A
commentator (James) noted my lack of contributions to the blog recently, and
Father Dickson made known my procrastination, so I thought I’d better contribute
something...
I
attended a talk on Radicalisation this week, in which we were told about the
problems caused by radicalisation and how to spot it, but we were given no
definition of it. It seemed to be assumed to be religious extremism expressed
in terrorism. I believe from Wikipedia that the British Home
Office has defined Radicalisation as “The process by which people come to
support terrorism and violent extremism and, in some cases, then join terrorist
groups.”
During
discussions after the talk I voiced the idea that “people can be radicalised in
Secularism too, but be unaware of it”. The speaker dismissed this, but I
believe many people today are radicalised
in secularism and don’t know it, with an obdurate adherence to relativism which
causes them to engage in the active persecution of Christian folk -aided and
abetted by Governments who pass ‘hate laws’ by which anyone offended by
religious belief can legally persecute their neighbour.
Governments
rightly seek to stem terrorism, but they might be said to engage
in radicalisation themselves on behalf of atheism when they enforce relativist secularism in education and establish laws that hinder religious people from
living by the basic tenets of their faith. Thus Christians have been persecuted
under ‘hate crime’ laws for holding to marriage as a union of one man and one
woman for the procreation of the human race and stability of society. One need
only think of bakers who have been prosecuted for refusing to bake a cake for a
homosexual pairing or for refusing to let a room to a homosexual pair; one need
only think of marriage officials fired for refusing issue marriage certificates
which violate their beliefs; one need only think of folk forbidden to wear
religious items at work, such as a crucifix.
I
wonder if it is not true that radicalisation in atheism is occurring in our
schools and colleges by the promotion of relativism and secularism, with
persecution of decent, religious folk by legal prosecution its consequence? The
unswerving dedication by secularists/atheists to relativism is the very thing
they deride in Christianity: dogmatism. The relativists have failed to see or
are ignoring their contradictory stance: “it is true that there is no truth”,
along with their duplicitous ignoring of their persecution of persons in their
prosecution of Christians.
I think your right andrew. Secular society has come under an form of indoctrination through the media and secular education. The fact that it is mainstream ideology propergated by the desire of human beings desire to "fit in" does not mean it is in itself any less extreme from other views. A lie is still a lie even if the whole world believes it. For example the idea of two homosexuals kissing on tv in the 1960's would be seen as extreme and yet today a homosexual sex scene would be considered progressive. Its not that human beings have somehow become "enlightened" but over the years our perceptions have been manipulated over time, society has been indoctrinated. From homosexuals being killed in the holocaust to homosexual marriage we have gone from one extreme to another. And while neither at the time may have seemed extreme popular thinking and mainstreem ideas does not always mean the moderate view. As for extremisim... the idea of hot and cold represent the two extremes of tempreture and lukewarm the moderate position. Our lord warns us that it is better to be hot or cold extreme than lukewarm moderate
ReplyDeleteThanks David.
DeleteI agree that we have not become enlightened; just manipulated -its called social engineering for the erecting of a social construct.
God Bless.
We are not allowed to speak of radicalization in atheism or secularism, or we are hate mongers.
ReplyDeleteThis country is finished. We will descend into civil war or militarized subjugation. That is what is coming.
Karl
Thanks Karl.
DeleteYes, we are labelled hate mongers for challenging secualrists; they are not hate mongers for challenging/persecuting people of faith. Odd that.
God Bless.
If catholic prophecy correct and this including fatima it appears to be both a civil uprising and a military subjugation by a communistic world government
DeleteI have no information on that prophecy, but I do think we are coming to crisis point in the Church and society.
DeleteGod Bless.
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteRadicalisation applied to Islam is clear. It is a choice, a choice they have of several ways forward in establishing the Caliphate. These are all “orthodox” a cording to that religion.
But the principle of choice can be applied to anything, including secularism.
An element of fear inevitably operates. Governments, groups, and individuals, in order to avoid violent threat or even physical attack seek to be “fair” to all hence the clampdown on other religions such as with the Northern Irish Protestant Minister. He was let off because while Muslims might find it offensive, it was not grossly offensive. A bit of clever wriggle here, possibly based on a counter-fear.
There is a lesson here. The time for meekness has come and gone.
Christians of all persuasions must now stand up for the freedom to express their beliefs and practise - although I presume public outrage and not the bullet will be our weapon!
Thanks, and yes -we need to stand up against the radical atheism of today.
DeleteGod Bless.
Excellent analysis, imho. Thank you
DeleteAndrew. It seems that yo have swallowed a dictionary.
