on the Dark Ages.

“If we say we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

Since the Fall there have been (at least) three kinds of Dark Ages.

The first kind is the Enlightened Dark Age. This is the Dark Age that realizes its own darkness.

The Dark Age of the Second Order is the age that understands what a Dark Age is but fails to realize that it is in one.

The third, or Darkest Age, is the age that is not only unaware of its own darkness, but it has completely forgotten what a Dark Age is.

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Could it be that, with the work of Christ in place, the necessary and sufficient condition for saving faith is the act of choosing to see myself as I am?

(We must not forget asking for forgiveness and repentance, but in the natural order of things these simply follow choosing to see one's self in the presence of Christ.)