A Pinch Of Incense

It has been interesting to read the various reactions to the recent declaration (decision seems too mild of a descriptor). Many have realized that this was never about legitimacy, or equality.

It was about absolution.

Those who act against the natural law cannot help but recognize, somewhere deep down inside, that their actions are disordered. As St. Paul explained in his letter to the Romans, the law is written on our hearts. They know, whether or not they will admit it to themselves (they certainly wouldn’t admit it to others), that they do wrong. Naturally enough this leads to guilt. As a general rule, we human beings don’t like guilt. Not in the slightest. And so we seek a way to remove it, however we can.

One particularly easy (although not ultimately successful) method  to deal with guilt is to have others approve the actions which lead to it. After all, if others say that we are in the right, how can we possibly be in the wrong? Of course, this won’t last. And the reason why this is only just the beginning.

They won’t stop here. Legitimacy can still be threatened by those who express disagreement. That is still possible- for the moment. Disagreement and dissent will be intolerable to them. After all, their goal is to have everyone affirm what they are doing. Conflicting viewpoints break up this harmony and threaten the comfort they are trying to build for themselves. What they want is to be told that they are right; what they fear is to be told that they are wrong.

What we see now is only the first step in a larger plan. It has three “phases,” if you will.

Phase 1 is to legitimize their actions in general society. This has been effectively accomplished.

Phase 2 will be to silence any who dissent, any who break from the “party line.” This is being worked towards even as you read this.

Phase 3 will involve forcing everyone to affirmatively voice their support for “the new normal.” We, all of us, will be required to say that nothing is wrong about what they do. That their actions and lifestyle are just as valid as any other. In short, we will be required to offer a pinch of incense before the idols of this present age.

Understand that silence is not enough for them. The Romans once said “Qui tacet consentit.” It can be translated as silence gives consent. That isn’t enough. You see, they will know that if you don’t speak up and voice your support, it means you disagree. That you dissent. [That massive display of support recently was based on this awareness- those who participated wanted to make it clear that they don’t dissent.]  Knowing that someone dissents will be enough to discomfort them, and that just won’t do. After all, much of the reason for what is going on is so they can be comfortable. Anything that can negatively affect that comfort will be seen as a threat. And threats must be crushed.

So they will require everyone to speak up and affirm them. No one will be exempt from this. The choice presented to us will be simple: say that we support them, their views and their choices, or else.

What is that else?

The priest at church this Sunday was particularly blunt. He warned us that persecution was coming. Few words were spared about it; little needed to be said because it was obvious to most, if not all, of us there.

It will start subtle at first, and build over time. I don’t think it will be prison, at least not in the beginning. My suspicion is that they will go for our soft spots, the places where we are truly vulnerable: our livelihoods to start off, I think. They will threaten us with losing our employment, our means of support. Going after our finances will be easy and relatively bloodless. Only those who are self-employed will be safe… at first. In the long run I fully expect them to find ways to go after even those who are their own boss. Discrimination laws, boycotts, and all manner of coercive acts in between will all find a use.

After that I expect that they will go after parents with children. It will only get worse from there.

Do not expect things to suddenly get better. Do not expect “the silent majority” to grow a spine and suddenly strike back against those who are “going overboard.” They lack the will and attention span to do anything more than delay what is coming. Nor should you expect the law or the Constitution to provide any defense. In the end those words on paper will mean whatever they want them to mean.

Let’s not lie to ourselves. They are going to do their damnedest to push us out of civil society.  We need to prepare ourselves. We need to organize. We need to form new communities, built to withstand the coming storm. It is unclear how much time we have. I figure that we have, at most, a generation or so before Phase 3 arrives in full force. So it behooves us to start immediately. Failure on our part will mean that we are pushed back to the catacombs. It may come to that anyways. But if we act now we have a chance of preserving that which matters.

Selected Sunday Scriptures- #81

Recent events led me to think about God’s Remnant. Several passages of scripture stand out when that theme is concerned. Here are a few, starting with the Prophet Elijah:

⁹ There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” ¹¹ And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.^{[a] 13} And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴ He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” ¹⁵ And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. ¹⁶ And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. ¹⁷ And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. ¹⁸ Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

(1 Kings 19:9-18)

Then we move to the Prophet Isaiah:

²⁰ In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. ²¹ A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. ²² For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. ²³ For the Lord God of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth.

(Isaiah 10:20-22)

Finally, we have St. Paul writing to the Christian community in Rome:

 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,^[a] a member of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” ⁴ But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵ So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. ⁶ But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

⁷ What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, ⁸ as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
    eyes that would not see
    and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”

⁹ And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
    a stumbling block and a retribution for them;
¹⁰ let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
    and bend their backs forever.”

