The Logos, said the Apostle, is not yes and no but always Yes, always Amen, always glory to God, always glorification in God (2 Cor1:18-20). The Logos in the beginning, the Logos with God in the primordial arche, the Logos who is God from God, is always ‘Yes,’ always the primordial ‘Yes,’ the originative ‘Amen,’ the first glory and the very last glory of all. So when the Apostle says that God chose what is not to bring to naught what is, we are obliged to set these ‘things that are not,’ ta me onta, firmly within the ‘Yes,’ the ‘Amen’ and the glorification (1 Cor 1:22-31). The Apostle says here that God chose folly to shame the wise and weakness to shame the strong, showing that ultimately the ‘Yes’ of folly is wisdom and the ‘Amen’ of weakness is power, not the power of the powers that be, but indestructible energy of unconditional glory. It follows that every ‘no’ is within the primordial ‘Yes,’ not-being something or somebody is within the originating ‘Amen,’ because the ignorant negation falls within archaeological glory. The ‘Yes’ is the Logos of the Name, the Amen is the Logos of glory, for both are anarchic Logos, which is pure ‘Yes,’ not yes and no, pure ‘So-be-it,’ not either yes or no, pure ‘thus-so,’ not even neither yes or no, for here every ‘either/or’ ultimately amounts to ‘Yes,’ to ‘Amen,’ to unconditional glorification.
Here, in the Logos, ‘Amen,’ ‘thus-so,’ is the ‘Yes’ within which arises any and every possibility of ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Every conditional ‘no’ arises within this unconditional ‘Yes,’ this ‘Amen,’ this Logos of the Holy Name. Resistance says ‘no’ within this ‘Yes’ that it feels it cannot yet embrace, but since outside the ‘Yes’ there is nothing at all, the ‘no’ of resistance cannot in the end say ‘no’ except within ‘Yes.’ There is glory in the Name saying ‘Yes’ beneath or beyond every ‘no,’ even when ‘no’ is refusing to say ‘yes.’ The Spirit of ‘I AM’ does not enforce ‘Yes;’ it frees ‘Yes’ to be a wholehearted ‘Yes.’ Indeed, the Spirit of glory guarantees freedom to say ‘no,’ even as he invites a wholehearted ‘Yes.’ He calls for ‘Yes’ within the Name, a whole-hearted ‘Amen’ within the Logos, whole-minded glorification within the glory, whole-souled affirmation even when saying ‘no.’ This ‘Yes’ deconstructs every conditioned ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ It is the meaning or Logos of the Name, in whom we live and move and have our being. He is truth, the meaning of truth, the unveiling of truth, the spirit of truth unveiling truth, which is truth everywhere and truth fulfilling all things. A healthy pluralism embraces this unconditional truth as many truths, but unhealthy nihilism says there is no unconditional truth because all truths are relative. Unhealthy nihilism conceals a sneaky sleight of hand, for it conceals its own pathological self-contradiction. To say all truths are relative, entails, if true, that there must necessarily be one unconditional truth, namely the truth that all truths are relative.
Nihilism is disastrous self-contradiction, inherent incoherence, destructive disintegration. Sick nihilism slides helplessly into narcissism, a post-truth culture, which says there are no truths, there is only what feeds my self-esteem. This nihilism then drives identity politics, which regresses to ethnocentric narcissism. When pluralist culture promotes equality, nihilism sneaks in as narcissism denying the economic facts, which scream inequality. A legitimation crisis follows which engenders the populism ofBrexit and Trump, both empowered by Murdoch’s post-truth press. Nihilism will continue to cling to no-truth until the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ of relative truth awaken to the unconditional ‘Yes,’ see through the ‘no’ that opposes ‘yes,’ restoring all relativity to the primordial ‘Yes,’ the ‘Yes’ that says ‘Amen’ to glory opening to boundless glory, ‘Yes’ opening to ‘Yes’ right down, right through. In the meantime, Trump is inadvertently tweeting the folly of truthless nihilism, manifesting the dialectical cunning of wisdom with every tweet.
The hallowing culture of ‘Yes’ is what Christian tradition used to call the Kingdom of God, which is what unveils itself when the Holy Name is hallowed and the divine will to bless with unconditional good is done. It is the culture of unconditioned truth which inspires love of the good and the beautiful. It is a culture of unconditional grace inspiring unconditional faith, hope and love, which restores ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to the primordial ‘Yes.’ Wisdom cures nihilism by restoring healthy pluralism which sees the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ of many truths as sound expressions of her unconditional ‘Yes,’ of un-conditioning ‘Amen,’ of unbinding, boundless glory. Healthy pluralism, cured of nihilism and narcissism, can then break open into a culture of holistic integrity, then into a culture of translucent integrity. Each break-through is a wider and deeper ‘Yes,’ a more complete ‘Amen,’ wholeness of glory breaking through into higher and deeper wholeness of glory. When wisdom steps back yet again and holds an integral ‘yes’ and translucent ‘no’ within her unconditional ‘Yes,’ that ‘Yes’ opens out into ‘Amen,’ now transcending unfolding within integral enfolding without end.
The unconditional heart of the ‘Yes’ is not in time, the fullness of the ‘Yes’ is a temporal unfolding and enfolding. The heart of the ‘Yes’ works with unconditional paradox, the fullness of the ‘Yes’ works with unfolding, enfolding dialectic. ‘I AM’ without names is ‘Yes’ within Godhead beyond ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ ‘I AM’ with names is ‘Yes’ of fullness in God embracing ‘yes’ and ‘no,’ without getting stuck in either ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ The Logos of ‘I AM’ is unconditional ‘Yes,’ un-conditioning ‘Amen,’ unconditioned wisdom opening to un-conditioning glory as an ever-expanding ‘Yes.’ The ‘Yes’ inspires a catholicity of releasing wholeness that breaks open the constrictions of Roman Catholicism. The ‘Amen’ inspires an Orthodoxy that is unceasingly renewed by the glory of the ‘Yes.’ When both ecclesial worlds awaken beyond the broken structures of pre-modern Christendom, fractured modern Christianity and disintegrated post-modern Christianness, wisdom in Christ presses forward into glory as transcending ‘Yes’ and inclusive ‘Amen.’ But the ‘Yes’ and the ‘Amen’ are what they always were, the hallowing ‘Yes’ of the Name opening realms of glory beyond glory, glory being unceasing release.