The Saruman's Amongst Us

Kissing Judases

I was once invited to a dinner with a Roman Catholic cardinal.  He was a friend of Pope John Paul II and had been on of those who elected his successor, Pope Benedict XVI.  The main topic of the evening was the state of religious freedom around the world, but the conversation ranged far wider, and it was both deep and delightful.

Just as we were about to finish our coffee and end the evening, he suddenly changed the topic and asked me about the crisis roiling the worldwide Anglican Church.  Not wanting to be drawn on what Francis Schaeffer used to call a "soup question" rather than a "dessert question" (one that requires asking early in a meal to do justice to its importance), I replied somewhat lightly, "The Anglican Church is flourishing in many parts of the world, especially in the Global South, but it certainly has huge problems in the West.  But then, you had your Borgia popes."

Instead of brushing off the remark, as I expected, the cardinal became serious.  "Yes," he said, "Alexander VI (with his record of incest, murder, bribery and corruption) was one of the worst leaders ever to have led the Christian church  But he never denied a single article of the Apostle's Creed, whereas several of the Episcopal bishops flout the teaching of the church catholic and deny the very heart of the Christian faith--and still stay on as Christian leaders.  That is the shame of the Episcopal Church, and that is unprecedented in Christian history."

The cardinal was correct.

Investment Advice for Secularists

No Future

The mindset of our secular age is incurably religious.  It's just that the objects of its fealty and devotion are other creatures.  Other humans--or humanity in the abstract.  Instead of a theocracy, secular humanism has erected a humanocracy, which is profoundly religious and worshipful.  As secular humanism has waxed so its tolerance of contrary beliefs has waned; as its power has grown, so its fear of, and anger against, contrary beliefs has burned more intensely.

In pre-modern Christendom it was believed that all of society was linked to, and dependant upon God.  If heretics were tolerated, evil consequences would fall upon the community in general.  Charles Taylor puts it this way with respect to the pre-modern age:

In Denial

True Islam and Its Modern Heretics 

Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair assures us that Islam does not have a problem, per se.  Rather the problem lies with particular elements within Islam.  This is the consistent line taken it the West by the United States, the UK, and Nato countries in general. When atrocities like the Woolwich murder of Drummer Rigby occur, this is the standard, PC line.  The real question is whether  the standard, official line is merely propaganda, or wishful thinking, or an inability to tell the truth (first to oneself, then to one's coterie, then to the nation.)
Firstly, let's review Blair's comments as reported in The Independent: 

“There is not a problem with Islam,” he wrote. “For those of us who have studied it, there is no doubt about its true and peaceful nature. There is not a problem with Muslims in general. Most in Britain will be horrified at Lee Rigby’s murder.

Islam has a "true" and "peaceful nature" not on display in the Woolwich beheading.  To Blair's credit, he acknowledges that heretical Islam--for that is how he is positioning it--is strong, growing, and significantly influential.