The System of Antichrist: Truth & Falsehood in Postmodernism and the New Age

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Summary: Matter is Entropy.
Review: Charles Upton's _The System of Antichrist_ is a lengthy treatise that discusses the nature of the power of evil in today's world and functions as an introduction to the reader of the various thinkers of the obscure "Traditionalist" school. The Traditionalists are a small group of scholars (Rene Guenon, Huston Smith, Frithof Schoun, Coomaraswamy, etc.) who believe in the "Transcendent Unity of Religions." What this doctrine teaches is that there was once one universal spiritual state of mankind that was corrupted during a primeval fall. The traditional religions of the world (Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Sufi and Shiite Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroasterianism, and a few versions of tribal Shamanism) share common roots and maintain similar views on the nature of the universe and the first and last times. Basically the universe operates on a vicious cycle where the created world starts off with a Golden Age, a Garden of Eden of perfection and Divine Love, but humanity falls from this state and progressively gets worse and worse. Demons rule openly and work to convince humanity to accept the rule of the Antichrist, totally opposed to Godliness. The Messiah, Christ, Madhi, Tenth Imran, Kaki Avatar, Buddha, i.e. Truth Incarnate arrives, slays the Antichrist and initiates a new Golden Age, an New Heaven and New Earth and utterly transfiguring the old, sinful world. Part of the mass apostasy seen today manifests itself in the philosophical development of postmodernism and blatant demonic activity giving psychic weight to the New Age phenomenon, UFO sightings and government mind control. Upton also differentiates between different types of religions, such as folk/worldly, Church/otherworldly and mystical paths that seek liberation from the world and connection to God. Mainline and Evangelical Protestantism have lost their esoteric, ascetic, mystical aspects (such as can be seen in monastic practice) that go above and beyond merely living in the world and believing a set of laid out precepts. Most of America practices a form of secular folk religion in the public sphere which does not have much to do with the liberation of the soul or beliefs but rather good luck in this life (pep-rallies for instance). The hippie movement erred seriously when it equated folk religion with mystical traditions. The biggest problem with this book is that it deals with a metaphysical perspective and is not a specific religion itself, although Upton attempts it in a fashion towards the conclusion. He says to choose one of the world's traditional faiths and stick to it in its conservative form, but I would question the whole process of "choosing" a religion. Religion is above human decisions and if the decision behind choosing them is not overtly political or social, they are not "chosen" in the same way as a kid deciding to buy a lollipop or chocolate bar (the Spirit goes where it will). Also the Transcendent Unity of Religions is a bit questionable itself. It works fine as a metaphysical perspective because of the similarities between Orthodox Christianity, Sufism and Zoroasterianism for example, but is not in itself a religion. The god of "Traditionalism" is one who initiates repetitive cycles of time from eternity to eternity, from Golden Age to Kali Yuga to Golden Age to Kali Yuga again. This is derived from the Hindu and ancient Greek belief in the cycles of eons. It is a lot more on track with the True natures of things than the liberal belief in "progress" ascendant today, but it really does not offer man any hope of ultimate salvation in the love of God. As an Orthodox Christian, it is impossible to believe that Christ is anything less than "true God and true man, of one Essence with the Father, etc.," so some of the comparisons with Islam feel a bit sketchy. I also question Upton's reference to the Kabbalah, a system of mysticism drawn up based on the oral traditions of the Pharisees who conspired to crucify Christ and incite the Roman state to persecute Christianity. International Jewry is antithetical to tradition. Generally speaking, whenever a society, nation or religion abandons its traditions, the position of Jews will increase. Upton notes that the Antichrist will indeed rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem and be worshipped by most of the world's Christians and Jews. This signifies the mass apostasy of Christians and Jews from the true Faith. The world of Islam will however, instantly recognize this imposter as the Antichrist (Dajjal) and oppose his reign. It is not all that clear what will happen at the end times though. What I find interesting is that Upton believes, based on the Apocalypse 17-18 that the Antichrist (the Beast) will overthrow the One World Government (the Whore of Babylon) and set himself up as God in its stead. Religious fundamentalist groups are doing their part to fuel the flames of the rule of Antichrist in a scenario like this. The more chaos there is in the world, the more many people will wish for a figure who will hold out a carrot and offer to solve the humanity's problems if he is given unquestioning obedience. "Traditionalism" remains an interesting school of thought among a handful of scholars, but it is nothing more than "a school." It cannot attract a mass of believers of all levels of intelligence and education like the Church can. In all, a great book on the nature of reality. The second law of thermodynamics states that as the universe continues, so does entropy. You will NEVER get as much out of something as you put in. Loss, decay, death, dissolution, disorder, darkness. "Matter is entropy," writes Upton, as even our earth is nourished by a Sun, slowly burning itself out. The only hope in this age is indeed a return for whoever can to repent, return to the ancient Way, realize that the world only ends in death, the ultimate defeat, and look forward to where one's state will be in Eternity, unto Ages of Ages.