(Romans 11:1-10)

Something that has been difficult for me in the last few years was not having any fellow believers whom I could meaningfully talk with and connect with. As my faith was being reinvigorated during that time, the absence of the truly devout become ever more noticeable. Fortunately, over time I was able to find brothers and sisters in Christ who had not knelt to Baal. Some were discovered here, in this neck of the woods. Others I met in “real life”, in parishes that were off the beaten path. Discovering these people was something very reassuring to me, which is to my shame. I, like Elijah, had not trusted that God would save a faithful Remnant.

But I’ve met many among that Remnant, as of late. The recent Desolating Abomination which was raised in the US seems to have acted as a galvanizing force. Those few among the Remnant have, at least from my experience, been seeking one another out. In the past few days I’ve met many more than I had found in most of the previous year. More than a few were actively what could be done to adapt to the present age. Among most of the devout believers I’ve talked to in the last few days, there was a general consensus that things were going to get worse. My priest today echoed their thoughts, and said during his homily that persecution was coming. The matter of fact tone he used to describe what was coming wasn’t what was disturbing, however. It was the fact that, from what I could tell, no one in church was in the least bit surprised, much less shocked, by what he said. We know it is coming. In the meantime, these words of St. Paul seem appropriate:

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…

(Ephesians 6:10-18)

Saturday Saints- #74

The letter “T” is the feature letter in today’s post. Given recent events, it seems to me that one saint deserves special recognition today. That saint is Saint Thomas More:

Sir Thomas More (/ˈmɔr/; 7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated by Catholics as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was also a councillor to Henry VIII, and Lord Chancellor from October 1529 to 16 May 1532.

More opposed the Protestant Reformation, in particular the theology of Martin Luther and William Tyndale. He also wrote Utopia, published in 1516, about the political system of an ideal and imaginary island nation. More opposed the King’s separation from the Catholic Church, refusing to accept him as Supreme Head of the Church of England, and what he saw as Henry’s bigamous marriage to Anne Boleyn. Tried for treason for his refusal to condone this, More was convicted and beheaded.

Pope Pius XI canonised More in 1935 as a martyr of the schism that separated the Church of England from Rome; Pope John Paul II in 2000 declared him the “heavenly Patron of Statesmen and Politicians”. Since 1980, the Church of England has remembered More liturgically as a Reformation martyr. He was honoured by the Soviet Union, due to the Communistic attitude regarding property in Utopia.

Further details about Saint More can be found at his wiki, located here.

Saint Thomas More

Tradition Thursday- #29

Here it is, once again, a Thursday. This means it is time for another post on Tradition, continuing the series on St. Cyril of Jerusalem’s Catechetical Letters/Lectures.  Today’s post features the beginning of his eleventh lecture. As before, the subject is the Nicene Creed:

Hebrews 1:1

God, who at sundry times and in various manners spoke in times past unto the Fathers by the Prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.

1. That we have hope in Jesus Christ has been sufficiently shown, according to our ability, in what we delivered to you yesterday. But we must not simply believe in Christ Jesus nor receive Him as one of the many who are improperly called Christs. For they were figurative Christs, but He is the true Christ; not having risen by advancement from among men to the Priesthood, but ever having the dignity of the Priesthood from the Father. And for this cause the Faith guarding us beforehand lest we should suppose Him to be one of the ordinary Christs, adds to the profession of the Faith, that we believe In One Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son of God.

2. And again on hearing of a Son, think not of an adopted son but a Son by nature , an Only-begotten Son, having no brother. For this is the reason why He is called Only-begotten, because in the dignity of the Godhead, and His generation from the Father, He has no brother. But we call Him the Son of God, not of ourselves, but because the Father Himself named Christ His Son : and a true name is that which is set by fathers upon their children.

3. Our Lord Jesus Christ erewhile became Man, but by the many He was unknown. Wishing, therefore, to teach that which was not known, He called together His disciples, and asked them, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, amMatthew 13:16? — not from vain-glory, but wishing to show them the truth, lest dwelling with God, the Only-begotten of God , they should think lightly of Him as if He were some mere man. And when they answered that some said Elias, and some Jeremias, He said to them, They may be excused for not knowing, but you, My Apostles, who in My name cleanse lepers, and cast out devils, and raise the dead, ought not to be ignorant of Him, through whom you do these wondrous works. And when they all became silent (for the matter was too high for man to learn), Peter, the foremost of the Apostles and chief herald of the Church, neither aided by cunning invention, nor persuaded by human reasoning, but enlightened in his mind from the Father, says to Him, You are the Christ, not only so, but the Son of the living God. And there follows a blessing upon his speech (for in truth it was above man), and as a seal upon what he had said, that it was the Father who had revealed it to him. For the Saviour says, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but My Father which is in heaven. Matthew 16:17 He therefore who acknowledges our Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God, partakes of this blessedness; but he who denies the Son of God is a poor and miserable man.

