I'm in the process of reading Vox Day's new book SJWs Always Lie, and will post a review of it later this week. I'm pleased to disclose that I was able to make a small contribution to this book--a short dialogue between an SJW, an anti-SJW, and a moderate. If you have not read the book yet, this is the modified version Vox published:
Sunday, August 30, 2015
Saturday, August 29, 2015
The start of a recurring theme
I consider myself a tolerant person. My ancestors crossed an ocean to flee religious persecution, that they may worship the Lord in peace according to their faith. I have many friends of different denominations, as well as those of different faiths, and even no faith at all. I would not wish any ill will towards any of them simply for what they believe, as I have no interest in recreating the various conflicts we saw during the Reformation.
I can nit-pick certain things about other denominations of Christianity,(such as the infallibility of the Pope) but ultimately we are one body in Christ. The differences I have with the Jewish faith according to the Torah are the basic ones you'd expect from a Christian. Pagans strike me as a little odd, but as long as human sacrifice doesn't enter the equation I've no objections. I see many atheists as nihilists, so my principal criticism is one of an underappreciation of the arational... not ideal, but certainly not inquisition-worthy. The flaws of individuals notwithstanding, most every faith(or lack thereof) I've encountered has redeeming qualities about it. Unfortunately, I cannot say this of one faith in particular. I cannot tolerate or abide one of the largest faiths in the world: Islam.
Islam is peculiar among what we normally deem religions. It is unique, as to this observer, it seems to be a plan for world domination within a legalistic structure, and indeed always has been. A series of posts would be needed to flesh this out in its fullness, but for now, simply compare central figures in the three Abrahamic faiths:
Moses: Laid the foundations for a legal system, led his people through hostile terrain for decades that they might reach the Promised Land, died having never set foot in it
Jesus: Clarified the laws of Moses, non-aggressive, travelled across the region spreading the Word, crucified and killed for his teachings and our salvation
Muhammad: Adopted the harshest aspects of both religions' legal systems, imperialistic, led his followers to rape and pillage his neighbors, died after a lifetime of forced conversions and subjugation of his fellow man
There are many criticisms that have been(and continue to be) made against Christianity and to a lesser extent Judaism, but none of them come even close to what Islam has done. The early Israelites waged a campaign of conquest upon reaching the Promised Land, but this was one of the few times they acted upon an expansionist impulse. Christians, too, have a history of violence and conquest, but Jesus Himself was a subversion of the Warrior-King archetype, and asked that we take the Cross and follow him; Jesus' stance on pacifism is debatable, but it has a much stronger case than saying He supported the establishment of a Christian theocracy via conquest by men. Islam has been far more committed to aggressively spreading their faith than either of the other Abrahamic religions--starting with their genocidal founder and continuing to the present day. The sad fact is that while moderate Muslims may decry ISIS, their radical counterparts more closely follow the example of Muhammad than they themselves do.
More must, and will, be written on this subject. Every social development that Western civilization has made since the middle ages is threatened by Islam. Good Muslims make bad neighbours, and we must accept this fact if our own way of life is to persevere.
I can nit-pick certain things about other denominations of Christianity,(such as the infallibility of the Pope) but ultimately we are one body in Christ. The differences I have with the Jewish faith according to the Torah are the basic ones you'd expect from a Christian. Pagans strike me as a little odd, but as long as human sacrifice doesn't enter the equation I've no objections. I see many atheists as nihilists, so my principal criticism is one of an underappreciation of the arational... not ideal, but certainly not inquisition-worthy. The flaws of individuals notwithstanding, most every faith(or lack thereof) I've encountered has redeeming qualities about it. Unfortunately, I cannot say this of one faith in particular. I cannot tolerate or abide one of the largest faiths in the world: Islam.
