On the Glitter: A Manifesto for the Via Niteo
“In the beginning was the Glitter, and the Glitter was with God,and the Glitter was God. Glitter was with God in the beginning. Through Glitter all things were made; without Glitter nothing was made that has been made. In Glitter was life, and that life was the Glitter of all mankind. The Glitter shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome.”
GliJohn 1:1-5
The Via Niteo is Lt. for the “Glitter Way.” Here we see that the Glitter is comparable to the Tao in its function and form.
In the words of grufainia, Mormon philosopher and Keeper of the Eternity Ring, “It exists within the space between spaces and is a never-ending never-beginning source of both bliss and angst, it exists in everyone and brings to pass both the heretic and monk within us all. Glitter is fabulous, scandalous, and occasionally pious.”
And to quote the equally competent bananena, Co-Priestess of the Vampire Eucharist, "You [may] seem to claim that lightness and seriousness are mutually exclusive, which to us is inorganic to human experience, but to each her own. It’s never been our inclination to make such definite distinctions between art and non-art, religious and sacrilegious expression.” (bracketed addition added by me for universal applicability)
And finally, last but certainly not least, biblicalentropy, pioneer of biblical entropy, writes in his “On the definition of Glitter” the following: “Glitter is kinda like post-modernity- it’s hard to define, but it’s relevant somehow. The two major ideas of the Glittecclesia seem to be that everyone is a part of the Glitter, just not everyone acknowledges that, and an affirmation of the ambiguity of pretty much everything. - there’s also a thought system attached, Glitter Theology, and the major tenant of that is that it takes irreverence to be reverent…”
So on to a systematic presentation of the system-shattering, deconstructive and unnameable force/energy that we call Glitter:
I. The Plurality of the Name of Glitter
The name of Glitter is ultimately the name of something I know not what, of the God beyond God, the concealed Tao at the heart of reality, and energy under, behind, above, outside, and within creation. The unnameable source of life and love and celebration, of both the birthing of human knowing and the ultimate demise of human concepts, a source to be celebrated, inviting us into a cosmic party that worships a Holy Mystery birthing and permeating all good things. Thus “glitter” is an appropriate name because it brings to mind celebration and parties. The name is inclusive enough to include theists, atheists, post-theists, pantheists, panentheists, and agnostics.
II. Glitter as a Universal Principle in Philosophy and Science
Like the Logos that holds and penetrates and energizes every particle of creation, the Glitter is both the vibrating particles that move reality forward and the energy from which they emerge. The Glitter has a transcendent telos for creation — including the basic parameters that allow the cosmic party to continue toward integral perfection — as well as a self-emptying dimension, allowing itself to be molded and shaped in the hands of the organic, sentient beings which have evolved from its own kenotic, creative randomosity. Thus the Glitter is both the creative principle of free process through which the cosmic party finds absolute futurity and openness and unpredictability as well as the ordering principle that keeps it from absolute chaos and provides it with a telos toward integrality in cosmic, creaturely love. American philosopher of integral theory and holism, Ken Wilber, speaks of the holistic structure of reality which is made up of a “holarchy” composed of holons within holons within holons…that is, whole/parts which both include the holons within themselves while transcending them through the unforeseeable emergence of absolutely new properties irreducible to the holons included. (i.e. subatomic particles—>atoms—>molecules—>elements—>etc). (For a complete introduction to this theory and the 20 tenets of the theory, see his book A Brief History of Everything.) Glitter is both the holons that compose reality as well as the all-encompassing Spirit/energy/God from which they emanate/fragment.
III. The Glitter Politic/Polis
Glitter is wide enough and generous enough to include people of all creeds and political stances without any partiality, whether Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green Party, Anarchist, Tea Party, or Independent; whether Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Mormon, Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish, agnostic, atheist, etc. This glittery politic is well-emphasized in the story of the prodigal son who upon returning to the open arms of his father discovers a grace that has never left him and a party that awaits him. His return to grace and invitation to a party is his Glitter baptism (to be spoken of shortly). His brother refuses to join the party not because he is rejected but because he himself is exclusive. Thus the Glitter excludes no one. They only exclude themselves. Those who embrace the Glitter are part of an alternative community beyond political and religious and biological identity — a “Glitter Polis” if you will.