4. Again, I say, on hearing of a Son, understand it not merely in an improper sense, but as a Son in truth, a Son by nature, without beginning ; not as having come out of bondage into a higher state of adoption , but a Son eternally begotten by an inscrutable and incomprehensible generation. And in like manner on hearing of the First-born , think not that this is after the manner of men; for the first-born among men have other brothers also. And it is somewhere written, Israel is My son, My first-born. Exodus 4:22 But Israel is, as Reuben was, a first-born son rejected: for Reuben went up to his father’s couch; and Israel cast his Father’s Son out of the vineyard, and crucified Him.

To others also the Scripture says, You are the sons of the Lord your GodDeuteronomy 14:1: and in another place, I have said, You are gods, and you are all sons of the Most High. I have said, not, I have begotten. They, when God so said, received the sonship, which before they had not: but He was not begotten to be other than He was before; but was begotten from the beginning Son of the Father, being above all beginning and all ages, Son of the Father, in all things like to Him who begot Him, eternal of a Father eternal, Life of Life begotten, and Light of Light, and Truth of Truth, and Wisdom of the Wise, and King of King, and God of God, and Power of Power.

5. If then thou hear the Gospel saying, The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of AbrahamMatthew 1:1, understand according to the flesh. For He is the Son of David at the end of the agesHebrews 9:26, but the Son of God Before All Ages, without beginning. The one, which before He had not, He received; but the other, which He has, He has eternally as begotten of the Father. Two fathers He has: one, David, according to the flesh, and one, God, His Father in a Divine manner. As the Son of David, He is subject to time, and to handling, and to genealogical descent: but as Son according to the Godhead , He is subject neither to time nor to place, nor to genealogical descent: for His generation who shall declare ? God is a SpiritJohn 4:24; He who is a Spirit has spiritually begotten, as being incorporeal, an inscrutable and incomprehensible generation. The Son Himself says of the Father, The Lord said unto Me, You are My Son, today have I begotten You. Now this today is not recent, but eternal: a timeless today, before all ages. From the womb, before the morning star, have I begotten You.

6. Believe thou therefore on Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, and a Son Only-Begotten, according to the Gospel which says, For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only-begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 And again, He that believes in the Son is not judged, but has passed out of death into life. But he that believes not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. And John testified concerning Him, saying, And we beheld His glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the father—full of grace and truth : at whom the devils trembled and said, Ah! What have we to do with You, Jesus, Thou Son of the living GodLuke 4:34 .

7. He is then the Son of God by nature and not by adoption , begotten of the Father. And he that loves Him that begot, loves Him also that is begotten of Him1 John 5:1; but he that despises Him that is begotten casts back the insult upon Him who begot. And whenever thou hear of God begetting, sink not down in thought to bodily things, nor think of a corruptible generation, lest you be guilty of impiety. God is a Spirit , His generation is spiritual: for bodies beget bodies, and for the generation of bodies time needs must intervene; but time intervenes not in the generation of the Son from the Father. And in our case what is begotten is begotten imperfect: but the Son of God was begotten perfect; for what He is now, that is He also from the beginning , begotten without beginning. We are begotten so as to pass from infantile ignorance to a state of reason: your generation, O man, is imperfect, for your growth is progressive. But think not that it is thus in His case, nor impute infirmity to Him who has begotten. For if that which He begot was imperfect, and acquired its perfection in time, you are imputing infirmity to Him who has begotten; if so be, the Father did not bestow from the beginning that which, as you say, time bestowed afterwards.

8. Think not therefore that this generation is human, nor as Abraham begot Isaac. For in begetting Isaac, Abraham begot not what he would, but what another granted. But in God the Father’s begetting there is neither ignorance nor intermediate deliberation. For to say that He knew not what He was begetting is the greatest impiety; and it is no less impious to say, that after deliberation in time He then became a Father. For God was not previously without a Son, and afterwards in time became a Father; but has the Son eternally, having begotten Him not as men beget men, but as Himself only knows, who begot Him before all ages Very God.

9. For the Father being Very God begot the Son like Himself, Very God ; not as teachers beget disciples, not as Paul says to some, For in Christ Jesus I begot you through the Gospel. 1 Corinthians 4:15 For in this case he who was not a son by nature became a son by discipleship, but in the former case He was a Son by nature, a true Son. Not as you, who are to be illuminated, are now becoming sons of God: for you also become sons, but by adoption of grace, as it is written, But as many as received Him, to them gave He the right to become children of God, even to them that believe in His name: which were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13 And we indeed are begotten of water and of the Spirit, but not thus was Christ begotten of the Father. For at the time of His Baptism addressing Him, and saying, This is My SonMatthew 3:17, He did not say, This has now become My Son, but, This is My Son; that He might make manifest, that even before the operation of Baptism He was a Son.

