The Most Violant

We hear a lot about violence today. The Left screams about the so-called violence of January 6 "insurrection" at the Capitol; although from what I've read, nobody who took part was armed, so I'm not sure how they intended to overthrow the government. Of course, the Right tries to shout just as loud about the far worse summer of violence by the thugs who carried out the violent and often deadly dirty work of BLM and Antifa in the streets of our cities. But the most violent Americans of all are those who support abortion. They encourage or actively take part in the slaughter of the most innocent human beings among us, and they do so with almost indescribable violence. If anyone actually saw what is done to an unborn child during an abortion, I don't know how they could possibly support this unspeakable act of violence.

Today on the news I saw several videos of large groups of pro-choice protesters attacking police officers. To put this into perspective, over the years I made probably ten trips to Washington, DC to take part in the annual March for Life in January. And I also attended several similar marches in Boston and here in Florida. During all these marches -- or "protests" as the media labels them -- I never saw any violence from the pro-life participants. In fact, the only violence I ever saw or experienced came from pro-abortion protestors who tried to interfere with the marches. They often threw objects, including bottles, at the marchers and always accompanied these acts with screams of profanity-laced insults. Even more amazing, I never saw a pro-lifer try to respond in kind. Yes, indeed, to be pro-abortion -- and, folks, if you call yourself "pro-choice," you know full well that you're really pro-abortion -- is also to be pro-violence.

When our ostensibly Catholic President blathers about the wonders of abortion and how the Supreme Court is trying to take away this "sacred right," all I can do (after I try to avoid getting sick to my stomach) is pray for his immortal soul. That he would utter such drivel, really a stream of blasphemies, and then receive Our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist...well, that is the ultimate blasphemy. Speaker Pelosi is no different, except she seems to be able to read her teleprompter a bit better than President Biden. In the end, though, she mouths the same talking points that try to change evil to good. And through their verbal attacks they encourage physical attacks. Just listen to their words.

Thank God for those five Supreme Court Justices who seem poised to overturn the unconstitutional and murderous Roe v. Wade decision of January 22, 1973. I believe the Left made a huge mistake by leaking that draft of the court's likely decision. Too many Americans are ignorant of what abortion really involves and what the Left hopes to achieve. This controversy will not only force the truth out into the open, but also show the nation the kind of violent people who support this evil. Of course, the decision would simply return to power to the states where it would be decided by legislators and executives who are elected by the people. 

The pro-life view is simple to state and easy to understand: 

1. Life is sacred. 

2. An unborn child is a human life, the most innocent of all human lives. 

3. Abortion, then, is nothing less than the intentional slaughter of an innocent human life. 

Pass it on.

Roots of Modern Gnosticism

Okay, folks, I'm going to get a bit philosophical in this post and perhaps in a few that follow. If you'd rather not join me as I try to delve into the whys and wherefores of what's happening in our country and the world, I suggest you check out some of those cute animal videos on YouTube. They'll be far less disturbing.

A week or so ago, a parishioner sent me an email and remarked, "I can hardly believe how much the world has changed in just a past few months." I wanted to respond, "No, you're wrong. It's hardly changed at all. The symptoms of the world’s evils are simply more evident. Most folks just don't pay attention and have no real sense of history." But that wouldn't be kind. Anyway, I tire more easily these days, and to have explained it all would have taken far too much time and energy, so I just gave him a virtual nod and wrote nothing in response. Once again, my inherent laziness won out. Guilt, however, occasionally conquers even laziness, so today I thought I'd better address the issue.

What is actually happening in our nation and our world today? I believe most sane, intelligent human beings would agree that the violence, hatred, destruction, looting, riots, defacement, dissembling, and all the rest are not good things. Below, for example, is a video of a hardly peaceful Black Lives Matter "protest" in Trenton, New Jersey. It's actually hard to watch the entire video, and please note that it also contains some rather graphic language. You can watch it if you like, or simply believe me when I say it’s both violent and very disturbing.

The video shows one of the more benign violent episodes plaguing our nation today, and here we encounter violence, presumably just for the sake of violence. But not really, for the organizers of these events are motivated by a desire to destroy the visible symbols of the existing culture. If, however, you disagree and believe the activities depicted in the video are good, then once again, I suggest you visit YouTube and allow your heart to be softened by the cute critter videos. The rest of us will begin by looking first at what Sacred Scripture tells us and then delve into human history to better recognize the symptoms and the illness that afflict us.

