Early in his career, Matthew Fox named one “unholy” or “demonic” trinity made of competition, compulsion, and dualism, all strongly and virulently opposed to compassion, which is the true name of God.
Based on psychologist Karen Horney, Matthew writes:
We seek power to brace ourselves against helplessness and our resultant hostility is expressed in a tendency to dominate; we seek prestige to brace ourselves against humiliation and our resultant hostility is expressed in the tendency to humiliate; we seek possession to brace ourselves against destitution and our resultant hostility is expressed in a tendency to deprive others.
No diagnosis could not be more apt for our current situation. More specifically, the behavior of those oligarchs who rule the earth today — sometimes under the pretense of democracy — is the farcical and extravagant epitome of how most human beings unfortunately behave, at least in some circumstances.
Creation Spirituality, as a movement under Matthew’s leadership, has consistently sought to address and redress this situation at its root. I perceive Matthew’s call to overcome dualisms, moving toward a dialectical thinking, as the pulsing heart of the whole enterprise (see the DM from June 4).
The overcoming of dualism includes indeed the overcoming of competition and compulsion. Once hostility is eradicated from our everyday behavior, that is, from the immediate automatic responses that our brain offers to situations, and compassion takes its place, we have a solution to all the most pressing problems of humanity.
This is the same task that Piero Giorgi presents for humanity in his scientific works (see the DMs of July 2 and July 3). He can indeed be a very valuable ally of Creation Spirituality, as he gives solid scientific reasons supporting the notion that human nature is nonviolent — in and of itself.
Interestingly, Matthew — who by training is a theologian and not a scientist — was already insisting early on that we humans as mammals have the possibility to be compassionate instead of being hostile, because the portion of the brain that is overly developed in mammals is naturally geared toward compassion.
Piero as a neurobiologist confirms and relaunches the challenge. Hostile behavior is connected to certain neurological circuits which are being built in the very first years of the infant’s life. The seeds of violence are thus literally engrained very early in the brain by a lack of appropriate maternal care. Later on, through schooling, patriarchal cultures take on the task of teaching hostility against the “enemy” and so on and so forth, while the major damage is already done.
Thus, even though hostile and violent reactions — also against oneself, I would like to underline — are very widespread, we should not think that humans are naturally prone to violence, and that the scope of our hope should be confined to curbing a bit such natural inclination.
None of this makes the situation of humanity today less dire and precarious. All of this, however, helps re-direct our thinking about the issues facing us. The anthropological change that we are seeking as spiritual people is not one that runs counter to the nature of humanity.
See Matthew Fox, A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice, 69
See also Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
And Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
And Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
lAso Fox, Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action
And Fox, Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Banner Image: Sculpture symbolizing “Non-Violence” by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd (Malmö – Switzerland). Wikimedia Commons
Queries for Contemplation
How do I confront daily the “unholy trinity” of competition, compulsion, and dualism? What can I do to enhance the quality of children’s care in the first years of life?
Recommended Reading
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
In A Spirituality Named Compassion, Matthew Fox delivers a profound exploration of the meaning and practice of compassion. Establishing a spirituality for the future that promises personal, social, and global healing, Fox marries mysticism with social justice, leading the way toward a gentler and more ecological spirituality and an acceptance of our interdependence which is the substratum of all compassionate activity.
“Well worth our deepest consideration…Puts compassion into its proper focus after centuries of neglect.” –The Catholic Register
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded in Jewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way.
“Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these may have originated.” –Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story
Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action
By Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jen Listug
In the midst of global fire, earthquake and flood – as species are going extinct every day and national and global economies totter – the planet doesn’t need another church or religion. What it needs is a new Order, grounded in the Wisdom traditions of both East and West, including science and indigenous. An Order of the Sacred Earth united in one sacred vow: “I promise to be the best lover and defender of the Earth that I can be.”
Co-authored by Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jennifer Berit Listug, with a forward by David Korten, this collection of essays by 21 spiritual visionaries including Brian Swimme, Mirabai Starr, Theodore Richards, and Kristal Parks marks the founding of the diverse and inclusive Order of the Sacred Earth, a community now evolving around the world.
“The Order of the Sacred Earth not only calls us home to our true nature as Earth, but also offers us invaluable guidance and company on the way.” ~~ Joanna Macy, environmental activist and author of Active Hope.
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