10. The Father begot the Son, not as among men mind begets word. For the mind is substantially existent in us; but the word when spoken is dispersed into the air and comes to an end. But we know Christ to have been begotten not as a word pronounced , but as a Word substantially existing and living; not spoken by the lips, and dispersed, but begotten of the Father eternally and ineffably, in substance. For, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was GodJohn 1:1, sitting at God’s right hand—the Word understanding the Father’s will, and creating all things at His bidding: the Word, which came down and went up; for the word of utterance when spoken comes not down, nor goes up; the Word speaking and saying, The things which I have seen with My Father, these I speakJohn 8:38: the Word possessed of power, and reigning over all things: for the Father has committed all things unto the Son.

11. The Father then begot Him not in such wise as any man could understand, but as Himself only knows. For we profess not to tell in what manner He begot Him, but we insist that it was not in this manner. And not we only are ignorant of the generation of the Son from the Father, but so is every created nature. Speak to the earth, if perchance it may teach youJob 12:8: and though thou inquire of all things which are upon the earth, they shall not be able to tell you. For the earth cannot tell the substance of Him who is its own potter and fashioner. Nor is the earth alone ignorant, but the sun also : for the sun was created on the fourth day, without knowing what had been made in the three days before him; and he who knows not the things made in the three days before him, cannot tell forth the Maker Himself. Heaven will not declare this: for at the Father’s bidding the heaven also was like smoke established by Christ. Nor shall the heaven of heavens declare this, nor the waters which are above the heavens. Why then art you cast down, O man, at being ignorant of that which even the heavens know not? Nay, not only are the heavens ignorant of this generation, but also every angelic nature. For if any one should ascend, were it possible, into the first heaven, and perceiving the ranks of the Angels there should approach and ask them how God begot His own Son, they would say perhaps, We have above us beings greater and higher; ask them. Go up to the second heaven and the third; attain, if you can, to Thrones, and Dominions, and Principalities, and Powers: and even if any one should reach them, which is impossible, they also would decline the explanation, for they know it not.

12. For my part, I have ever wondered at the curiosity of the bold men, who by their imagined reverence fall into impiety. For though they know nothing of Thrones, and Dominions, and Principalities, and Powers, the workmanship of Christ, they attempt to scrutinise their Creator Himself. Tell me first, O most daring man, wherein does Throne differ from Dominion, and then scrutinise what pertains to Christ. Tell me what is a Principality, and what a Power, and what a Virtue, and what an Angel: and then search out their Creator, for all things were made by Him. John 1:3 But you will not, or you can not ask Thrones or Dominions. What else is there that knows the deep things of God 1 Corinthians 2:10-11 , save only the Holy Ghost, who spoke the Divine Scriptures? But not even the Holy Ghost Himself has spoken in the Scriptures concerning the generation of the Son from the Father. Why then do you busy yourself about things which not even the Holy Ghost has written in the Scriptures? Thou that know not the things which are written, busiest you yourself about the things which are not written? There are many questions in the Divine Scriptures; what is written we comprehend not, why do we busy ourselves about what is not written? It is sufficient for us to know that God has begotten One Only Son.

(Source)

Selected Sunday Scriptures- #80

The first passage from scripture in today’s post comes from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians:

¹² Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³ for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

¹⁴ Do all things without grumbling or questioning, ¹⁵ that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. ¹⁷ Even if I am to be poured as a libation upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. ¹⁸ Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

(Philippians 2:12-18)

The verse in this passage about grumbling is what caught my eye. I grumble a lot, and question a lot. Most of the time I keep it to myself, but that doesn’t mean I don’t do it. And it certainly doesn’t meant that God doesn’t know, or that it doesn’t affect my actions. This was a needed wake-up call for me. Hopefully its one that I can keep in mind past this post.

The second passage is from Colossians:

⁹ For in him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily, ¹⁰ and you have come to fulness of life in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. ¹¹ In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; ¹² and you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³ And you, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in him.

(Colossians 2:9-15)

Reading those lines by St. Paul reminded me of these ones from the Prophet Isaiah:

⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions,
    he was bruised for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that made us whole,
    and with his stripes we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

(Isaiah 53:4-6)

I imagine back then Isaiah 53 would have been difficult enough for Jews to understand. But the fact that Jesus sacrificed Himself for not just the Jews, but the Gentiles as well, was (at first) largely incomprehensible to both. As St. Paul explained elsewhere, “the cross was a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.” I don’t think that much has changed in this regard; it is still a difficult concept to understand for many. Looking back, I realize I took a long time for me to fully understand this atonement. That is something of a humbling realization, which is perhaps what was intended.

Patriarchy and Fatherhood

Novaseeker recently left a comment in this post over at Dalrock’s that is so good it clearly deserves its own post. Here it is in its entirety:

By saying that children don’t need fathers and women don’t need them to raise children successfully, you cut the legs out from under the arguments for child support.

Well, the thing is that in some places donors can actually be successfully sued for child support. It isn’t universal but there have been cases where sperm donors have been made to pay child support precisely because they are the biological fathers. It certainly isn’t 10% airtight for sperm donors, although it does vary by state.

