Notes from the Electric Underground: A Mosaic

“For the oral man the literal text contains all possible levels of meaning.” —Marshall McLuhan

















Follow the further adventures of the dragons on Telegram—join my channel and surf the Light! For Milo’s reading of the Psalms, visit the Church Militant shop.

If you haven’t guessed, I’ve been reading a lot of Marshall McLuhan to prepare for our journey into the City of the Dragon. Highly recommended for those who feel like their nerves have been stripped raw by the electric web.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my blog post. I look forward to hearing what you think!

F.B.

Popular posts from this blog

Draco Layer Four: The Anagogic or Mystical Sense

Image
Here be dragons. And doves. Human beings long for transcendence. Such longing is, for the world, always out of fashion because, of course, it is not a longing for the world, and the world knows it. We know what the world wants. The world—by which we mean Satan, the Lord of the World—wants above all our obedience, a jewel so precious that he will do anything to get it: lie, steal, murder, bear false witness, pretend to social standing, pretend to insider knowledge to get us to consent to his influence.  “God lied to you. You will not die.” And suddenly we are anxious about having other people dislike us, about losing prestige in our social circles, about other people being more popular or influential or successful, about other people having secret knowledge, about our own influence and fame. “You shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” And with that temptation, our first parents fell. The irony is cosmic. There they were in the Garden, privy to conversation with God face-to-face, ...
Keep reading

Draco Layer Three: The Moral or Tropological Sense

Image
Learn to discern. We all know what sin is, right? Right?!  Once upon a time in the desert , the hermit Evagrius Ponticus (d. 399) set out to make a list of the most deadly ones, albeit he called them “deadly thoughts,” not “sins.” You probably know the list, even if you don’t think you do: gluttony, impurity (a.k.a. lust), avarice (a.k.a. greed), sadness (a.k.a. feeling sorry for oneself), anger or wrath, acedia  or sloth, vainglory, and pride (two different things).  Not quite the list you were expecting? That is because some centuries later—we’re talking ancient times here, when centuries passed like decades do now (or vice versa)—Pope Gregory the Great (d. 604) revised the list, somewhat accidentally, in his commentary on Job.  Gregory had been expounding Job according to its multiple layers—yes, that’s right! Job, like Shrek, has layers! —and he happened somewhere in book XXXI to mention the “seven principle vices” to which Pride,  the “Queen of S...
Keep reading

Talking Points: Three Cheers for White Men

Image
1. When white women (see Marie de France and Eleanor of Aquitaine) invented chivalry and courtly love , white men agreed that it was better for knights to spend their time protecting women rather than raping them, and even agreed to write songs for them rather than expecting them to want to have sex with them without being forced. 2. When white men who were celibate (see the canon lawyers and theologians of the twelfth century and thereafter) argued that marriage was a sacrament valid only if both the man and the woman consented , white men exerted themselves to become good husbands rather than expecting women to live as their slaves. 3. When white women (see Christine de Pizan, Mary Wollstonecraft, and the suffragettes) invented feminism , white men supported them (see John Stuart Mill) and even went so far as to vote (because only men could vote at the time) to let them vote, not to mention hiring them as workers and supporting their education. And before you start telling me a...
Keep reading

White Pirate Supremacy: Breaking the Code

Image
Code breaking from my Telegram channel , where it goes to 11.  A thread in answer to the question, “ What to do with this ‘white supremacy’ we see everywhere? ” Fight the Dragon. Join my Telegram channel:  https://t.me/fencingbearatprayer .  If you came here from Telegram, you will find backstory on my battle with the Dragon in the archives !  Advanced Dragon training is ongoing in the Dragon Common Room . 
Keep reading

Question 111: Did Mary Know Everything?

"The most blessed Virgin had many privileges in her knowledge of things. The first was perfect knowledge of the Trinity without mediation, which she had in life through a most special grace. The second was perfect knowledge of the mystery of the Incarnation: and this she had through grace and her singular experience. The third was knowledge of her predestination, which she had through revelation and cause. The fourth was knowledge of her soul and of spirits in their proper species, which she had dispositively through nature and completely through grace, and through which she saw angels and spirits and demons. The fifth was perfect knowledge of everything pertaining to the status of life, which she had through the infusion and inspiration of grace: and this included perfect knowledge of the Scriptures, of works and of contemplation. The sixth was knowledge of everything about herself in the future, which she had through revelation and in the mirror of readings. The seventh was know...
Keep reading