Then recently I took in the documentary about Anthony Weiner. Coincidentally, news came out right after I viewed this that he was up to his texting shenanigans again, only this time his wife wisely said goodbye. It’s interesting when people get this self-destructive, although you could intuit the pathology seeping through his pours from the get go.
And even more recently I took in this CNN documentary about the Buddhafield, led by a real creepy guru who first went by the name of Michel, then Andreas. I know these things sometimes only become apparent in the aftermath, but wasn’t it clearly evident to his followers that this guy was a tad unhinged? I suppose in spiritual circles we cut our idols a little slack. I just recently read somewhere that Saint Catherine of Siena, like many mystics, was a bit crazy. So maybe the followers of the Buddhafield knew deep down something wasn’t right, but taken in by rapture they were hoping for the best. Ask anyone who went through a bad divorce, if they could take an honest look at their deeper impressions of their partner when they decided to get married, many would admit that something did not feel right at the time.
We are all flawed, and yet carrying something that is flawless. But if you’re not orientated toward the flawless, watch out! I believe Chesterton said “if you do not fear God, you have good reason to fear man.” But these days, we have dropped the notion of sin. Instead, we will use the concept of ego, and play psychological games with ourselves that we can transcend it (and for those that think they have, this just creates even more ego for them and their minions).
While much of this comes from distorted ideas around eastern mysticism, some of it started with Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He believed man is born innocent, but by exposure to the world, he comes to be bound, enslaved, and corrupted by civilization. Clearly Rousseau didn’t consider if the “corrupting dimension of civilization is other human beings, how can a civilization become corrupt unless the individuals within it are corrupt?” (Sproul). Not to mention, he sent his five children to the Paris Foundling Hospital immediately upon birth and never saw them again. Innocent my arse!
We can’t get away from sin, and it is pretty original too.
Here’s the other fascinating thing about cults like the Buddhafield, more often than not, our sinful natures are worse in collectives. There’s plenty of evidence for this (from Nazi Germany to Scientology) as well as many sociological studies to back it up. We are all potentially gullible and easily manipulated in the right circumstances. So while it intrigues me to see such fallible models, I try not to do it at a heartless distance. It's all there as a constant reminder!