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Summary: An excellent compendium of Traditional wisdom
Review: Make no doubt about it - Charles Upton has written an absolutely excellent book, destined to become a classic. Despite its length (500+ pages) it is written in a brisk, almost breezy style, and lends itself well to non-linear reading if you are so inclined. Indeed, you will probably wish to skip at least one or two small sections of the book, as the purpose of this book is several-fold.

First of all, it introduces the reader to the "Traditionalist" school of theology and philosophy exemplified by Coomaraswamy, Guenon, Schuon, Lings, et al. While it's difficult to do justice to the Traditionalists in one paragraph (and they are a disparate bunch in their own right) they can probably be said to espouse a "perennial philosophy" that strives for a universal spiritual understanding that at the same time sets absolute standards. This is a sharp contrast from various postmodern and New Age doctrines, which essentially hold that "all paths lead to the same source" and that there is no objective truth. Upton traces the geneaology of postmodernism and the New Age movement, showing how successive strains of philosophic and scientific thought have gradually eroded at the notion of objective truth. In Dostoyevsky's words, "Without God, everything is permitted."

The book then refutes popular strands of New Age thought: the ideas and respective cults that have grown around Jane Roberts' _Seth_ material, Carlos Castaneda's _Tales of Power_, James Redfield's _The Celestine Prophecy_, _A Course in Miracles_, Theosophy, Jung, Terence Mckenna and Deepak Chopra's _Seven Spiritual Laws of Success_ all come under scrutiny. At this point, you can probably pick and choose whatever ideology you were exposed to. As a Gen-Xer, the Castaneda and _Seth_ material didn't have much impact on me, but _The Celestine Prophecy_ was certainly widely read during my undergraduate years at college. Upton is not down on everything that these authors have to say; indeed, much of it is positive. What's important to realize here is that, in his own words, New Age doctrines "don't take you all the way." The problem with much New Age thought, Upton says, is that it might allow for some initial feeling of enlightenment, but it simply doesn't have the time-tested validity of a traditional path. Unfortunately, a lot of the 'follow your bliss' style of New Age thought is not geared towards the pragmatic realm that a spiritual path must take in to account; this often leads to the feeling of being let down after the initial rush of perceived enlightenment is had.

A later chapter on UFO's is particularly interesting. Upton effectively articulates Rene Guenon's notion of UFO's being representative "fissures in the great wall" that appear during the final phases of a complete coalescing of the spiritual into the material world (this is the Kali Yuga of Hindu cosmology, which is a centerpiece of most Traditional thought.) He also (correctly, I believe) points out that these phenomena are manifestations from the psychic or demonic plane, not space brothers heralding a new era of peace and harmony.

The book does occasionally bog down into polemics. Most readers will probably want to skip the chapter that Upton devotes to refuting William Quinn's "The Only Tradition" (which was an attempt to show that Theosophy is compatible with the Traditionalist School.) However, these small asides into academic nitpicking certainly don't detract from the overall strength of the book; it's an excellent introduction to religion, cosmology, and the End Times all in one, and there's hardly a page lacking in quote-worthy passages.

As a final note, I was still left wondering exactly what it is I should _do_ after reading this. Upton would say to pick one traditional path and strive for total immersion in it, but I can't help but think that a religion isn't just another consumer choice that you pick because it seems "interesting". (And this is certainly how most spiritual paths get picked. Americans convert to Buddhism while Asians convert to Christianity in even greater numbers.) The Perennial Philosophy doesn't reconcile everything. No matter how you try to get around it, Christians do not accept Muhammad as divine, and the core of Traditionalism is the absolute truth of the religious doctrines therein. Despite a potential core of truth, I can't help but think that Native American shamanism, Christianity, and Hinduism still have differences that can't be explained away. In short, perhaps we all need to spend less time being neurotic and trying to integrate all of this together and instead pick a time-tested philosophy that works, which is the whole point of this book.

