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On the scariness of watching the Western world revert to paganism

August 15, 2018 by Bookworm Leave a Comment

There’s a scary paganism to the unbridled blood lust that appears wherever Judeo-Christian ethical monotheism is in retreat.

PaganismEthical monotheism underpins Western civilization. It’s a gift from the Jews, transmitted to large parts of the world through Christians. It is the idea that there is a single God.

Unlike pagan gods, this God is not a larger than life human (complete with human foibles) nor is He an animist spirit endowed with the attributes of whatever earthly thing (whether animal, vegetable, or mineral) He happens to represent. In addition to being the creator of all things (see Genesis) and a covenanter with the Jewish people (something that has been a mixed blessing for them), He is also the absolute and only fount of the core moral values that have governed the Western world for two millennia.

The Judeo-Christian concept of absolute moral values flowing from a creator in whose image we are created, means that there is no moral relativism. There are nuances, as for example in the distinction between murder and self-defense, but the dictates of the Ten Commandments make it perfectly clear what is and is not core ethical behavior. Murder — the cold-blooded killing of another without extenuating circumstances — is wrong. Stealing, whether stealing someone’s life, liberty, or property, is wrong. Coveting, not in a way that makes one try harder to achieve some through ones own efforts, but in a way that makes one greedy, resentful, and dishonest, is not only wrong, it is soul-destroying.

The God of the Jews can be a harsh task master, obsessed as He is with justice and moral virtue. Christ tempered that harshness with a concept I’ve always called, for want of a better word, grace. The combination of the  two — moral justice and grace — led the way to the end of slavery, a condition existing since time immemorial; the end of child labor, a condition existing since time immemorial; the elevation of women to shared status with men, something that got a huge boost through the cult of Mary worship; and, most importantly, to the amazingly important idea of individual worth.

To the extent that we are all children of the Judeo-Christian God, shaped in His image, we have an unparalleled value. We are not merely cosmic dust. We are not the products of some Greek god’s ego. We are not meaningless animals. We are something exceptional and precious. Moreover, history has shown that, when we are given liberty, coupled with that ethical monotheism, we will thrive, creating societies that are safer, happier, and more prosperous than most in history.

Having said all that, I know that, more often than not, we humans, being fallible, have fallen far short of the purest Judeo-Christian dictates. Whether as nations or as individuals, we have enslaved, killed, robbed, cheated, and done all the things the Ten Commandments tell us not to do. But would we have been better had there been no Ten Commandments at all? Would the human condition have improved if we weren’t constantly, one generation after another, trying to learn and figure out how to optimize the rules of ethical monotheism? And most importantly, would the world be a better place if we hadn’t slowly, slowly, crept towards an understanding of individual worth? I think not.

All of the above is a predicate to a couple of news stories, a short history lesson, and a long-ago comment from my friend Danny Lemieux. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Religion Tagged With: Abortion, Aztecs, Brazil, Castroites, Chelsea Clinton, Chicago, Christianity, Crime, Ethical Monotheism, Human Sacrifice, Judeo-Christian, Khmer Rouge, Maoists, Marxism, Miwoks, Murder, Native Americans, Nazis, North Korea, Paganism, Pagans

The Bookworm Beat 9/18/16 — the “people are singing” edition and open thread

September 18, 2016 by Bookworm 15 Comments

Woman-writing-300x265The strong symbolism behind Trump’s Les Deplorables appearance. Back in the mid- to late-ish 1980s, I saw the San Francisco premiere of Les Misérables. I am sorry to report that it was entirely wasted on me. I’d never read Hugo’s book (still haven’t) and I’d actually never even heard of the musical. I went only because a friend invited me and I was then saddened to find myself listening to an opera. A pop opera, admittedly, but still an opera. I am a cultural Luddite, and don’t like operas. Operettas and musicals (i.e., lighthearted fare with songs interspersed with dialogue) delight me, but I’m a total fail at the whole opera thing.

I think, though, that I might have to make an exception to my pop-opera aversion or at least an exception to one song. I am lost in delight for the way in which Trump and his supporters have taken Hillary’s “Basket of Deplorables” insult and turned it into the identifier for a political revolution. By now, you all know that Trump appeared at a maximum capacity rally in Miami with a giant “Les Deplorables” image behind him and with “Do you hear the people sing?” from Les Misérables blaring on the sound system. Genius, sheer genius. This is what political judo is supposed to look like.

Les-Deplorables

Moreover, when I went to investigate the song, I discovered, barring the unnerving reference to some deaths in the second verse, that the song’s lyrics are remarkably apropos for a man intent upon turning upside down the current Leftist, elitist, corrupt, dysfunctional political system. Though there is no guarantee Trump can actually make good on that promise, at least he’s making the promise (Hillary promises more of the same, only worse).

The American people, in increasing numbers, are singing their hope that Trump’s out-of-the-box thinking and practical experience might be all that’s left to bring about systemic change and reinvigorate American individualism and exceptionalism. In that spirit, here’s the song, with lyrics:

Incidentally, this is one of those occasions when one hopes that the same creative energy shown in challenging the media and the Democrat/Progressive party shows itself again if/when Trump is in the White House. America is safest when she’s a strong horse. She is no longer either safe or strong.

Over the past eight years, Obama has wasted our economy, weakened our military, led us from behind into retreat and failure, and has been determined and resolute only about turning America into coyote chum. Change needs to come swiftly or it may be too late. Trump’s creativity, energy, and ability to feed off of hurdles and losses, bodes well for a lugubrious, wounded country that needs to be up and lively very quickly.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: African-Americans, Books, Christians, Donald Trump, Jews, Sex Tagged With: African-Americans, Christianity, Do You Hear The People Sing, Jasper Fforde, Jewish Funerals, Judeo-Christian Sexual Mores, Les Deplorables, Les Misérables, Pagans, The Eyre Affair, White Privilege

Neo-Paganism is sweeping the First World — and that’s a bad thing *UPDATED*

February 1, 2015 by Bookworm 34 Comments

Human sacrifice discovered in Denmark

Pagan human sacrifice discovered in Denmark bog

Over the past few days, in connection with posts about Islam’s innately violent nature (which I see as being different from the fact that Europeans used violence in Christianity’s name), I’ve come up with a little mantra:

Europeans, who initially were not that far from paganism, brought the sword to Christianity. Christianity, which came from the Jews not the European pagans, did not bring the sword to Europe.  Islam, by contrast, brings its own sword to the game.

I’ve also suggested that Europeans, by abandoning Christianity, are reverting to paganism.  There’s that word again:  “paganism.”  It’s been sounding in my brain like a tocsin.

The more I look at Europe, the more I’m convinced that Europe has returned it its roots.  It is, once again, a pagan continent.  America is running in that direction too, but to the extent our continent was populated by post-pagan people, who destroyed or marginalized the indigenous pagans found here, we are traveling down that same path more slowly.

Before I start running away with this concept, I’d better start defining my terms.  What exactly do I mean by “pagan”?

1.  Pagans are not monotheists nor do they believe in an abstract god.  Instead, pagans are earth worshippers, who see mystical forces behind natural processes and assign gods (plural) to explain those forces.  The gods are not driven by rational or just behavior, but act like humans would if there were no constraints on them.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Morality, Religion Tagged With: Antisemitism, Climate change, Earth Worship, Gaia, Pagans, Sex Week, Slut Walks, Traditional Morality

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