5GW and the Struggle Against Evil

You know, I really enjoy going back and re-reading posts like this one for the same reason that I enjoy going back and re-reading The Art of War among others. Each time I do so it seems like I see just a little deeper, a little clearer. It seems nowadays I can’t read anything without 5GW lenses.

I left a comment at tdaxp, but I’ll also post it here, even if I begin with a quote from a comment on that thread:

It’s about spiritual warfare, as all of 4GW and 5GW is.

[Dan tdaxp, at tdaxp]

HA! Incidentally, a little stream-of-consciousness what-ifism has me wondering if pre-4GW styles of warfare were kind of an internal spiritual warfare whereas 4GW and 5GW turn the spiritual war outward upon foes… Well, to the degree that these generations can be understood through the lens of the OODA, and the OODA can be said to play a very real role in ‘spiritual’ matters (almost by definition…), then understanding the role of spiritual conflict(s) in each generation of warfare might be no dead-end endeavor!

I once postulated a 5GW maneuver by the Founding Fathers of America: By instituting the U.S. Constitution, they were making war on the type of social structures (and other things) prescribed by the Bible, although most early traditionalist American Christians would not have realized this fact until — too late! But who knows if they did so consciously or accidentally?

Then again, given Jesus’ words, perhaps breaking apart the family was always a Christian goal, lost these 2000 or so years…

But in general, I think that getting a lot of people to try defeating an imaginary foe could be a 5GW maneuver itself. Getting them to believe that foe exists, and to focus their attentions on him as they make combat, would give the 5GW organization a lot of room to hide amongst the many real things that exist.

I’ll post an addendum to that comment, a link I recently found at Kent’s Imperative which seems quite related although the story reports on Islam instead of Christianity: Born of Fire @ The Economist.

I’ll post another addendum, this in relation to the last paragraph of my first comment above:

By externalizing the conflict — Satan is doing it! Witting or unwitting followers of Satan’s plan are doing it! — a 5GW organization could effect a coup. Then, all those Christian Soldiers would be paying much less attention to their own internally operating OODA processes, their own spirituality, while fighting those external (and perhaps largely illusory) foes.

Meanwhile of course, the 5GW organization would be reprogramming the Christian Soldiers…

Curtis,

Then, all those Christian Soldiers would be paying much less attention to their own internally operating OODA processes, their own spirituality, while fighting those external (and perhaps largely illusory) foes.

Interesting… perhaps this explains the Christian focus on martyrdom operations before state take-over. Could Christianity be a 4GW movement that, by focusing on glorification of martyrs while denying the existence of earthly enemies, immunizes itself against such a 5GW maneuver?

Dan,

Could Christianity be a 4GW movement that, by focusing on glorification of martyrs while denying the existence of earthly enemies, immunizes itself against such a 5GW maneuver?

Which Christianity are you referencing? ;)

In general — and I’ll probably have to explain this at some point, I realize — I suspect that some nominally Christian figures throughout history and even in our present time have used 5GW against other nominal Christians as a matter of course.

I also believe that enough exists within the Christian texts, and has existed (of course), to improve resilience against multiple types of 5GW maneuvers, not only this type — and even that some Christians have practiced a Christianity in such a manner.

There is, however, the opposite type of 5GW maneuver, which would attempt to strengthen introspection in the target to the point of denying the reality or relevance of almost any external occurrence. This would result in the creation of an unwavering proxy sure to follow the paths you want him to follow, who is blind or dismissive of any external influence. Just because he’s introspectively preoccupied or dismissive does not mean he is not influenced…

“attempt to strengthen introspection…to the point of denying the…relevance of…any external occurrence….

“…an unwavering proxy ….Just because he’s introspectively preoccupied or dismissive does not mean he is not influenced…”

Heh, seems I’m writing in circles. Behind that circle is the assumption that initial influences greatly shape the later extreme introspection; but as for any Christian - on - Christian 5GW maneuver like this one, I suspect that the effector would want a reduction in extrospection to just him: i.e., the building of cult personalities who are trusted implicitly and are in fact ‘overlooked’ as a suspicious influence, or hardly seen at all. But pretty soon we might be discussing the concept of false prophets, so I should probably end my thoughts here! ;)

Curtis,

Which Christianity are you referencing? ;)

Merely Jesusism-Paulism.. L-)

I suspect that some nominally Christian figures throughout history and even in our present time have used 5GW against other nominal Christians as a matter of course.

I agree. Indeed, the protagonist of That Hideous Strength meets such a character relatively early in the book, even though the 5GWarriors talk of Jesus is offputting to his co-conspirators.

Dan,

I think that your Jesusism-Paulism is an abstraction — and more like an abstraction of abstractions. It is a kind of generalization founded not so much on realities of worship and practice but on interpretation of the assumed theoretical foundations of that worship and practice. Where it attempts to address actual practices, it takes a few examples (often of faceless, abstract and thus non-real persons) and generalizes a coherent image. Not unlike Robb’s use of static, although Jesusism-Paulism looks backward rather than forward or at the present.

Not unlike Robb’s use of static, although Jesusism-Paulism looks backward rather than forward or at the present.

Hmmm… GG as hagiographic just-so theology… I buy it.