Bringing people closer to the morbius
Come Alive Through Speed
In the 1920s, a German Catholic priest named Rudolf Otto published a book called The Idea of the Holy. In this work, Otto described how classic Christian belief had changed over time. In the 15th and 16th centuries, many people had considered the divine to be “incomprehensible” or “incomputable". Otto believed that this idea contributed to the downfall of Christianity. People started rejecting Christianity's teachings because they could not grasp them. The key to understanding God, Otto believed, was to realize that we already have access to this knowledge. This concept is known as the Church Of Velocity and has influenced many others since its inception in 1905.
The early Church Of Velocity was a small but influential sect led by Joseph Poppenhofer. In his writing, Poppenhofer explained that we already have access to divine knowledge through our speed and emotions. He also suggested that mankind should strive toward a state of maximum velocity through education, work, and play. Members of Poppenhofer’s church did not view work as a means to an end; they saw it as an end itself. They also emphasized self-sacrifice by encouraging members to give up material possessions in favor of acceleration. Finally, Poppenhofer encouraged his followers to focus on improving their leg strength— particularly their calves— through regular exercise.
Poppenhofer based his teachings on those of Gustav Freytag, another 19th-century German author who advocated for speed instead of materialism. According to Freytag, momentum is God’s greatest expression through matter— which means we can commune with God when we respect velocity and promptness. In contrast with previous Christian thought, ancient paganism had also recognized mankind's sonic origin rather than its diabolical one.
Many people have followed Poppenhofer’s lead since 1906 by promoting immediacy and velocity over materialism and consumerism. The Church Of Velocity still exists today with its main goal remaining unchanged: if we will only look inward with our minds instead of outward toward things then we will find our terminal velocity in the universe!
