How to Start a Race War

The past few weeks have seen the rise of major protests of alleged mistreatment of black men by white cops.   At the forefront of all the protests is the charge that not only are the individual policemen guilty of singling out black men for no good reason, but that the entire “system” is racist.

Most white Americans bristle at the blanket accusation of systemic racism, but the anger, the rioting, the looting and finally the execution style shooting of two policemen sitting in a squad care that have followed the high profile cases in the news are demanding attention.  Unfortunately, the debate gets carried on without agreed upon definitions, making communication and resolution impossible.   This seems to be by design.

In postmodern academia language is viewed as a "mask to power".   So those who desire to obtain power need to control the language and make it serve a particular purpose because, in theory, that is what the ruling class has done.  The redefinition of the word “racist” is a chilling and Orwellian signpost toward a troubling future.

Postscript on Noah

I have been following a lot of the debate on the film "Noah" where critics like Dr. Brian Mattson, film maker Brian Godawa and others pan the film as decidedly divorced from the intent of the Biblical story.   In particular, the images that seem pulled directly from Gnostic ideas and Kaballah drive a lot of tit for tat arguments about the meaning of the film.

I guess I have to agree with Godawa and Mattson on this particular point - they are pointing to specifics in the film that seem to either contradict the Biblical text or subvert it with specific extrabiblical imagery and content one of the most obvious is naming a strange light-bearing metal after a prime text of Kaballah, the "ZOHAR".   The rebuttals all seem to say the same thing - yes those images are there, but they don't really mean anything negative.

Now this is a curious thing.  On what basis should any normal rational person believe that a filmmaker who stated that he drew on extra-biblical sources, who stated that he was making the "least Biblical" Biblical epic ever, who stated that environmental devastation was a key theme and who included specific Kaballah and gnostic imagery in the film did not intend those symbols to mean anything contrary to the admittedly sketchy Biblical text?   (more)

Darren Aronofsky's Noah - Deceived by the Snake Again

Much has been written about Darren Aronofsky's Noah, so I won't attempt a detailed review.  That has already been done.   I thought it was maybe the most unpleasant film I've ever seen, with maybe the worst score.   The acting was fine, but the telling of the ancient story, though true to the general outline of Genesis 6-9, veered into some rather troubling waters.   

We all know the basic arc of the tale:  The earth is overrun by wickedness, so the "creator" sends judgment in the form of a massive flood.  One man builds a huge floating box to rescue enough animals to repopulate the earth and not coincidentally, saves himself and his family.   That outline is intact.  

How Progressives Operate: A Case Study

One of the great disconnects of the liberal progressive mind (I have in mind both political progressives and theological progressives) is the inability to see in itself the evils it abhors in others. No better example is the endless cry for "fairness". Somehow I wonder if this is actually a disconnect or if it is instead a strategy.

I know I've picked on Tony Jones a lot in the past. I've occasionally engaged in the comments section on his blog, but usually found that to be a rather fruitless exercise. At one time, a long time ago, I thought there might be some openness to a more conservative viewpoint there, or at least room for discussion. What I have found instead is a steady pattern of dismissal of most conservative arguments and real discussion only of a range of arguments at varying points left of center. If you are right of center, your views will usually be ignored and when not ignored, characterized in the worst possible light. To avoid being accused of the same, I will provide links and quotes to my comments below.  (more)