Islam is peculiar among what we normally deem religions. It is unique, as to this observer, it seems to be a plan for world domination within a legalistic structure, and indeed always has been. A series of posts would be needed to flesh this out in its fullness, but for now, simply compare central figures in the three Abrahamic faiths:
Moses: Laid the foundations for a legal system, led his people through hostile terrain for decades that they might reach the Promised Land, died having never set foot in it
Jesus: Clarified the laws of Moses, non-aggressive, travelled across the region spreading the Word, crucified and killed for his teachings and our salvation
Muhammad: Adopted the harshest aspects of both religions' legal systems, imperialistic, led his followers to rape and pillage his neighbors, died after a lifetime of forced conversions and subjugation of his fellow man
There are many criticisms that have been(and continue to be) made against Christianity and to a lesser extent Judaism, but none of them come even close to what Islam has done. The early Israelites waged a campaign of conquest upon reaching the Promised Land, but this was one of the few times they acted upon an expansionist impulse. Christians, too, have a history of violence and conquest, but Jesus Himself was a subversion of the Warrior-King archetype, and asked that we take the Cross and follow him; Jesus' stance on pacifism is debatable, but it has a much stronger case than saying He supported the establishment of a Christian theocracy via conquest by men. Islam has been far more committed to aggressively spreading their faith than either of the other Abrahamic religions--starting with their genocidal founder and continuing to the present day. The sad fact is that while moderate Muslims may decry ISIS, their radical counterparts more closely follow the example of Muhammad than they themselves do.
More must, and will, be written on this subject. Every social development that Western civilization has made since the middle ages is threatened by Islam. Good Muslims make bad neighbours, and we must accept this fact if our own way of life is to persevere.
Hello World
Hello, dear reader. Thank you for visiting. I am Civis Silas, an anonmous man from an anonymous place. Who I am is of little concern compared to what I've learned, what I've experienced, and what I'll do with it.
In a time of intense cultural change, men of conscience must be prepared to use every linguistic tool at their disposal to unearth, refine, and wield the truth. Use of the three basic tools of persuasion--pathos, ethos, and logos--must be employed to their greatest effect by all. It is said that the hottest furnace produces the hardest steel, and so it is the same with the crucible of human civilization. Those educated in the schools of academia must contend with those educated in the schools of the world. Those who adhere to the loftiest ideals must be made to treat with those who follow their basest instincts. These values are not equivalent, but they are complementary. The rural/intuitive leads to the urban/intellectual, and both in harmony make the other richer. The moment that we begin taking certain aspects of the human experience for granted is the moment that their true value becomes lost.
Right now, the modern world is facing a stern indictment. While faith is declining in the West, we're simultaneously told that scientific objectivity might not be all it's cracked up to be. We see a clash of civilizations in the form of the Western secularism/Christianity vs. Islamic theocracy--though clash seems inappropriate, since many supposed adherents of the first seem bound and determined to aid the second in achieving supremacy over them. Ethnic tensions are near-boiling in the West, while the virtues of diversity get forced on a handful of societies. Meanwhile, the global economic situation is anaemic at best, near-collapse at worst, and has been such for at least 7 years now.(though the structural problems go back much further)
With this in mind, and with an earnest hope for the future, I take a new step in helping shape the future, whatever that may hold. I cannot predict the future, but where there is faith, there is hope.
Deus Vult.
In a time of intense cultural change, men of conscience must be prepared to use every linguistic tool at their disposal to unearth, refine, and wield the truth. Use of the three basic tools of persuasion--pathos, ethos, and logos--must be employed to their greatest effect by all. It is said that the hottest furnace produces the hardest steel, and so it is the same with the crucible of human civilization. Those educated in the schools of academia must contend with those educated in the schools of the world. Those who adhere to the loftiest ideals must be made to treat with those who follow their basest instincts. These values are not equivalent, but they are complementary. The rural/intuitive leads to the urban/intellectual, and both in harmony make the other richer. The moment that we begin taking certain aspects of the human experience for granted is the moment that their true value becomes lost.
Right now, the modern world is facing a stern indictment. While faith is declining in the West, we're simultaneously told that scientific objectivity might not be all it's cracked up to be. We see a clash of civilizations in the form of the Western secularism/Christianity vs. Islamic theocracy--though clash seems inappropriate, since many supposed adherents of the first seem bound and determined to aid the second in achieving supremacy over them. Ethnic tensions are near-boiling in the West, while the virtues of diversity get forced on a handful of societies. Meanwhile, the global economic situation is anaemic at best, near-collapse at worst, and has been such for at least 7 years now.(though the structural problems go back much further)
With this in mind, and with an earnest hope for the future, I take a new step in helping shape the future, whatever that may hold. I cannot predict the future, but where there is faith, there is hope.
Deus Vult.
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