On the broader issue, it really makes plain what everyone here already knows: fatherhood, in the era of feminist matriarchy, is solely dependent on whether the mother wants it to exist. A mother can choose full fatherhood (i.e., married to the bio dad), reduced, or semi-, fatherhood (divorced with “visitation” or “shared parenting” arrangements), or no practical fatherhood but financial, or no fatherhood at all. It’s a menu for mothers, now, and they can switch between different menu items at any time without cost to themselves. Fathers have precisely as much of a role in their children’s lives as the mother, at any point in time, wants and is willing to accept.

Of course, anyone who has been paying attention should not be surprised by this. You can’t really retain a meaningful fatherhood on a mass scale when you ditch patriarchy. More than anything else, patriarchy was about securing fatherhood — securing paternity, which is the basis of fatherhood. When you get rid of it, you ipso facto undermine fatherhood in a way that motherhood can never be undermined because fatherhood is simply more tenuous than motherhood is. And so we shouldn’t be surprised that in a society which has loudly and triumphantly and enthusiastically discarded patriarchy, that fatherhood is amorphous, tenuous, uncertain and in many ways simply failing.

A society can’t have this both ways, really. Either you support fatherhood institutionally, and get more fathers and less fatherlessness, or you undermine fatherhood institutionally in the name of equality and empowering women and their reproductive and romantic freedoms, and you get less fathers and more fatherlessness. It isn’t rocket science. But our society is so “all in” committed to burying all aspects of patriarchy under the banner of female liberation and empowerment that it will choose, again and again and again, every manner of artificial and nonsensical support mechanism to prop up fatherlessness, rather than simply admitting that it was a bad idea to get rid of patriarchy. In other words, as between less freedom/empowerment for women and more fathers, on the one hand, and more freedom/empowerment for women and less fathers (and more fatherlessness), our society will happily choose the latter, and with gusto and enthusiasm, and will simply find more props to support fatherless families.

The main point which can be taken from this comment is simple:

Patriarchy = Fatherhood

Or perhaps better stated…

A = Patriarchy

B = Fatherhood

If A, then B; if not A, then not B

(or something like that; its been way too long since I took a logic class)

In order to have effective Fatherhood, you need at least some form of structural Patriarchy (in a general sense of the term). Without it fatherhood, as an institution, cannot be sustained against the ravages of time + human nature. In terms of Dominoes, the domino of Fatherhood can only be placed upright after, or perhaps at the same time as, Patriarchy. Contra what most of society believes and states, Patriarchy is progress; our current social path is actually regression. The structural benefits of a strong institution of fatherhood, secured only by Patriarchy, are petering out now in the West. We can see the consequences all around us.

Fatherhood, as an institution, is only going to get worse as time passes. The West has pretty much dismantled/destroyed the foundation of Patriarchy, and put (in Novaseeker’s words) a feminist Matriarchy in its place. Of course, I don’t think the two are really separate, but that doesn’t matter in the context of this post. What does matter is that Fatherhood cannot be fixed until we rebuild a solid foundation for it. Simply reversing bad laws isn’t enough. A complete social reorganization will be necessary. And I just don’t see that happening voluntarily. There are simply too many who are invested in this system, man and woman alike, for peaceful change to happen on any meaningful time scale. The whole system would collapse before then. Which is to say that the whole system will collapse. Or at least, that is what I’m seeing from my vantage point right now. I’d love to be wrong, but I don’t think that I am.

With that in mind, the Benedict Option is something that Christians should be considering right now. I know that I am. Novaseeker has some thoughts of his own about the Benedict Option.

Also worth reading: this comment by Dalrock.

Saturday Saints- #73

Today’s saint is inspired by the letter “S.” Hence, our saint for today is Saint Simeon Stylites the Elder:

Saint Simeon Stylites or Symeon the Stylite (Classical Syriac: ܫܡܥܘܢ ܕܐܣܛܘܢܐ šamʻun dasṯonáyá, Ancient Greek: Συμεὼν ὁ στυλίτης Symeon Stylites, Arabic: سمعان العمودي‎ semaan al aamoudi ) (c. 388 – 2 September 459) was a Syriac ascetic saint who achieved fame for living 37 years on a small platform on top of a pillar near Aleppo in Syria. Several other stylites later followed his model (the Greek word style means pillar). He is known formally as Saint Simeon Stylites the Elder to distinguish him from Simeon Stylites the Younger, Simeon Stylites III and Saint Symeon Stylites of Lesbos.

His is a rather fascinating account. An ascetic who found an intriguing way of trying to escape the world, he was much sought after for advice. More can be found out about him at his wiki, located here.

Tradition Thursday- #28

Today’s post picks-up where last week’s post left off. I have been covering St. Cyril of Jerusalem’s Catechetical Letters, and we are now up to letter ten. This post covers the second half of that letter.