DeleteWhy do traditionalists always talk about relativism? What's the fear about? I cannot see how you are attracting people to come to know God by using such draconian language. Spirituality is experiential sometimes. The incarnate God gifts us with grace while we are still sinners. Sometimes this blog just makes me feel like you both want to keep people in the prison of dogma and rubrics. This coming Sunday we hear the Gospel where Jesus unrolls the scroll in the temple. No hermeneutic of continuity there. They wanted him dead. Something new and challenging and liberating. Set yourself free. Grab a tambourine.
DeleteThank you, Pastoremeritus2, for giving me a confience boost.
DeleteAnd thank you Fr Dickson for posting my thanks when I was taken up with a dissertation for college (submitted a minute to midnight on the day it was due in!)
James, swallowing a dictionary comes as part of education.
As for relativism, it means there is no such things as truth, and if that's the case, we cannot build a stable society because we will all have our own truth and be at odds with one another -not a recipe for peace and harmony but for conflict.
Can you imagine football without reasoned rules? Dogma and rubrics are what we call Boundaries, James, and without boundaries we fall into disarray and disunity.
'Spirituality' freed from dogma is boundary-less and whimsical; it has no bedrock; no safety barriers; it is completely subjective and does not equate with the objective realities of God and His truth.
God Bless.
To James, i totally agree with andrew here. Relativism denies absolute truth and thus moral absolutes. I.e what is true for you may not be true for me and what is right for you may be wrong for me. Why that is so scarey is that it is the first temptation in genesis when the serpent told eve "you will not die, you will be like God knowing Good and evil" and eve well what does eve do "she saw that it was...GOOD" she saw that choosing for herself what was right and wrong and thus disobaying God was Good. Mankind has suffered ever since and everytime humanity distances himself from the absolute truth that is God and his holy word his law mankind befalls calamty all because of the temptaion of relativism. On a more human understanding we can see how relativism leads only to destruction enslavement and totalitarianism. If there is no absolute truth no real right and wrong then all atrocities are merely subjective to the vicitms and to the tyrant... indeed what is good for the tyrant is not good for his victims. What the mother percieves as good in her choice of abortion is not good for her child. But without absolute truth there is no real right or wrong and thus the decision regarding who decides right and wrong becomes nothing more than a will to power by any means as in the false idea of the means justify the end...survival of the fittest. In the end it is the strongest the most corrupt and evil that rise to the top of society and impose their rule over the population. In todays world of weapons of mass destruction increased surveilence pharmacutical eugenics and other technological advacements mankind has never been in such a dangerous state of affairs. Relativism is the denial of absolute truth, the denial of God himself and if we continue on such a path hell itself will rise upon the earth and is so doing more abd more with each passing day. To protect ourselves from tyranny and even absolute destruction we must turn to God, to christ who is the way, the truth, the absolute truth and the life... it is why we say "the lord is my refuge" and "put on the armour of God" the "sword of truth" etc. It is in defined infallible doctrine and dogma we find those things, the lords protection a safe haven and the weapons to ward off evil.... it is in defending the deep truthes of the catholic faith that we defend ourselves... it is in proclaiming them that we proclaim christ and it is in suffering for them that we unite ourselves to christ crucified. There is only one true faith one true God and one absloute truth and we must live by it and die by it because in the end everything else is just the false lies of the devil
DeleteMay God bless you
David
Thank you, David, and God Bless.
DeleteWe are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. I do not think that wide circles of society or wide circles of the Christian community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel versus the anti-Gospel.
ReplyDeleteWe must be prepared to undergo great trials in the not-too-distant future; trials that will require us to be ready to give up even our lives, and a total gift of self to Christ and for Christ. Through your prayers and mine, it is possible to alleviate this tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it. . . .How many times has the renewal of the Church been brought about in blood! It will not be different this time. - John Paul II
Thank you David.
DeleteGod Bless
I find it strange that the speaker dismissed your comment. It is not so long ago that Saul Alinsky wrote his last book, Rules for Radicals. Wikipedia can tell you a lot about him, his book, and even his connection to Barack Obama. He was certainly not talking specifically to churches. He was trying to organize the poor to make demands of the wealthy. Anyway, it's interesting how short is the collective memory...
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post!
Thanks for your comment, Mary.
DeleteGod Bless
I'm waiting for the secular authorities to begin prosecuting Islamists for their intolerance. We all know it wont happen.
ReplyDeleteAnd for an end to the intolerance by many of the pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage folk, who will not tolerate Christian support of the Gospel. We wait but we won't hold our breath...
DeleteGod Bless.