Two Enchanted Paths

And Resisting the Machine

In my last essay I said that we are in the midst of shifting from an era where everything is mechanistic to one where everything is mystical. We’re transitioning from a Disenchanted Age to a Re-Enchanted Age. It’s happening whether you like it or not.

The choice before us now isn’t between Disenchantment or Re-Enchantment. The choice is between two types of Re-Enchantment.

What do I mean? Paul Kingsnorth, in this interview, provides a helpful observation:

We’re not disenchanted these days – we’re just enchanted by the wrong thing. And the thing we’re enchanted by is technology. If you’re enchanted by technology, you’re enchanted by yourself, because we’re the ones who created technology. If you’re enchanted by an ancient rain forest, then you’re enchanted by something outside of yourself, that was created by God, or even if you don’t believe in God, it’s naturally occurring. You stand in awe of it.

There is a fork in the Re-Enchantment path. One way leads to an enchantment fueled by the inner fascination with oneself, where Man is the Creator, the other way leads to an enchantment that comes wholly outside of oneself, where Man is the Creature.

The Dark Path is being enchanted in what Man has created and trusting in our work to guide us. The Light Path is being enchanted in what God has created and trusting in His work to guide us.

The danger is standing still, or meandering without intention and failing to recognize the paths. Being unaware all but guarantees your drift down the Dark Path. That’s a feature of the Machine. It ensnares you. Cares for you until you depend upon it. Then it feeds upon you.

The choices, for those with eyes to see, are clear, but that doesn’t mean things can’t be muddled. We can stand in awe of an ancient forest one moment and in the span of a notification ding be enthralled with our smartphone the next.

Therein lies the battle. Which enchantment will win you over? The Machine is quickly becoming all encompassing. It’s nearly unavoidable. The battle, in this moment at least, might not be overthrowing the Machine, but it is daily, hourly even, resisting the Machine. Continually countering the deceptive spells with righteous ones.

How do we do this? The answer is simple, but some of you aren’t going to like it.

When you’ve got real issues you must engage with the One who invented Reality.

The answer is to repent and believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him. I know Kingsnorth gave you an out up there in that quote, but I’m not. When you become enchanted by an ancient rain forest, or by nature, or by that which is outside yourself, you are resisting the Machine—for a little while. But when you become enchanted by the Ancient One who created that rain forest, you can resist the Machine forever. Kingsnorth himself—in his conversion from neo-paganism to Christianity—is an example that you can only go into the woods for so long before you discover it’s not enough. You need something greater.

How do we learn the righteous spells of Light but by following the Light of the world? The path of Light leads to Christ and the path of Light is Christ. Take it and follow Him as your Creator, as your Redeemer, as your King. When you’re united to Christ, you’re united to His Body, the Church, a built in army of resistance. You don’t fight alone. You don’t suffer alone. Gathering for weekly worship is a veritable Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

From this foundation flows everything else. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and everything you need will be added to you.

I leave you with C.S. Lewis,

Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end submit with ever fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.