Read it here. I usually don't link to Mark's website for obvious reasons. As I've said, learning about Christianity from Mark today is as useful as asking Fred Phelps to explain the Gay Rights Movement. The Mark Shea of 2005 long ago left the building.
Nonetheless, it's an interesting case study of the approach of forever hiding any part of the Gospel under a bushel when the world demands. Mark, like so many Christians today, justifies constantly retreating and giving up whenever we're told by insisting we don't know what we know. Mark, for instance, knows full well what CE and BCE mean. Those who use the terms make it clear what they mean, and why they use the new replacement terms.
But note the denial. Denial or compromise that are always wrapped in a Jesus banner of righteous justification. Or worse, the idea that CE means Jesus to me, but can mean anything to you. As if somehow Jesus is just a Christian thing, but others are just fine in their own walks. Not something ever endorsed by orthodox Christianity that I'm aware of.
Many Christians don't see the problem with the emerging post-Western revolution, since they've all but admitted they will acquiesce, compromise and surrender whenever the new modernist world demands. But those who would resist see the obvious problem and the gathering storm clouds. They can already see the catastrophic body count and endless suffering this revolution has brought.
Why so many Christians are quickly jettisoning the entire Christian Western tradition, Christian culture, Christian values, and even other Christians, is something I can't guess. Whether they secretly no longer believe, or they simply weren't prepared for a movement of intolerance and crushing oppression that will happily fire you and ruin you if you don't conform, I don't know. My guess is that anyone Mark's age or older never imagined we'd be in a nation where people are called upon to be fired for insisting men can't have babies.
In any event, I just know we're watching a movement making it clear - nakedly, painfully, obviously clear - that it wants the heritage of the entire Christian Faith and Christian West to be burned to the ground. If it must convince us that all Whites are racists and can only be redeemed by the saving blood of the Leftist State, so be it. Whatever the reason or whatever the tactics, the goals are more and more apparent.
What is equally obvious is what has always been obvious since biblical times: Whenever someone comes in with the latest Asherah pole, you can bet the majority of believers will find ways to keep one foot in the Temple, and one foot at the base El's consort. Slick arguments that insist all true believers should bow before Asherah were doubtlessly no different than those thousands of years later.
Mark's words and tone just doesn't seem to me to be a proper beginning for the season of Lent where we are marked with ashes with words "Remember O Man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." Far be it from me to declare myself perfect in the eyes of God but if we condemn large swaths of people as pseudo Catholics as Mark has done then my head would perk up when ever I hear the word hypocrite uttered.
ReplyDeleteThe strange thing? Years ago one of Mark's biggest beefs with Rad Trads, as they were called, was their tendency of saying who is and isn't a legit Catholic, or pure enough Catholic, or true Catholic. That seems to be almost a doctrine for modernity: of course it's wrong when they do it.
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