Spirituality & Thought

From Superstition to Science: Lessons from Phlogiston

For centuries, Europeans explained fire and rust through phlogiston — an invisible substance thought to escape during burning. It was wrong, yet it marked a shift from mystical alchemy to testable theory. The turning point came with Lavoisier in the 1770s, who proved that combustion was not loss but oxygen combining with matter. From this, modern chemistry was born.

The lesson is clear: progress often passes through “usefully wrong” ideas. Science advances not by dismissing anomalies but by testing them — moving from superstition to discovery.

Metanoia and the Limits of the State: Jesus, Paul, and the Politics of Inner Law

Jesus and Paul emphasized that the state is temporary and subordinate to a higher, internal moral law rooted in love. Jesus taught that true sovereignty lies within, advocating for love over coercion. Paul affirmed spiritual law in the heart, highlighting that love fulfills the law, making secular authority provisional and ultimately secondary.

Towards a Constructive Anarchy – Part Three

If Part 2 traced the collapse into a New Age dystopia of screens, illusions, and false hopes, Part 3 asks whether another path remains. Drawing on Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 and Paul’s words to the Corinthians, it explores anarchy not as chaos but as positive, constructive cooperation — the “marriage of true minds” that endures storms, rejects domination, and offers hope of renewal through awareness and love.

New Age dystopia – Part Two

From Laurie Lee’s orchard to Orwell’s telescreen, from Woodstock to the glow of the smartphone, this essay traces how old certainties dissolved into a New Age dystopia. Television replaced the Bible, schools promised equality but delivered disillusion, and music preached freedom before sliding into indulgence. What remains is a culture of spectacle, vanity, and despair—a warning that still speaks to us.