11. And He is called by two names, Jesus Christ; Jesus, because He saves,— Christ, because He is a Priest. And knowing this the inspired Prophet Moses conferred these two titles on two men distinguished above all : his own successor in the government, Auses , he renamed Jesus; and his own brother Aaron he surnamed Christ , that by two well-approved men he might represent at once both the High Priesthood, and the Kingship of the One Jesus Christ who was to come. For Christ is a High Priest like Aaron; since He glorified not Himself to be made a High Priest, but He that spoke unto Him, You are a Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. And Jesus the son of Nave was in many things a type of Him. For when he began to rule over the people, he began from Jordan Joshua 3:1, whence Christ also, after He was baptized, began to preach the gospel. And the son of Nave appoints twelve to divide the inheritance ; and twelve Apostles Jesus sends forth, as heralds of the truth, into all the world. The typical Jesus saved Rahab the harlot when she believed: and the true Jesus says, Behold, the publicans and the harlots go before you into the kingdom of God. Matthew 21:31 With only a shout the walls of Jericho fell down in the time of the type: and because Jesus said, There shall not be left here one stone upon another Matthew 24:2, the Temple of the Jews opposite to us is fallen, the cause of its fall not being the denunciation but the sin of the transgressors.

12. There is One Lord Jesus Christ, a wondrous name, indirectly announced beforehand by the Prophets. For Esaias the Prophet says, Behold, your Saviour comes, having His own reward. Now Jesus in Hebrew is by interpretation Saviour. For the Prophetic gift, foreseeing the murderous spirit of the Jews against their Lord , veiled His name, lest from knowing it plainly beforehand they might plot against Him readily. But He was openly called Jesus not by men, but by an Angel, who came not by his own authority, but was sent by the power of God, and said to Joseph, Fear not to take unto you Mary your wife; for that which is con ceivedin her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. Matthew 1:20 And immediately he renders the reason of this name, saying, for He shall save His people from their sins. Consider how He who was not yet born could have a people, unless He was in being before He was born. This also the Prophet says in His person, From the bowels of my mother has He made mention of My name Isaiah 49:1; because the Angel foretold that He should be called Jesus. And again concerning Herod’s plot again he says, And under the shadow of His hand has He hid Me.

13. Jesus then means according to the Hebrew Saviour, but in the Greek tongue The Healer; since He is physician of souls and bodies, curer of spirits, curing the blind in body , and leading minds into light, healing the visibly lame, and guiding sinners’ steps to repentance, saying to the palsied, Sin no more, and, Take up your bed and walk. For since the body was palsied for the sin of the soul, He ministered first to the soul that He might extend the healing to the body. If, therefore, any one is suffering in soul from sins, there is the Physician for him: and if any one here is of little faith, let him say to Him, Help my unbelief. Mark 9:24 If any is encompassed also with bodily ailments, let him not be faithless, but let him draw near; for to such diseases also Jesus ministers , and let him learn that Jesus is the Christ.

14. For that He is Jesus the Jews allow, but not further that He is Christ. Therefore says the Apostle, Who is the liar, but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ 1 John 2:22? But Christ is a High Priest, whose priesthood passes not to another Hebrews 7:24, neither having begun His Priesthood in time , nor having any successor in His High-Priesthood: as you heard on the Lord’s day, when we were discoursing in the congregation on the phrase, After the Order of Melchizedek. He received not the High-Priesthood from bodily succession, nor was He anointed with oil prepared by man , but before all ages by the Father; and He so far excels the others as with an oath He is made Priest: For they are priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him that said, The Lord swore, and will not repent. Hebrews 7:21 The mere purpose of the Father was sufficient for surety: but the mode of assurance is twofold, namely that with the purpose there follows the oath also, that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have strong encouragement for our faith, who receive Christ Jesus as the Son of God.

15. This Christ, when He had come, the Jews denied, but the devils confessed. But His forefather David was not ignorant of Him, when he said, I have ordained a lamp for mine Anointed : which lamp some have interpreted to be the brightness of Prophecy , others the flesh which He took upon Him from the Virgin, according to the Apostle’s word, But we have this treasure in earthen vessels. The Prophet was not ignorant of Him, when He said, and announces unto men His Christ. Moses also knew Him, Isaiah knew Him, and Jeremiah; not one of the Prophets was ignorant of Him. Even devils recognised Him, for He rebuked them, and the Scripture says, because they knew that He was Christ. Luke 4:41 The Chief-priests knew Him not, and the devils confessed Him: the Chief Priests knew Him not, and a woman of Samaria proclaimed Him, saying, Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ John 4:29?

