REVOLUTIONARY REVELATIONS

"Of course, not being a practising Christian, I don't regard the Second Coming literally in terms of Christ's return," Brian Dillon informs us in a slightly condescending tone-of-voice, as the train wound on through the lush green countryside. "The man who corresponds to a Second Coming will bear a different name from Christ and thus approximate more to the Jewish concept of a True World Messiah, in other words a messiah whose teachings can and, eventually, will be adopted by every country on earth, not just those which currently pertain to the Christian West. The literal return of Christ, assuming it were possible, would not mean a great deal to those who had been conditioned to Moslem, Buddhist, Hindu, or Judaic religious traditions. Rather, the Second Coming corresponds to a new Christ-like figure who, as well as serving the West, will ultimately serve the whole world by being both distinct from and superior to Christ in the scope and depth of his teachings. False messiahs, of which there have been hundreds if not thousands, may well call themselves the Christ and, in doing so, render themselves ridiculous not only to those who have no religious affiliation with Christianity but, not altogether surprisingly, to many so-called Christians too who, deep down, aren't really expecting the literal return of Christ, and for the simple reason that they're Christian in name only, having long abandoned most of the theological claims and beliefs of the Christian faith, sometimes within the context of the Church, often beyond it ... in some form of Neo-Orientalism, as implying yoga."

Both of us smile at this point, and I venture the opinion that the man who corresponded to a Second Coming would have no taste for the belief that he was literally Christ, being, in many respects, anti-Christian.

"Yes, Jason, and the irony of it all," Dillon continues, "is that such a man would be determined to replace the Church and remove its chief upholders from the society he had come to establish, deeming them an obstacle to evolutionary progress! So while Christians may theoretically be awaiting Christ's return, mindful that, when he returns, the wheat will be divided from the chaff in a kind of Last Judgement, the man destined to fulfil the role of True World Messiah would be obliged to mark some of them out as chaff impeding further evolutionary progress through their insistence on a literal interpretation of Christian belief! He would have come not to save hard-line Christians, with their Biblical fundamentalism, but to set proletarians, who are generally outside the doctrinal confines of the Church, on the road to salvation. Paradoxically, hard-line Christians, though they may speak of a Second Coming, would be among the first to oppose the teachings of a True World Messiah, which would both threaten and supersede the atomic integrity of their civilization, with its priests and churches. The only Messiah they could reasonably endorse would be the one who died on the Cross and who could be expected, on his returning, to save them for being what they were. How, I don't exactly know. But, then, I'm not a hard-line Christian in the strict sense of that word, but a predominantly rational person who isn't deceived by theological beliefs!"

"You're a typical modern barbarian," opines Sheila with another smile on her lips, "for whom the True World Messiah would have genuine respect - the last thing he'd have for all those hypocritical bourgeoisie with their belief in a literal return of Christ! One of the most depressing aspects of life in the West is that the fools and intellectually weak are, in all too many contexts, protected from the wise and intellectually strong, so that the latter are obliged to bow before the feelings and beliefs of the former, or keep their thoughts to themselves!"

"In accordance with the democratic principles of an open society, a civilization rooted in the Diabolic Alpha," Dillon rejoins, his tone of voice betraying more than a hint of hard-edged emotion. "One might say that the provinces dictate to the city in such an open society."

I nod my head in agreement and remark that in a closed society that was open to meaningful religious change in the direction of the Divine Omega, by contrast, it would be the city that dictates policy, with a consequence that fools and laggards would be given a rough ride - assuming they weren't done away with altogether.

"O for the dictatorship of the intelligent!" Sheila exclaims, as if to herself. "What an agreeable change it would be ... living in a society where anachronistic fools and stupid people in general, with their mediocre views and opinions, were obliged to bow before the will of the intelligent for a change!"

Brian Dillon chuckles briefly, his head tilted to one side, and says: "And where those who cannot be reformed or improved upon are banished from that society in a true spirit of judgmental damnation, all kinds of imbecile riffraff who would have flourished in an alpha-stemming open-society context. Of course, the True World Messiah would not make war on those who were nominally Christian but, in actuality, less than genuine believers in Christianity. He would not intern or do away with the great majority of people - often proletarian - who regularly attend church in such a Catholic country as Ireland, for example. He would recognize the fact that, in the great majority of cases, they were simply sheep who needed a new shepherd and could therefore be reformed in the course of time. His chief vengeance, if I may use such a pointed word, would be reserved for certain high-ranking clergymen and those of their followers who were particularly enmeshed in Christian belief - the truly deluded. One doesn't have to do away with everyone who might, in one sense or another, be described as Christian, with the establishment of an omega-oriented closed society. Simply the hard-core of fanatics and teachers. The majority of so-called Christians, being proletarian and relative, can be reconditioned in due course. Naturally, the True World Messiah would not be a man to attend church but, on the contrary, one to issue orders for the supersession of churches, his real intention being to replace them, in the course of time, with meditation centres, in which the people could be taught his philosophy and encouraged to meditate and thus partake, within a collective context, of the closest possible approximation, in human terms, to the future Beyond ... of transcendent spirit."

I nod full approval of this information and add, largely for Dillon's benefit, that while the supersession of churches would be a major objective of the revolution, it would be necessary to utilize them or, rather, their upholders during the attainment to and consolidation of power, else transcendentalism could end-up fighting a losing battle with the tradition.

"That's quite so!" Dillon responds. "For sooner or later, Jason, we'll win sufficient grass-roots support from clergy and laity alike to carry us to power. There can be no alternative for our country than the way we've mapped out. That way is harnessed to the teachings of the True World Messiah, who cannot fail us, being an integral part of historical necessity."

"He cannot fail us, for he has the Truth," Sheila remarks as an afterthought.

I smile and remain silent, since we have arrived at our destination now and it is accordingly time for us to alight from the compartment, leaving Dillon to continue on his solitary way. It was a long but interesting journey, having the conversation of such a radical, if at times hot-headed, man at our disposal. Who knows, but perhaps we shall meet again, if not in this life then probably in the next one?