In a recent issue of Something For Nothing Idy mentions that his Christianity is considered by many to be contradictory to punk. He’s mentioned similar statements in the past. I too have been guilty of a knee-jerk dismissal of Christianity many times (not always without cause!). The public face of mainstream Xianity is often of bigotry, totalitarianism, even crypto-fascism. There is something offensive to even many tolerant Christians, “hate the sin, not the sinner” still leaves the notion that the person is a sinner. But could it be possible if there is a whole different form of Christianity that is concealed by these limited projections? Could it be that there is a left hand path to Christianity? I think there is.
It is a banality to say that Satanism is a form of Christianity, a mirror image of the worst fears of Christianity. But a group like the Process Church had a belief that was literally Christian and Satanic, a reconciliation. This group put an almost Buddhist slant on Christianity, with the idea that focusing only on the light only gives you half the experience. To achieve contact with ultimate reality (“God” if you’d like) that dark aspect of the psyche/soul must be reintegrated. The shadow self is our greatest foe when repressed and pushed away, but our greatest ally when drawn in.
The Process Church created a theology based on the idea that Lucifer and Satan had fallen, but were forgiven. The four primary figures (Jehovah, Jesus, Satan, Lucifer) were like four horsemen. Their theology was in itself apocalyptic. The Process is particularly relevant in this reconciliation of the shadow, because they are the sort of group that can scare the shit out of you. The classic picture of founder Robert DeGrimstone (as printed in Apocalypse Culture) has a terrifying intensity in his eyes. If we are to believe the conspiracy theories proposed by Ed Sanders and many others, they were the cult behind the Manson murders. To contemplate them is to contemplate the shadow.
Okay, so these are crackpot theories, loose screw history. But these concepts relate also to William Blake, who wrote poetry that might be described as Christian Anarchism (of a mystical bent). This is seen particularly in his poem “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” (1793), which also concerns the importance of oppositions. This includes passages from the perspective of Hell, which is why sometimes he is called the “Satanic school,” but that phrase is inaccurate. He was trying to expand the realm of consciousness, rather than live within half of reality, within a duality. To use his terms, to “cleanse the doors of perception” in order to remove “mind forged manacles” (maybe in the process destroying the “dark satanic mills” that were enslaving humanity).
William Blake was coming out of a larger movement of Antinomian Christians, who found themselves in confrontation with church and state (though it should be noted that Blake came out of Hermeticism, which is related to antinomian currents). For the Antinomian Christian, the chains of the law have been broken and they are absolutely free. Antinomian Anabaptists such as the Brethren of the Free Spirit, declared that the kingdom of God was in their hearts and was NOW! They declared themselves absolutely free and went to war against crown and church. At times it was bloody, which is probably why some Anabaptists, such as the Amish, adopted a pacifist position and turned inwards. Within the larger Antinomian current the confrontation continued, resulting in the spiritual anarchist position of the Ranters, Diggers, and other such groups.
Henry David Thoreau came out of the Unitarian tradition, which was explicitly Christian at the time. From this he evolved to a position of Pantheism, seeing divine vitality all throughout wild nature. This is where Thoreau found the freedom that animated his anarchism.
There is a repressed aspect of Pantheism that exists within the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. If the entire universe is divine then there was no separation. All is God.
I am not a Christian, though I at times draw inspiration from this left hand path Christianity. Of course I can’t believe as a true believer, I’m too syncretistic for that. Or maybe just too postmodern. Douglas Rushkoff has suggested that chaos magick is correct in that it doesn’t matter if beliefs are literally true, that they can still be used (even if poetic fiction), but that the Judeo Christian tradition is more alive to us than the esoteric mythos employed by most occultists. That is why Rushkoff became involved with the Jewish tradition as an adult. Maybe through figures such as Blake and Thoreau a similar project could be commenced for left hand path Christianity.
This form of Christianity could be another of the ludic anarchist spiritual traditions that provide sustenance. It could sit there alongside our Discordianism and Yellow Turban Taoism. In its pantheistic form it is easily reconciled with our paganism. Clearly it would be heresy to the televangelist types. Good. Their form of Christianity is the enemy, it is Babylon. Science fiction novelist Philip K Dick had a series of visions in which he saw that we were still living in the Roman Empire, that Romans had created this illusion to protect the reign of the demiurge. Time had been stopped. All we had to do was dispel this illusion and time would start again, Jesus would return, and destroy Rome. Was Dick crazy? Yes, but like a Fox. So let’s bring Blake and Dick in as profits. Turn Noble Drew Ali and Emma Goldman into saints. The chains of the law have been broken, we are absolutely free.