- Dan Shea, EGL 2
The word pagan is an anathema in our culture and not verbalized. Yet a significant portion of the culture subscribes to the precepts of paganism. Other pseudonyms help to disguise how much incrementalism has changed the society and its values. This flourishing culture decided to collapse the walls of propriety and dispense with the rules. The goal is to extinguish the embers of traditional values and consign them to the ash heap of history.
The architects behind this ideology quickly and quietly amassed their powers and honed their skills to effect this change confident success would be forthcoming. They correctly surmised the average individual was not willing to stand up for what is right if it meant exposing oneself to ridicule or taking direct action. Sadly, the timid and apprehensive aided this effort simply because they were persuaded it was time to change antiquated mores and free their ravenous appetites from any attending guilt.
The resolve to intensify differences between believers and non-believers erodes the potential for open-minded civility. One tactic of a pagan society is to attempt to alleviate personal guilt. Yet pitted against the inbuilt primacy of individual conscience their efforts are often futile. Guilt is hard to remove and one struggles in vain trying to find a suitable rationalization. The noted psychotherapist, Karen Horney, believed, “Rationalization may be defined as self-deception by reasoning.”
The reputed guiltless typically attempt to foist their guilt upon the unwary innocent. The way to widen the scope of guilt is to blame others without any apparent compunction in doing so. Victimology uses this method extensively to unburden its adherents within a blameless social order. Unproven victimization extends its tentacles to entrap the innocent and create a disdain between supposed victims and their hypothetical oppressors. This tends to ratchet up the rhetoric which inflames the upright and appeases the self-indulgent.
The propensity to be non-judgmental is now deeply rooted in the American psyche. This ruse was embedded into the culture as Christian orthodoxy forfeited its influence and ancient wisdom. Moreover, society’s lack of condemnation provides the balm for those who are fugitives from the demands of conscience. This allows an individual to be wrapped in a cloak of innocents should he allege being a bona fide victim. This then releases him from moral responsibility. This is akin to the false concept that a soldier following orders is not responsible for his actions regardless of the immoral implication of his actions.
Rash judgments are usually instantaneous and free of any significant reflection. Serious reflection often exposes the real truth about a person or situation. Still independent thought often surrenders to the vagaries of current opinion or mindless sound bites. Hapless individuals unaware of the cultures shortcomings and their own responsibilities inevitably collide with moral principles.
Democracy prospers with the exercise of reason, common sense and logic from its citizens and political leaders. Yet public discourse is often tainted with faulty reasoning and laced with partisanship and innuendo. These proclivities often disregard common sense. They tend to be egocentric and reach out to bolster self-worth believing this is being altruistic. The ethics of yesteryear are either abandoned or callously modified leaving the moral prescriptions of previous generations lying in the debris of maligned and discarded values.
Efforts to be faithful to one’s inherent morality are threatened by freethinking proponents of the progressive narrative. Presently, this narrative roils through society much to the detriment of the nation. Yet the mainstream often seems to be in lock step with the pagan ethos. This evokes what C.S. Lewis affirmed, “Before you can make a man a Christian you must first help him understand that he is a pagan.”
Furthermore, public figures seem to blatantly delight in coarsening and debasing the political debate with ad hominem attacks on their critics. These tactics must not stand. Christian standards must never be the world’s standards. Responsible Christians must identify what is wrong with the nation, its laws, its leaders and its people and making these things priorities in their prayer life. Christians must be courageous in engaging the culture. Both collectively and individually Christians must abstain from integration into the prevailing culture. Their goal is to contribute to the common good and reinstate the Judeo-Christian ethic in the nation.
It must be noted, a populace shorn of its allegiance to their Christian heritage is hovering on brink of totalitarianism. Therefore, the indifferent cannot afford to straddle the fence between the moral high ground and the lowlands of non-judgmental paganism. This would nullify time-tested standards and facilitate the promulgation of a scurrilous agenda. Saint Augustine taught we are “watchmen” and will be held responsible by God for what we do or not do in such grave matters as defending the faith.
In conclusion, Fulton J. Sheen boldly stated, “Nothing is more tragic in an individual who once was wise than to lose his memory, and nothing is more tragic to a civilization than the loss of its tradition.”