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January 4, 2007 at 13:29:39

How Globalism Materially Corrupts and Eviscerates Spirituality (Part 1)

by Christopher Patton Page 3 of 3 page(s)

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The Roman system of combined and/or mutually supportive political and spiritual governance was reinvented and applied to medieval Europe by Charlemagne around 800, who combined his empire with control over the Roman Church to create the Holy Roman Empire. Through much of its history since then, the Roman Catholic Church has used its power to uphold the rule of political monarchs and despots and generally did not tolerate other Christian traditions. Through many inquisitions over the centuries, the Church brought political power to bear against competing faiths in exchange for opposing her champion's competing politicians. One hand helped the other as established by Charlemagne.

A thousand years after Charlemagne, Napoleon renewed and improved upon the Roman Empire model in extending France's dominion over the European continent. No only did he modernize the governing bureaucracy along with the army, Napoleon managed to get himself "elected" Emperor. He introduced the practice of giving the people the illusion that they had a hand in determining who ruled them and what their fates would be.

Since Napoleon, the world has lurched through one imperious nation-state empire to another. After two named World Wars, Globalism now clothes itself with international organizations. Some of them are multi-national corporations, and others are non-government organizations – usually non-profit charities initially funded and controlled by elite families. Finally, we have experience the rapid growth of international committees or councils of nation states. Some examples are the regional trade and tariff zones such as the European Union, NAFTA, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A number of organizations also work towards religious unity in conjunction with various global organizations such as the United Nations.

Looking ahead in time, the trend of Globalism is towards increased central control of power over the entire planet. If it follows the historical pattern, there will be an impression of democratic input, but the actual governance will emerge from public and private competition between the wealthy and powerful elite of this age. There will be an illusion of great peace and prosperity that mandate political stability. We can expect official encouragement for a unified religious organization to enforce support of global institutions in the name of tolerance. As I will next discuss, it will actually be a materialistic form of spirituality that presents the image of truth and liberty, even as it suppresses the creative development of a genuinely balanced and healthy spirituality.

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2 comments

Graduated from a Bible college, majoring in theology and psychology. Currently working on Ed.D. in counseling psychology.
David TeachoutGraduated from a Bible college, majoring in theology and psychology. Currently working on Ed.D. in counseling psychology.

interpretive problems

Anytime someone starts using phrases like "proper interpretation" my ears perk up because undoubtedly it indicates that someone wishes to ignore opposing opinions. In point of fact, there IS NO "proper" interpretation of scripture and there are many other viable alternative interpretations than the rather modern anachronistic interpretive schema you are using.

While I certainly agree with you on the problems of globalization, I'm not at all convinced by your rather odd interpretation of historical events. Indeed, one could as I am doing right now, point out that the problem isn't globablization, but rather the desire in certain people (perhaps even in the human specie itself) to gravitate towards authoritarianism. I can quite easily imagine a globalized economy and gov.'t that does not require absolutism, which is something you seem to say is a necessary connection.

by David Teachout (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 21 comments) on Friday, January 5, 2007 at 12:09:20 PM

Christopher J. Patton is the president of Faith in the Future Foundation and is an evangelist with the International Ministerial Fellowship. Formerly a biblical archaeologist, he holds a Masters in Archaeology of the Land of Israel from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. Experienced in web design and electronic publishing, Patton is also an adjunct college professor teaching in the Twin Cities area.
Jonah2015Christopher J. Patton is the president of Faith in the Future Foundation and is an evangelist with the International Ministerial Fellowship. Formerly a biblical archaeologist, he holds a Masters in Archaeology of the Land of Israel from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. Experienced in web design and electronic publishing, Patton is also an adjunct college professor teaching in the Twin Cities area.

Thanks for your comments.

You are correct to be sensitive to "proper interpretation." Please note that I originally wrote "proper context" and not interpretation. Apparently, "proper" was not be best choice in communicating my intent in regards to context, so I have replaced it with "broad," which will hopefully better convey my concerns. It is too easy to take a verse or even a chapter of one part of the Bible and not see its role in the whole, which is an interpretive process for anyone.

In addition to your observations, I would add that there is often more than one correct interpretation for a section of Scripture because the Bible communicates on various levels concurrently. And of course, there will always be differences between people as long as we are mortal, but your concerns seem focused on respecting another's perspective or interpretation even if disagreeing. I certainly concur and object to anyone forcing his or her interpretation upon another. That runs contrary to one of the Bible's master themes - free will.

The problems of Globalism and human nature are exremely complex and attract a broad range of opinions. I perceive severe systemic problems in Globalism that structurely force a greed-driven commodification of human and animal lives. This evil in turn inspires a tyranny of the elite at the oppressive expense of most of society, as evidenced by the extreme concentrations of wealth and political power in the hands of the few in positions of power and influence.

by Jonah2015 (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 18 comments) on Friday, January 5, 2007 at 1:53:38 PM