context for Pynchon's gnosticism

[pynchonoid]

" [...] New Age appeals to people imbued with the
values of modern culture. Freedom, authenticity,
self-reliance and the like are all held to be sacred.
It appeals to those who have problems with patriarchy.
It “does not demand any more faith or belief than
going to the cinema”, and yet it claims to satisfy
people's spiritual appetites. But here is a central
question: just what is meant by spirituality in a New
Age context? The answer is the key to unlocking some
of the differences between the Christian tradition and
much of what can be called New Age. Some versions of
New Age harness the powers of nature and seek to
communicate with another world to discover the fate of
individuals, to help individuals tune in to the right
frequency to make the most of themselves and their
circumstances. In most cases, it is completely
fatalistic. Christianity, on the other hand, is an
invitation to look outwards and beyond, to the “new
Advent” of the God who calls us to live the dialogue
of love. 

[...] When one examines many New Age traditions, it
soon becomes clear that there is, in fact, little in
the New Age that is new. The name seems to have gained
currency through Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry, at
the time of the French and American Revolutions, but
the reality it denotes is a contemporary variant of
Western esotericism. This dates back to Gnostic groups
which grew up in the early days of Christianity, and
gained momentum at the time of the Reformation in
Europe. It has grown in parallel with scientific
world-views, and acquired a rational justification
through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It
has involved a progressive rejection of a personal God
and a focus on other entities which would often figure
as intermediaries between God and humanity in
traditional Christianity, with more and more original
adaptations of these or additional ones. A powerful
trend in modern Western culture which has given space
to New Age ideas is the general acceptance of
Darwinist evolutionary theory; this, alongside a focus
on hidden spiritual powers or forces in nature, has
been the backbone of much of what is now recognised as
New Age theory. Basically, New Age has found a
remarkable level of acceptance because the world-view
on which it was based was already widely accepted. The
ground was well prepared by the growth and spread of
relativism, along with an antipathy or indifference
towards the Christian faith. Furthermore, there has
been a lively discussion about whether and in what
sense New Age can be described as a postmodern
phenomenon. The existence and fervor of New Age
thinking and practice bear witness to the unquenchable
longing of the human spirit for transcendence and
religious meaning, which is not only a contemporary
cultural phenomenon, but was evident in the ancient
world, both Christian and pagan. [...] "

continues:
<http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/interelg/documents/rc_pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html>

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR CULTURE
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE

JESUS CHRIST
THE BEARER OF THE WATER OF LIFE
A Christian reflection
on the “New Age”


...enjoy!

-Doug




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<http://www.pynchonoid.blogspot.com/>

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