But first, let's recall St. Paul's words:

"Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" [Rom 5:10].

Understanding this, we pray that God's grace fill the hearts of those who encourage and commit this violence. I'd rather they experience a spiritual conversion than an earthly punishment. As we pray for them, let's also ask the Holy Spirit to lead us in our response. He always responds to prayer, although not always in ways we expect or desire.

Remarkably, when I began to think and pray about these things a few days ago, the Spirit led me to the prophet Isaiah, a man with whom I seem to spend a lot of time these days. Anyhow, I opened my Bible and there it was. I didn't even have to turn the page.

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter" [Is 5:20].

Like Isaiah, we're called to discernment, to the discernment of spirits. We must sort out the evil from the good and the good from the evil. The evil we encounter today is certainly very evil, but really no different from the evils that have plagued humanity from its beginnings. It was first manifested in Eden when the serpent tempted our first parents to reject the one, true, living God that they might become gods themselves. As Satan, speaking of the forbidden fruit, put it: 

"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" [Gn 3:5].

Satan was, of course, lying, because he always lies. Whenever we encounter the words of Satan, we must remember what Jesus, the Incarnate Word, says of him:

"He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies" [Jn 8:44].

Because Satan has "no truth in him," everything he says is a lie. Disobedience and sin do not open our eyes; just the opposite: they close our eyes, our minds, and our hearts to the extent that we confuse both good and evil.

Seemingly oblivious to the precious gift of their creation in God's "image and likeness" [Gn 1:26], Adam and Eve succumbed to the temptation to "be like God." Through their fall, we are all infected by the same spiritual virus. From Eden the presence of evil continued to spread throughout human history, leaving in its wake death, destruction, sinfulness, and so many damaged souls.

But God's love for us knows no bounds and He promised redemption [Gn 3:15]. Through Abraham He chose a people from which a Savior would arise to free the world from its enslavement by sin. Out of this chosen people God gave the world His Son, Jesus, who became one of us, taught us, healed us, and died for us as the sacrificial "Lamb of God." Rising from the dead, He opened the gates of heaven to us, offering us eternal life. 

Jesus, then, is the Way, for no one can come to the Father except through Him [Jn 14:6]. He is the Truth, the truth that will set us free [Jn 8:32]. And He is the Life, for the Father gives us eternal life through Jesus, His Son, and the Son's redemptive act. [1 Jn 5:11]. All of this God communicated to us through His Revealed Word, Sacred Scripture, and His Church, the custodian of Apostolic Tradition.

But man being man, many rejected not only the Redeemer, but also the Truth of Revelation. Instead of turning to his Creator, the creature preferred to turn inward, believing that man himself is the measure of all things. This is not some recent, 21st-century phenomenon. It's plagued humanity for centuries. And it was particularly evident among the ancient Gnostics, who declared themselves to be the "people who know."

Gnosticism, often considered an early Christian heresy, likely had far more ancient origins. Most early pagan religions, not unlike Judaism and Christianity, believed in varying ways that man's "salvation" came about, if not through faith, then through obedience to the will of God, however that supreme power might be envisioned. But Gnosticism viewed being through a very different lens. It held that Gnostics possessed special knowledge, knowledge that made them superior to those who did not know; i.e., the rest of humanity.

Where did this come from? Quite likely it was a response to the societal, indeed, the civilizational, changes that swept through the ancient world beginning around the 7th century B.C. Empires rose, conquered, and collapsed, while entire populations were exiled and enslaved. Efforts to establish independent city states, nation states, and ethnic states failed, the result of internal disorder and external pressures. In the midst of this turmoil and chaos, societies and their institutions crumbled leaving humanity disoriented without any sense of meaning. If this sounds vaguely familiar, realize that human nature and human history really haven't changed all that much.

Our ancient ancestors, at least some of them, strove to understand it all, to find meaning amidst the rubble. And so we find stoicism, epicureanism, Eastern mystery religions, Manichaeism, and other, largely short-lived attempts to help humanity deal with itself. Judaism and Christianity were the obvious survivors, but so too was another attempt to define the meaning of our existence: Gnosticism.