16. This is Jesus Christ who came a High-Priest of the good things to come Hebrews 9:11; who for the bountifulness of His Godhead imparted His own title to us all. For kings among men have their royal style which others may not share: but Jesus Christ being the Son of God gave us the dignity of being called Christians. But some one will say, The name of Christians is new, and was not in use aforetime : and new-fashioned phrases are often objected to on the score of strangeness. The prophet made this point safe beforehand, saying, But upon My servants shall a new name be called, which shall be blessed upon the earth. Let us question the Jews: Are you servants of the Lord, or not? Show then your new name. For you were called Jews and Israelites in the time of Moses, and the other prophets, and after the return from Babylon, and up to the present time: where then is your new name? But we, since we are servants of the Lord, have that new name: new indeed, but the new name, which shall be blessed upon the earth. This name caught the world in its grasp: for Jews are only in a certain region, but Christians reach to the ends of the world: for it is the name of the Only-begotten Son of God that is proclaimed.

17. But would you know that the Apostles knew and preached the name of Christ, or rather had Christ Himself within them? Paul says to his hearers, Or seek a proof of Christ that speaks in me 2 Corinthians 13:3? Paul proclaims Christ, saying, For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. Who then is this? The former persecutor. O mighty wonder! The former persecutor himself preaches Christ. But wherefore? Was he bribed? Nay there was none to use this mode of persuasion. But was it that he saw Him present on earth, and was abashed? He had already been taken up into heaven. He went forth to persecute, and after three days the persecutor is a preacher in Damascus. By what power? Others call friends as witnesses for friends but I have presented to you as a witness the former enemy: and do you still doubt? The testimony of Peter and John, though weighty, was yet of a kind open to suspicion: for they were His friends. But of one who was formerly his enemy, and afterwards dies for His sake, who can any longer doubt the truth?

18. At this point of my discourse I am truly filled with wonder at the wise dispensation of the Holy Spirit; how He confined the Epistles of the rest to a small number, but to Paul the former persecutor gave the privilege of writing fourteen. For it was not because Peter or John was less that He restrained the gift; God forbid! But in order that the doctrine might be beyond question, He granted to the former enemy and persecutor the privilege of writing more, in order that we all might thus be made believers. For all were amazed at Paul, and said, Is not this he that was formerly a persecutor Acts 9:21? Did he not come hither, that he might lead us away bound to Jerusalem? Be not amazed, said Paul, I know that it is hard for me to kick against the pricks: I know that I am not worthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God 1 Corinthians 15:9; but I did it in ignorance 1 Timothy 1:13: for I thought that the preaching of Christ was destruction of the Law, and knew not that He came Himself to fulfil the Law and not to destroy it. Matthew 5:17 But the grace of God was exceeding abundant in me 1 Timothy 1:14 .

19. Many, my beloved, are the true testimonies concerning Christ. The Father bears witness from heaven of His Son: the Holy Ghost bears witness, descending bodily in likeness of a dove: the Archangel Gabriel bears witness, bringing good tidings to Mary: the Virgin Mother of God bears witness: the blessed place of the manger bears witness. Egypt bears witness, which received the Lord while yet young in the body : Symeon bears witness, who received Him in his arms, and said, Now, Lord, let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people. Luke 2:29-30 Anna also, the prophetess, a most devout widow, of austere life, bears witness of Him. John the Baptist bears witness, the greatest among the Prophets, and leader of the New Covenant, who in a manner united both Covenants in Himself, the Old and the New. Jordan is His witness among rivers; the sea of Tiberias among seas: blind and lame bear witness, and dead men raised to life, and devils saying, What have we to do with You, Jesus? We know You, who You are, the Holy One of God. Mark 1:24 Winds bear witness, silenced at His bidding: five loaves multiplied into five thousand bear Him witness. The holy wood of the Cross bears witness, seen among us to this day, and from this place now almost filling the whole world, by means of those who in faith take portions from it. The palm-tree on the ravine bears witness, having supplied the palm-branches to the children who then hailed Him. Gethsemane bears witness, still to the thoughtful almost showing Judas. Golgotha , the holy hill standing above us here, bears witness to our sight: the Holy Sepulchre bears witness, and the stone which lies there to this day. The sun now shining is His witness, which then at the time of His saving Passion was eclipsed : the darkness is His witness, which was then from the sixth hour to the ninth: the light bears witness, which shone forth from the ninth hour until evening. The Mount of Olives bears witness, that holy mount from which He ascended to the Father: the rain-bearing clouds are His witnesses, having received their Lord: yea, and the gates of heaven bear witness [having received their Lord ], concerning which the Psalmist said, Lift up your doors, O you Princes, and be lifted up you everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. His former enemies bear witness, of whom the blessed Paul is one, having been a little while His enemy, but for a long time His servant: the Twelve Apostles are His witnesses, having preached the truth not only in words, but also by their own torments and deaths: the shadow of Peter Acts 5:15 bears witness, having healed the sick in the name of Christ. The handkerchiefs and aprons bear witness, as in like manner by Christ’s power they wrought cures of old through Paul. Persians and Goths , and all the Gentile converts bear witness, by dying for His sake, whom they never saw with eyes of flesh: the devils, who to this day are driven out by the faithful, bear witness to Him.