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Summary: The Reign of Antichrist and the Sin of Spiritual Pride.
Review: _The System of Antichrist_ by the Sufi scholar Charles Upton offers the reader a unique look into some of the pernicious philosophies and movements which are contributing to the moral degeneracy of our times. The modern world is besieged by a crass materialism which emphasizes scientism and denies the traditional outlook of the world's religions. Postmodernity has brought new philosophies which deny absolute truth and objective reality while at the same time offering New Age spiritualities which lead man away from God. Firmly grounded in the Traditionalist school of such writers as Rene Guenon, Ananda Coomaraswamy, and Frithjof Schuon and basing his critique on the perennial philosophy and the idea of the Transcendent Unity of Religions, Charles Upton attempts to show that both postmodernity and the New Age are likely to lead man astray and are a sign of nihilistic decadence which may be heralding in the coming of Antichrist. According to Charles Upton, both postmodernity and the New Age movement consist of spiritualities which are fitted for the coming globalism. Opposing globalism are various revolutionary and reactionary tribalist groups which attempt to assert their own identity against the conformity demanded by the New World Order. It is this crisis in the modern world that is likely to bring about the Age of Antichrist. Charles Upton contends that a return to the traditional outlook, perennialist metaphysics, and the world's great religious traditions is necessary if we hope to survive the coming tribulation and our own modern nihilistic culture. Much of this book is spent critiquing various systems of New Age thought. Thus, there are to be found critiques of the spiritual systems of Jane Roberts and her "Seth" material, the Native magician Carlos Castenada, the neo-Gnosticism of _A Course in Miracles_, the philosophy of _The Celestine Prophecy_, and the entrepreneurial Hinduism of Depak Chopra. In particular, Charles Upton shows how each of these systems conflicts with the traditional metaphysics and religious orthodoxy and thus falls into error. Upton proceeds to show how the New Age movement is actually a reflection of the shadow of God and how each individual must address the problem of evil. In addition, various aspects of the New Age movement are particularly disturbing because they seek to either deny or rebel against the idea of love - as traditionally understood. Charles Upton provides a unique interpretation of the modern phenomenon of UFOs. To Upton, UFO sightings and alien abductions constitute a particularly disturbing aspect of the postmodern world. Upton contends that perhaps we can understand these aliens as spiritual beings, the jinn of Islamic folklore or the demons of Christian tradition. Upton notes that not all of these entities may be evil or necessarily harmful; however, since without a traditional understanding it is impossible to determine this, they should be avoided. This is similar to the manner in which Upton understands the phenomenon of channeling and discarnate spirits (in which he references the work of Rene Guenon in particular on this subject). Next, Upton proceeds to refute the thesis put forward in the popular exposition of the Traditionalist school, _The Only Tradition_ by William Quinn. According to Upton, this book attempts to reconcile two disparate forms of thought, that of the Traditionalist school and that of the Theosophical Society founded by Madame H. P. Blavatsky. Rene Guenon himself had written a distinct book refuting the ideas of Blavatsky. The best and most fulfilling chapters in this book are the last two focusing on Comparative Eschatology and Facing Apocalypse, respectively. Upton offers a unique comparative eschatology in which he focuses on the eschatological traditions in the world's religions, including Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, the religions of the Hopi and Lakota American Indians, Tibetan Buddhism in particular, and Hinduism. Upton is particularly strong in focusing on the relationships between Christian eschatology (particularly that of the Eastern Orthodox Church)and Islam and their own unique understandings of the Antichrist (al-Dajjal to the Muslims), the Mahdi, and the person of Jesus Christ. Contrary to much of the nonsense that has been offered up in the eschatological fields in recent times particularly by fundamentalist Protestants, the eschatological theories of Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism entail a much higher level of understanding. Many individuals from different religious persuasions believe that the Antichrist will likely be a unique individual who appears during a time of crisis. Rene Guenon himself believed that the Antichrist would likely be a specific individual. While Upton remains noncommittal as to whether the Antichrist will be an incarnate individual or simply a powerful force, he does show that his reign is to come upon us and is signified by the crisis of the modern world. Particularly of interest is Upton's understanding of the person of Jesus Christ; he notes that Jesus may have sympathized with the revolutionary forces of his time, the equivalents of modern day tribalism and nationalism, but that his own philosophy did not entail revolution ("Render to Caesar what is Caesar's"). Interestingly, Upton contends that it is out of these two distinct forces that the tribulation and the reign of Antichrist will come. Also interesting is Upton's unique understanding of and warning about shamanism. While Upton contends that there may be many primordial traditions that have retained an intact form of shamanism, he argues that this late in the cosmic cycle any attempt to revive this religious form is likely to be potentially dangerous. It is prophesied that the Antichrist will be a great deceiver and that he will usher in a new era and will be a political and religious problem solver. However, his ultimate goals will appeal to our own spiritual pride. While the modern age remains in a time of crisis, the Traditionalist philosophy and the foundation of the world's religions offer mankind a sign of hope. By overcoming our own pride and turning towards God, man will be able to survive the vicissitudes of the modern world and the coming reign of Antichrist.