IV. The Riteless Rite of Glitter Baptism
It could be said that Glitter Baptism does not really exist, but that it brings others into a fuller existence. To exist is literally to “bring into the foreground.” Glitter Baptism does not bring itself into the foreground as an exclusive and definitive, visual ritual but brings the Other into a fuller future through its opening of futurity and absolute creativity. It dips us into the waters of human community and creaturely love, a washing over by horizontal transcendence. It is a rite without ritual, a “riteless rite” if you will. It is a washing away of oppressive social constructs and the hegemonic chains of ideology that afflict our mental lives, not the implantation of a new ideology. When the prodigal son was welcomed into his father’s arms and into a feast of food, wine, and dancing, he was being baptized into Glitter — the universal principle of absolute love and unconditionality and grace. Although (biblicalentropy believes that gay clubbing should be an essential part of Glitter Baptism, I feel that it is not in the best interest of those who do not have access to such facilities and that it lacks universal applicability. However, the author of The Cross in the Closet did experience gay clubbing and experienced a wonderful Glitter baptism through this completely valid mode of Glitter-experience).
V. Tenets of Glitter Eventuation
A. Blurring the Lines: Ambiguity
As previously stated, Glitter does not concern itself with drawing too many lines and members of Glittecclesia feel free to erase the distinctions between what they see a false binaries: sacred vs. profane, religious vs. sacrilegious, etc. As reblooged, Priestess of Glittecclesia and official deconstructionist, and other existential phenomenologists recognize, Derrida’s critique of metaphysics remains applicable — that the primary move of metaphysics is to violently, reductionistically organize reality into binary oppositions within which one term is subordinated under another (N/d). Glitter is a force of deconstruction, and for Glittecclesia this begins by applying the epistemic humility (constituted by deconstruction) first to the binary of seriousness over humor. If we cannot learn to laugh at our own existential and religious convictions, we are a sad lot because we cannot know for sure that we are right about such things. Mystery begs laughter. All Buddhist monks upon entering Enlightenment must learn how to laugh at everything. Existence is often absurd and the suppression of laughter underneath the banal and oppressive weight of Answers and “Truth” can be suffocating and exhausting. Thus the Glittecclesia is a polis not only where we free ourselves of the shackles of our existential identities but where we can experience catharsis, breathe freely, laugh freely, curse freely, and explore without inhibition. It’s a place where we can laugh at the beliefs we cling to because we know their potential absurdity and that we are a sad lot when we cling too tightly.
B. Irreverence as Reverence: Learning to be Light and Sometimes Pious
In our irreverence we learn to be light. The term light holds a double intentionality. It denotes the release of burdens and the feeling of floating or flying, unchained and emancipated and unfenced. But it also denotes the light that shines in darkness, that radiates and glows. As exiledpioneer, theopoet and resident seminarian of Wake Forest, says, “The (Glit)ter is the g-spot of the cosmos.” All ecstasy flows from the Glitter, so intimacy with the Glitter involves increased ecstasy and joy. But the Glitter is accessible in all things. Like light, is shines and glows through the creation and flashes upon the dance floor of the cosmic party. And it is light, for “my yoke is easy and my Glitter is light.” Thus irreverence allows us to be light and emancipate ourselves from the banality of too much seriousness. In partially disavowing our beliefs as contingent upon our limited and singular experiences, we practice an irreverence which is actually reverent. It is reverent toward the Holy Mystery that stands over and against all conceptual idols. Thus irreverence is reverent because the Holy Mystery of Glitter appreciates our sounding out of idols and openness to the futurity of Glitter-creativity. We are also sometimes pious because we must slow down and learn to revere the Holy Mystery as Other and beyond us. We must learn to contrast our own fragility and human weakness to the Glitter and open our eyes to the absolutely unconditional invitation to the cosmic party. We have received a Call from the Glitter, an unconditional Call that demands our response. We are called to love and revere the Other, and we must be pious in this as well as in our humility before the Holy Mystery.
May the Glitter be with you all until the end of time. Amen.