20. So many and diverse, yea and more than these, are His witnesses: is then the Christ thus witnessed any longer disbelieved? Nay rather if there is any one who formerly believed not, let him now believe: and if any was before a believer, let him receive a greater increase of faith, by believing in our Lord Jesus Christ, and let him understand whose name he bears. You are called a Christian: be tender of the name; let not our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, be blasphemed through you: but rather let your good works shine before men Matthew 5:16 that they who see them may in Christ Jesus our Lord glorify the Father which is in heaven: To whom be the glory, both now and for ever and ever. Amen.

(Source)

Mea Culpa

This short post is meant to act as a clarification of my post Sympathy for a Stranger. I was surprised by the reaction to that post, greatly surprised even. It generated a lot of what can only be called hostility. Several different people communicated to me in different channels their thoughts, and helped clarify matters (somewhat). Interestingly enough (to me at least), the hostility seemed to be based on two things: the first was a perception that I had been judging a woman I didn’t know, and the second was a perception that I was defending my actions.

Let me clarify- the first perception is correct. I had been judging that woman. I thought that my post made that abundantly clear. Why it was worth arguing over whether I had or not seemed a waste of time to me. However, the second perception was incorrect. I was by no means attempting to defend my actions. I was wrong, and I thought, when I wrote that post, that if I didn’t state it outright it was at least implied.

However, people read me otherwise. As for who those people were… I found it noteworthy that at least a few of my male readers understood what I was doing: I was admitting fault in a display of sympathy and was asking other men if they had done the same thing. My female readers, on the other hand, largely didn’t seem to understand what I was trying to convey. This only goes to show how delicate communication between the sexes can be. It is terribly easy for us to misunderstand one another, and that post was evidence of that. One of the subjects that this blog covers is miscommunication between men and women, so expect some follow up there.

That post was also evidence of something else, only I haven’t quite settled on what that is. As I indicated before, I have some suspicions, but I think I will run them by a few others first, before committing a post to the subject. If any of my commenters have thoughts of their own, this post is a proper place to voice them.

Also, as an aside, I am considering taking the month of July off from blogging. While I may offer the occasional comment or two, my plan is not to post at all. That may change, but I wanted to give folks a heads up for why they may not hear from me for a while.

Selected Sunday Scriptures- #79

Ace’s most recent post got me thinking about the human heart. The obvious verse from Scripture that my mind was drawn towards was that famous one from the Prophet Jeremiah:

The heart is deceitful above all things,
    and desperately corrupt;
    who can understand it?

(Jeremiah 17:9)

This verse has been demonstrably proven time and time again. Yet it is one that we, even among the faithful, seem to constantly forget. Even now many who would call themselves Christians would no doubt defend the statement “The Heart Wants What it Wants.” How easily they forget (ignore?) the words of our Savior, who warned us that: ^“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21). If someone does naught but gather material pleasures, then it is in the material world where that person’s heart will be found. He also warned us that:

No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

(Matthew 6:24)

Either our heart is for God, and we accumulate spiritual treasure, or our heart is for the world (and its dark master), and we accumulate only material “treasures.”

While on the subject of masters, I wanted to briefly note that this applies to some of the ideas expressed in Dalrock’s most recent post. Those “Christian” leaders that Dalrock mentions have replaced God as the Master to be served. In His place we have worship of Romantic Love. Specifically, Romantic Love as defined by The Woman (whomever she happens to be). In a twist of fate that seems disturbingly appropriate, it only goes to accord the Prophet Isaiah:

My people—children are their oppressors,
    and women rule over them.
O my people, your leaders mislead you,
    and confuse the course of your paths.

(Isaiah 3:12)

I have more to say on Dalrock’s post later, but in the meantime I have a little more scripture to cover. Specifically, a section from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans:

As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. ² One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables. ³ Let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats; for God has welcomed him. ⁴ Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand.

⁵ One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let every one be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ⁸ If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰ Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.”

¹² So each of us shall give account of himself to God.

(Romans 14:1-12)

There are two components to this section that stand out- eating and the observation of days. From what I recall reading elsewhere, Saint Paul was addressing the Mosaic food laws and Liturgical calendar (the various Jewish feasts, etc). Note how it is not sinful to observe any of those old practices. But they are not mandatory either. Instead, St. Paul tells us to direct everything towards God. However, St. Paul is using very broad language here which seems to go beyond merely the Mosaic laws and traditions. What I am curious about is the Catholic/Orthodox theology on this section as it relates to liturgical calendars and various fasts. Specifically, I’m curious about Lent. Because this passage to me always seemed to make such observances optional, not mandatory, albeit highly encouraged. Are there any writings of the Saints on this matter? Would love to know more.