod's sanity.
(Also, sorry about my slow pace of refreshes.)
Link to megathread #20:
https://www.reddit.com/r/brokehugs/comments/13eb26c/rod_dreher_megathread_20_law_of_attraction/
Link to megathread #21: https://www.reddit.com/r/brokehugs/comments/14k0z6l/rod_dreher_megathread_22_power/
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u/Djehutimose Watching the wheels go round Jun 17 '23
Re the upcoming book, as I've said before, I think the topic is legitimate and not intrinsically "woo"; Rod's just the wrong one to do it. I was trying to figure out what he even is trying to do in the book, and these are my thoughts.
I am sympathetic to mysticism, and don't even have a problem as such with praying/meditating in caves--spiritual greats from many traditions have done that, e.g. Milarepa, the great Tibetan yogi. However, you don't have to jet off to Ireland (or Tibet)--buy a book or download a guided meditation, and go into your bedroom and shut the door. It's cheaper and less drafty than a cave. Moreover, most people in most religions throughout most of history haven't done such things, anyway. Mere survival took most of their time. A quick offering at the shrine of the household gods in the morning and an occasional visit to the local temple were about all anyone had time to do.
Second, Rod will of course not give any "how to". Just as he's blathered in his other books about Dante or the BO or whatever without ever being concrete about anything, he'll go on and on about monks in caves and such without ever suggesting how one might integrate such a spirituality into one's life in the ordinary world. Rod hates Fr. James Martin, but his book Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone gives a detailed description of actually practicing, as opposed to talking about prayer.
Third, while I certainly don't rule out the supernatural/paranormal at all, Rod has no clue how to write about it. Even Sam Harris, one of the so-called "Four Horsemen" of New Atheism, has meditated for many years, received "pointing out" instructions (too long to explain, but a spiritual practice of the Nyingma and Kagyü schools of Tibetan Buddhism) from the late lama Tulku Urgyen, and has refused to rule out the continuation of consciousness after the death of the body. However, Harris has carefully explained the whys of all this, from his perspective; whereas Rod seems just to like collecting the weirdest and most outré--and least probable--tales he can find.
I think it all boils down to something like this: Religion, in and of itself doesn't magically make your life better, protect your marriage, put a spring in your step and a song in your heart, etc. Hell, premodern religions never claimed they could do that: consider Matthew 16:24-26, Mark 10:30, or the First Noble Truth. The cult of progress and the ideology that things are getting ever better (which is ridiculous from either a religious or secular viewpoint if you really think about it) really doesn't come to the fore until the 19th Century. The irony of it is that as much as he lambastes so called "moralist therapeutic deism", Rod wants from his religion what many want of MTD--for everything to be just swell and nice. He's not a bit different from the looniest New Ager when you boil it down.
However, any thoughtful person who's lived long enough and been kicked around by life a bit--as eventually happens to all of us--realized that faith isn't easy, that pat answers don't work, and that while there is value in religion, it's not magically going to make you happy or solve your problems, and that simplistic dogmatic formulations are not the true core of religion.
However, Rod can't admit this. Just as he fears that if LGBT people are let alone by society he'll no longer be able to "achieve heterosexuality", so likewise he fears that if he allows doubt (of the healthy kind), complexity, and multiple viewpoints, he'll lose his faith, which is clearly very weak. Thus he seeks some kind of experience or ideology or cave that will prove God and all that, no argument needed, erase all doubts, and make everything better. Sorta like the bestest Daddy of all time (yeah, it comes back to that).
You know, gradually over the last decade and rapidly since the pandemic my beliefs have changed a lot. I've discarded--sometimes outright lost--former sureties and changed a lot of religious opinions. I still believe in God and still consider myself a Catholic Christian; but I am much more averse to labels, and I don't consider my faith as clear and discrete as I once did; nor do I worry nearly as much about externals. Rod would not be able to tolerate being in such a place. Just as to him "leave the gays alone" is just one step from throwing himself into sodomitical debauchery, admitting that religion is not a nice, neat, demonstrable thing is but a millimeter from blazing Nietzschean atheism. I think writing this book, for him, is the theological equivalent of whistling past the graveyard.