Because ancient Gnosticism appeared in many different forms, and was embraced by a number of different sects, one hesitates to suggest an all-encompassing definition. Generally, however, the ancient Gnostics saw the world as an alien place from which man must escape to his true home. As one early gnostic text demanded: "Deliver us from the darkness of the world into which we are flung." Gnostics did not see the world as the well-ordered cosmic creation that God declared as "good." For them it was a prison created by the evil God of this world, whether it be the Zeus of the Greeks, or the Jewish Yahweh. The good, but "hidden God" would provide them with the means of escape and deliver them. This would come about through hidden knowledge -- the gnosis -- revealed only to the elite, those who know.

I believe we can safely say that gnosis, in both its ancient and its modern variations, desires dominion over being. In other words, it replaces God with man. As you might imagine, it strives to achieve this dominion by exerting power over others.

In my next post, we'll look more closely at ancient Gnosticism's modern successors.

Strange Doings

Just a few of the random thoughts that have arisen in my often confused and certainly aging mind as I try to understand the more confused minds of those who make the headlines.

Oh, Canada! A few days ago an acquaintance asked me, "Did you read what Canada has done? What's with those Canadians? Have they gone insane?" He was referring to a law passed overwhelmingly (67 to 11) by the Canadian Senate that makes it a crime to refer to a person's sex by other than the term the person desires. In other words, should a Canadian decide that he/she/it is none of these but prefers to be called by another manufactured pronoun, such as "zir" or "zie" or "zit" or whatever, you must acquiesce to the loon's desires or face criminal prosecution. As my friend suggested, this is, of course, insane. But rest assured, the Canadians have not "gone" insane, they have simply remained insane. Indeed, a mild form of insanity has been their occasional mental state for the past few hundred years. After all, rather than join us in our quest to free ourselves from tyranny, they remained loyal to King George III, a man whose madness is rather well documented. So...the Canadians rejected George Washington -- a good guy and a very smart and sane man -- and instead placed their future well-being in the hands of another George, who happened to be a madman. I rest my case. I have only one question: Will those 11 senators who voted against the measure be prosecuted for discrimination? This would seem to be the most likely outcome for a nation comfortable with insanity.

LGBTQetc and Islam. Isn't it a bit odd that the Alphabet Corps of self-declared victims of sexual discrimination has become another voice decrying what they perceive to be Western (i.e., once Christian) Civilization's rampant Islamophobia? I do find this odd since virtually every Muslim-majority nation has sharia-based laws prohibiting homosexual and "related" behavior. And in many of these nations -- including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Yemen, Sudan, and others -- the punishment under these laws includes the death penalty. Strange bedfellows...so to speak. It only confirms the late James Burnham's belief that liberalism is just another form of suicide. (See his remarkable and prophetic 1964 book, Suicide of the West.) 

Violence on the Left. What do Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Tse Tung, Fidel Castro, and Bernie Sanders have in common? Well, OK, four of them are dead, but all five are (or were) Marxists. And once we establish that basic fact, the violence we encounter on the political left today becomes understandable. Socialism is just a seemingly "soft" form of Marxism. But it is Marxism nonetheless and accepts the basic tenets of Marxist faith. One of these tenets is the need for revolution to accomplish its ends. In the words of Elton John: "We go up the revolution, freedom strike another blow. Yeah, strike another blow." In this context, of course, freedom includes only the freedom to believe what the Marxist believes.

That's why all of those young collegiate Marxists, who have been indoctrinated by all those aging professorial Marxists, get violent whenever someone who holds an opposing view dares to show up on campus. Yeah, strike another blow.

That's why a mediocre comedian can hold up an effigy of the decapitated head of the president and get rave reviews from her fellow travelers. Yeah, strike another blow.

That's why a Bernie Sanders toady can decide it's fine to shoot up a Republican congressional baseball practice. Yeah, strike another blow.

That's why a Nebraskan Democratic official can say he wished the baseball-field shooter had actually killed that  Republican representative instead of just wounding him. Yeah, strike another blow.

Interestingly, according to a recent poll, registered Democrats now prefer socialism to free-market capitalism by a double-digit advantage: 49% to 37%. I can only assume this will lead to increased violence on the left and quite likely an increase in violent responses from the far right.

Yes, indeed, we live in a strange, confused world. Thank God for God.