The Future of the Religion Business Part2

Pre-modern, modern and postmodern societies existing concurrently in dynamic interaction have created a global situation of cultural tension and conflict. This has resulted in clashes between modernists and anti-modernists and has become a major global change agent. All the major religions are pre-modern in origin but not all have adapted to modernity to the same extent and none have done so completely. This is concurrent with the rise of the non-Western World (Asia, Africa, Latin America) as a dominant global religious force. The unevenness of accommodating to modern life constitutes part of the religious/cultural tension within and between faith traditions. This requires constructing future visions that can unite a pluralistic civilization around common goals.

Technical-Jesus! As if God is the final destination of the attention economy… I wrote something about this in 2001: Soon, a wise culture will use technology to apply the full power of love and so enter a state of hyper evolution. They will enjoy continually diminishing hardship, and eternal spiritual growth. God’s will in this matter is revealing itself in today’s quickening changes imposed by the forces that guide our society: science, technology, spirituality, and even economics. (Assume “You” is essentially a mind sustained by a flow of information…With our robust communication systems we have grown connected to each other, and to the vast amount of information we have collected over the ages. We are free to pick which of this we pay attention to. Once data is “mined” and worked into information it can be sold. But no one can maintain a monopoly on information. Information will be free. It dissipates like the second law of thermodynamics. So now we have a situation where there is a vast amount of information available but a limited supply of attention. Businesses are essentially competing for our attention. Webster defines attention as “the giving of one’s mind to something”. Giving your mind to something is no small thing. Attached to your mind is your spirit and your resources. When we concentrate on something, social capital is endowed upon it. This makes your attention precious. It is better than money. What you pay attention to is yours to decide. What do you get for paying attention? You receive an experience. Ultimately, the value and worth of the experience is measured in potential for your growth.)  http://www.technical-jesus.com/

Very interesting articles Tsvi! I will read both articles more carefully and comment tomorrow.

Thanks, Tsvi. I enjoyed it!

I have a hard time believing that the Catholic church’s governance will be democratized. Sure, it will continue to retreat into irrelevance, but I expect the church to capitalize on its niche status, a throwback for hierarchically-minded, authoritarian-leaning bigots to find refuge in in an increasingly bewildering and unfamiliar world. Democratizing would squander this competitive advantage in the marketplace of ideas, and with the billions in questionably-acquired booty, the church won’t be pushed into a position of desperation for lack of cash anytime soon.

SHaGGGz, the Catholics are the least of the problem, they are relatively openminded next to some. If we were to tell them the following they might understand where we are coming from.
BTW, this is a ms. gI just sent to someone:
“A great difficulty in communicating with the religious is they can sense if one isn’t forthright with them, yet to tell them exactly what one thinks would be counterproductive. If I were to say to a religious person how I have no problem with their faith (a given creed in and of itself never hurt anyone), however I mistrust them due to their ulterior motives, it would only exacerbate a secular-faith dispute.
By not being able to communicate such, the basis for genuine communication with the religious is removed from the equation: e.g. diplomacy is by definition disingenuous, unspiritual.”

@Intomorrow: Yes, Catholics are not the most extreme, I just responded to that specific point regarding democratization of governance.

We can reach a concordat with the Catholics. The Westboro churches and their ilk are going to be a chronic difficulty, though, they aren’t going to disappear in this decade, that is for sure.
However Catholics are a minor problem next to Catholics, our disputes with Catholics are based on differences of opinion—they are not totalists, as such as the Reverend Joneses are.

“However Catholics are a minor problem next to Catholics”

Er, that is to say, a minor problem next to more authoritarian, or totalitarian, creeds.

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