We meditated yesterday on the synchronicities in the release of my newest book on Father Sky for children with my just-released book on the Antichrist. Continuing the meditation:
Pairing a book about Evil, aimed at adults facing a profoundly significant election, with a book on the new cosmology makes some sense, given the spiritual crisis humanity finds itself in.
If it is true that the opposite of Evil is the Sacred, then we want to probe—for children and for adults who read to them—how to spread the word about holiness.
Not only Rabbi Heschel says that one fights evil with holiness, but Ernest Becker does also. The last book of his life was called Escape From Evil and that book appeared after his Pulitzer prize-winning study on Denial of Death (though he did not live long enough to learn he won that prize).
In his book on Evil, Becker praises indigenous cultures whose rituals and ceremonies connect the human enterprise, both communal and individual, to the powers of the cosmos, thus to Father Sky.
In contrast, as he puts it, modern man has long since abandoned the ritual renewal theory of nature, and reality for us is simply refusing to acknowledge that evil and death are constantly with us. With medical science we want to banish death, and so we deny it a place in our consciousness. We substitute our immortality projects for the sacred cosmos.
We substitute culture for the Sacred, whereas cosmic rituals of the past humanized the heavens and spiritualized the earth and so melted sky and earth together in an inextricable unity.
This allowed humans to transcend their animal condition and be part of the generative powers of nature and the universe. No longer was he an animal who died and vanished from the earth; he was a creator of life who could also give eternal life to himself by means of communal rituals of cosmic regeneration.
The Egyptians hoped that when they died they would ascend to heaven and become stars and thus enjoy eternal significance in the scheme of things.
Archaic humanity believed that they could put vigor into the world by means of a ceremony, that they could create an island, an abundance of creatures, keep the sun on its course, etc. Through techniques of sacrifice invisible forces behind nature would use them for the benefit of the community. They had no need for missile launchers and atomic reactors; sacrificial altar mounds served [their] purposes well.*
These observations make all more powerful and relevant our efforts the past 27 years to renew liturgy by means of The Cosmic Mass. We can take our inherited rituals and revivify them with newly invented post-modern art forms such as dj, vj, rap, and return to the pre-modern prayer form of dancing to reinvigorate soul, spirit, body and community, i.e. the body politic.
Ritual or ceremony is meant to bring the Sacred alive. And make community happen. As African ritual teacher Malidoma Some observed, “there is no community without ritual.”
*Ernst Becker, Escape From Evil, pp. 17, 18, 19, 21.
Adapted from Matthew Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul & Society, pp. xxxviii-xli.
See also Fox, “The Cosmic Mass: Reinventing Worship and Religion,” in Fox, Confessions: The Making of a Post-denominational Priest, pp. 363-383.
See Fox, The Return of Father Sky: A Cosmic Mystery for Kids of All Ages.
And Fox, Trump & MAGA as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election.
And Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine.
Banner Image: A beam of winter solstice sunrise light penetrates the Neolithic passage tomb of Newgrange to illumine a mystic triple spiral deep within. Leinster, Ireland. Photo by Warren LeMay on Flickr. .
Queries for Contemplation
What immortality projects do you see humanity substituting for the sacredness of the cosmos? (Hint: ideologies, empires, fame, buildings with our name on them, piles of wealth and power, control over others, etc.)
Recommended Reading
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (Revised/Updated Edition)
Matthew Fox’s stirring autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author’s continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in church, society and the environment.
“The unfolding story of this irrepressible spiritual revolutionary enlivens the mind and emboldens the heart — must reading for anyone interested in courage, creativity, and the future of religion.”
—Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self
The Return of Father Sky: A Cosmic Mystery for Kids of All Ages
The second book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series, The Return of Father Sky helps boys and girls to celebrate a new relationship with the masculine by way of Father Sky, whose return excites joy and wonder and possibility that enlarge the soul to welcome others and all creation. Written in a rhyming Dr. Seuss-like style, this full-color, beautifully illustrated book, written by world- renowned theologian Matthew Fox weaves together modern science and classic spirituality in a whimsical, entertaining format to illustrate important truths to readers aged 4 and up. With artwork curated from illustrators around the world, this book expresses the joy and wonder of all peoples and cultures, planting seeds of respect, cooperation and hope to work together for the healing of our planet.
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God
3 thoughts on “Voting Adults, Evil, Cosmology for Kids, Rituals & the Sacred”
Beautiful DM Matthew and DM team! Creation Spirituality has deepened my awareness of the spiritual value of our indigenous cultures around the world with their spiritual rituals and ceremonies, which as Becker says, “connect the human enterprise, both communal and individual, to the powers of the Cosmos…” — the LOVING DIVERSE ONENESS of Our Beautiful Sacred Mother Earth and Our Beautiful Sacred Evolving COSMOS (Father Sky)… COSMIC CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS….
When we bring forward our inner peace, joy, love, truth, compassion, mercy, and charity are we not looking to share that experience and state of being with others? What brings forward less destruction and more healing to humanity than the ‘fire of the Spirit’ within us and spreading it with others? There is a ripple, a flow, that come out of our inner actions and being. We and others become a ‘presence of God’, a ‘presence of the Spirit’.
One spark can start a fire, but we tend to believe that we need a legion, an army of men and women that possess flame throwers to bring ‘a torch’ to ignite humanity and kill all evils, when proper soil, planted seeds, water, tending to, sunlight and time are required to create strong and sustainable roots and a blossoming flower, a blossoming and humble Spiritual power. This is our engagement and transformational growth as individuals and as a people, as a community.
As we know, Jesus and His Apostles did not organize rallies, protests and large group meetings. A common refrain to individuals was ‘Why do you want to know where I am going?’ and ‘Come follow Me’ was the invitation to experience the ‘Divine presence’ and join the transformational path and journey. The acts or conscious actions of Spiritual transformation are more often than not, silent, humble, and unnoticed by the physical eye and create deep roots and faith below the surface of ‘our being’. – BB 01 27 24.
One very alarming immortality project is the amassing of global power by Elon Musk, especially the technological control of space with his own satellites and space ships and his virtual take-over of NASA–he contracts to control much of their satellites, et al. Not to be too paranoid, I think that he and others who have their own space vehicles have an exit strategy for when earth becomes too dangerous to support life. The movie “Don’t Look Up” is imaginative but based on what could really happen, in my opinion.