LOLOL, to put it mildly! I'm completely unaware of any process of invention that did not proceed from already existing materials. The only exception to this rule would be: God's "invention," that is the Creation, which furnished all the necessary "existing materials" for all time.
I find it fascinating that some folks nowadays evidently think it is absolutely necessary to "kill off God" in order to free up human creative potential. In a certain way, this line of thinking goes straight to the problem of gnosticism that spirited irish has raised.
Reduced to the bare bones, gnosticism is the belief that there is a form of knowledge superior to that which is given in ordinary human experience that only the "adepts" or "cognoscenti" know about. All other human mortals are simply deluded about the nature of the world and, thus, of their place in it.
It seems that early forms of gnosticism were recessive, "retreats" from the world, a withdrawal into the secret knowledge and away from the world of common human experience.
In contrast, modern forms of gnosticism tend to be aggressive — they are interested in proselytizing this "higher, truer" knowledge. They also do not care about the world of common human experience, which must be "overcome" in order for the gnostic vision to take hold. And because human beings universally and historically experience relations to gods or God, all such divine entities must be eradicated.
But whether ancient or modern in form, gnosticism boils down to a rationalization of the human usurpation of the role of mediator of Truth. It makes man the measure; it is relentlessly "anthropomorphic"; in the process, what begins as egocentrism results in the self-divinization of man.
Modern gnostic systems include: Marxism, materialism, naturalism, positivism, utilitarianism, etc., etc. Indeed, any word ending with the suffix "ism" may be a candidate for classification as a gnostic system of thought.
Eric Voegelin's general term for gnostic systems is "second realities," "alternative realities." The whole idea here is to make the second reality "mask," obscure, and then finally dispense with, the very real First Reality from which it was born. Which seems awfully strange to me. For the constructor of a second reality is very much a natural member of First Reality. Whether he likes First Reality or not, the practical question is: Why would a rational person want to destroy the very ground on which he himself stands?
Seems to me that a kind of "suicide" of the mind and spirit is going on here. But others can make their own judgments about that....
Anyhoot, just some stray thoughts, FWIW.
Thank you ever so much for your excellent essay/post, dearest sister in Christ!
betty wrote, “Eric Voegelin’s general term for gnostic systems is “second realities,” “alternative realities.” The whole idea here is to make the second reality “mask,” obscure, and then finally dispense with, the very real First Reality from which it was born. Which seems awfully strange to me. For the constructor of a second reality is very much a natural member of First Reality. Whether he likes First Reality or not, the practical question is: Why would a rational person want to destroy the very ground on which he himself stands?”
Spirited: This isn’t the easiest subject to tackle in that the answer deals with suffering, and how differently natured people deal with it. Suffering can either lead to patience, strength, and wisdom or it can lead to bitterness, rebellion, deicide, escapism, and other spiritual deformations.
Gnosticism is essentially two things: Elitism on one hand and on the other, escape from suffering through negation of reality and construction of a surreality. The Nassenes are a good example. They taught that the two sexes were wrong, that man is meant to be a hermaphrodite. Male/female sex was therefore wrong, the family and procreation wrong, morality and norms wrong, and so forth.
It’s the way in which this world is ordered, that is, norms, standards, and consequences that gnostics detest. At an even deeper level of pathology,there are those who resent the way in which their bodies are designed. This sort looks with envy upon another who, in the warped view of the envier, ought not have what the envier doesn’t have. On display here is both pride and rejection of the Creator.
Like Lucifer, gnostics are only subcreators, hence they resort to counterfeit. And it’s precisely because their ‘reality’ is actually counterfeit that they must resort to force, terror, and totalitarianism.
One wonders how many scientific discoveries have been sacrificed as a result of the increasing number of scientists who no longer view the Universe as intelligently designed.