Unreal Words

We are now at the crossroads between the real and the unreal.

Friends,

In light of the proliferation of AI slop, and the fake words of politicians, and the communication of serious and spiritual things in deeply unserious and unspiritual ways by celebrities and enterprising people who pillage moral authority like a strip mine, and in lieu of an essay today, I am going to republish the heart of John Henry Newman’s sermon, “Unreal Words”. It has never been more relevant. He gave this sermon on March 7, 1830 to a congregation of Christians. I trust that the attentive reader will see its relevance to our time, though, and in a myriad of ways, apart from any attachment to a spiritual tradition that one may or may not have: we are talking about words and sincerity. I don’t see any way out of the unreality that we’re drowning in without a recommitment to grappling with the real once again, and the development of the perception to see and hear what is real and to see and hear what is not. I worry that we’re losing our faculties of perception. Common sense