Paul D. Collins - Invoking the Beyond: : The Kantian Rift, Mythologized Menaces, and the Quest for the New Man

INVOKING
the
BEYOND:

The Kantian Rift, Mythologized Menaces,
and the Quest for the New Man

Paul & Phillip D. Collins

INVOKING THE BEYOND:
THE KANTIAN RIFT, MYTHOLOGIZED MENACES,
AND THE QUEST FOR THE NEW MAN

Copyright 2020 Paul & Phillip D. Collins.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-6632-1351-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6632-1354-9 (e)

iUniverse rev. date: 11/19/2020

CONTENTS

This book is the product of seven long years of research and writing. Its completion and publication were chronically delayed by numerous personal and professional commitments. Given the sizable investment of sweat equity in the composition of this book, these authors are compelled to preface this material with a few disclaimers, clarifying statements, and acknowledgements.

Firstly, there is actually another unofficial coauthor who contributed to this ambitious work. Michael Corbin, the now-deceased host of a nationally syndicated radio talk show dubbed A Closer Look , had proposed writing a book with these authors nearly a decade ago. Before his reversion to the Catholic faith, Michael had been spiritually adrift and indulged a preoccupation with Forteana. Chief among the Fortean topics he entertained was Ufology. He frequented many Ufological circles and began to notice the unsettling propensities and dubious ties of several individuals populating that milieu. Exposure to the darker elements of this otherwise rebuffed field precipitated Michaels eventual return to his Catholic faith. The possible terrestrial origin of the UFO phenomenon was a topic that Michael was passionate about and he hoped to collaborate with these authors concerning it. Chapter Seven of this book is essentially the product of the research that these authors had jointly commenced with Michael before his tragic passing. Though he did not live to witness the tangible enactment of our collaborative effort, these authors would like to think that Michael is now a part of that cloud of witnesses compassing us as we patiently run the race set before us. Hopefully, this book will advance us further toward the finish line.

Secondly, the topic of this book shall be examined through the prism of Christianity, particularly the Orthodox tradition. These authors do not apologize for employing this interpretative lens. We know the Truth and it is in the light of His revelation that history finds its ultimate meaning.

Thirdly, it goes without saying that these authors do not necessarily agree with all of the views espoused by some of the sources we cite. The observations, comments, assessments, and opinions that we quote herein should be judged on the basis of propositional content. They should not be dismissed entirely because the thinkers from whom they issue might espouse some untenable views. As the old aphorism goes, A broken clock is right at least twice a day. This should be kept in mind when readers encounter quotes from the more controversial parties that these authors cite in this work.

Fourthly, there are many people who helped us along the way and it would be remiss of us not to mention them. Paul Collins would like to thank his loving wife Maricris and his two wonderful children Nevaeh and David for the support and devotion they have given through the highs and lows of this endeavor. Phillip D. Collins would like to thank his lovely wife, Brandie, who has consistently supported him throughout this process and developed the cover design for the book. Collectively, these authors would like to thank their good friend, Donald Dubon, who has literally been their brother from another mother. They would also like to thank their sister, Tracy, and their mother, Linda Collins. Most importantly, they wish to thank their Lord Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of their faith.

CHAPTER ONE

OUT THERE :
The Beyond Defined

With five feeble senses we pretend to comprehend
the boundlessly complex cosmos

H.P. Lovecraft

The Haunter of the Dark

Few things can engender compliance like fear and few fears are more compelling than the fear of the unknown. When faced with ontologically and epistemologically overwhelming forces, the human mind tends to entertain the previously untenable transaction of liberty for security. Thus, the invocation of such forces can be especially advantageous for would-be oligarchs. Those forces, however diverse and dissimilar, fall under a single descriptive appellation: the Beyond. The core commonality that unites them is their origin with that side of reality that has been arbitrarily deemed unknowable. As inhabitants of terra incognita , they are ontologically and epistemologically beyond man. Thus, each one of these supposedly unknown forces constitutes individual manifestations of the Beyond. In this self-avowed age of scientifically illumined minds, the long-cherished metaphysical certainties of a supra-mundane God and an attendant supra-sensible sphere have diminished substantially in terms of ideational significance. In their place sits the Beyond, a surrogate for the numinous realities that have been deposed by the dominant scientistic paradigm. The Beyond functions as a sort of conceptual Rorschach inkblot. Aspiring oligarchs project their own pragmatically contoured divinities and sorcerous forces upon its indefinable surface. In so doing, they exploit the intuitive theism harbored by people in their youth and advance a new hierocracy of saintly technocrats. With humanitys eyes averted from the authentic Divine, mans collective spiritual compass has been recalibrated to guide his allegiances toward the intramundane gods and immanent forces of modernitys priesthood.

The Beyond is a product of what could be called the Kantian Rift. This neologism is used in reference to an assumed disjunction between the mind and objective reality. This rift, which defines modern philosophy, resulted from an extremely influential epistemological theory posited by German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Professor Colin Brown explains the Kantian theory of knowledge:

Kants view of knowledge may be summed up by saying that its raw material consists of sensible impressions which is processed by the human mind. In processing this raw material the mind employs the Forms of Intuition of space and time. Neither space nor time represent properties of things in themselves. Space is nothing but the form of all appearances of outer sense, whereas time is the form of the inner sense. Time and space belong to our intuition. As such they apply to objects only insofar as objects are viewed as appearances, and do not present things as they are in themselves. This is the sole field of their validity; should we pass beyond it, no objective use can be made of them.