I don’t know about you, but I for one was scarcely surprised by the insanity that erupted in Chicago this weekend. I don’t mean to imply that I am so worldly and sophisticated that I can greet the events of the day with drowsy ennui. But rather, with a jaded nod of the head, from one who, like so many of you, saw this coming from miles off. And as one who fully expects an encore, not just in Chicago but in blue cities and states across the nation. And one should expect incursions into the suburbs and even the red cities and states since the Left is no longer satisfied with containing its destructive and vicious tantrums to itself. No longer content to live and let live, the mob that ran wild in The Loop sent a clear message to anyone whose opinions run counter to that of the occupying government that refusal to cooperate will result in disaster. And in some cases, capitulation will also result in disaster. Even Chicago’s new mayor was loath to condemn the actions of these monsters, going so far as to label them as children in need of support. But the mayor knew that he could make no other statement, even if deep in his heart, he did not believe it. Which is highly unlikely.
Recently, Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire had his phone hacked, much to the joy of Leftists everywhere. And now, whatever bottom feeder is responsible for that plans at last check to release the last 20 years of Walsh’s emails. Not only did the person hijack Walsh’s Twitter account but he also wants to lay bare any private communications the man has had in the last two decades. Walsh, his wife, and his children require 24-hour security. It does not surprise me that someone would have no compunctions about threatening a child to achieve their ends. Walsh must be silenced and possibly murdered because he has rejected that which the ruling class demands we accept. Michael Knowles had to be escorted out of a speaking event at the University of Pittsburgh because protestors burned him in effigy and an explosive device was set off, according to some accounts. The days of “you do you” are over. It matters little what the silent majority thinks. There can be only one set of values and only one mindset. And those values and that mindset will be enforced by violence with the tacit approval of the “authorities” because the aggrieved parties first shouted their victimhood, before victimizing someone else.
The current chaotic mindset can be chalked up to a desire to overthrow anything that even vaguely smacks of conservatism. Embedded in that is the idea that once everything has been burned down, it can be rebuilt not in God’s image, but in man’s. The loss of life and the collapse of society are all necessary evils, if they are considered evil at all. Why else, as Kevin recently reported, would the United Nations posit the idea that removing the age barriers to sexual activity is perfectly acceptable? There was a time when sexualizing a child was the worst thing a person could do, short of murder. But for the new order to rise, the old world must be abolished. And that requires only one set of values. Only one set of truths.
Related: Why Isn’t ‘Gun Violence’ as Bad in Indianapolis as Chicago?
As Screwtape said to Wormwood in The Screwtape Letters:
The whole philosophy of Hell rests on recognition of the axiom that one thing is not another thing, and, specially, that one self is not another self. My good is my good and your good is yours. What one gains another loses. Even an inanimate object is what it is by excluding all other objects from the space it occupies; if it expands, it does so by thrusting other objects aside or by absorbing them. A self does the same. With beasts the absorption takes the form of eating; for us, it means the sucking of will and freedom out of a weaker self into a stronger. “To be” means “to be in competition”.
It is important not to misinterpret Lewis’ words. He is not attacking the concept that a man cannot be a woman. Such a debate did not even exist in his time. Back then, adults were expected to behave like adults. But through Screwtape, Lewis is pointing out that you cannot say what is good for me is different than what is good for you and leave it at that. Do you remember the now tired and hackneyed phrase “my truth”? It goes hand-in-hand with “my identity” or “my gender.” We were once told that we should, in fact, allow everyone to be whatever they wanted to be. And for most of us, that was fine. But because man is what he is, he is never content to go about his merry way. These people can no longer be satisfied with subjecting their own bodies, minds, and souls to drugs and doctrine. Whether it be the subject of gender, CRT, or what have you, they must subject everyone else to it as well. To a degree, there is no choice in the matter. I have mentioned before how my grandmother tried to “trans” my father as far back as the 1940s. The result was a man who destroyed his own life, ruined his marriage, and would have doubtlessly destroyed my mother and me, had he not died. There was no “my truth.” I watched it happen. It happened to me. We were forced to realign our lives to accommodate his dysfunction.
And so, even if it is through violent upheaval, the new truths must be allowed to grow and displace anything that is contradictory to them. Other objects, as Lewis notes, must be thrust aside or absorbed. While Screwtape referred to the act of eating, by humans, the behavior he assigned to the demons in hell applies to people as well: “…for us, it means the sucking of will and freedom out of a weaker self into a stronger. ‘To be’ means ‘to be in competition.’” For the Left to thrive, anyone who disagrees with it must be eliminated. That includes Walsh and his family. It includes Riley Gaines. It includes Michael Knowles, and it includes you.
So will we be expected to erect new Asherah poles and new temples to Chemosh, Baal, or Molech? Why, yes, will be expected to do so. Even our churches are becoming complicit. I knew that one of the churches I used to attend was done for when I saw that the new pastor was tossing beach balls into the congregation for one hidebound reason or another. And so, churches have abandoned the rational pursuit of God for fun and games. Church is becoming less of a locker room and a place of preparation and more of a place to hide and pretend that the world outside is not real.
In our daily hunt for the news, we at PJ Media go through website after website. You never know when you click on a link what may be waiting for you on the other end. Today, I unexpectedly found this.
David Platt says political convictions are idolatry and churches shouldn’t divide over them. But he refuses to accept that it’s far more than political—abortion, homosexuality, CRT, etc are MORAL issues, worthy of biblical correction. There is no neutral ground on these issues. pic.twitter.com/vyb7Rwo8Xt
— thedissenter.substack.com (@disntr) April 20, 2023
The Dissenter would probably label me a heretic over my theology and choice of church membership. Which is fine, I don’t particularly care. But the point is that Platt, who has labored over the years to portray himself as a cutting-edge Christian, is trying to play both ends against the middle. I don’t look for politics from the pulpit, either. I no more want to hear an endorsement of Donald Trump on a Sunday morning than I want to sit through another screed on the environment or feminism as I did for years on end when I was a member of the Episcopal Church. But Platt dances around an important and uncomfortable fact: mainly that if the Gospel does not inform our lives, it has fallen on deaf ears. If we jump up and down and raise our hands during “worship,” or faithfully meet with our “small group” or “life group” during the week, then church is nothing more than a playground and the Gospel is rendered essentially useless. I realize that there is some sense of normalcy to be had in listening to the worship band and planning the decorations for this year’s VBS. But if we compartmentalize our faith and limit it to 90 minutes on a Sunday morning and one night during the week, all of our Christian t-shirts and ICTHYS stickers mean absolutely nothing. If you would rather hide in your worship center while the world burns, that is your choice. But the demons will come for you, eventually. And you must decide whether you will stand, or if you will be displaced or absorbed.
Walsh and I have not always seen eye-to-eye, and I doubt that he loses much sleep over that, particularly under the current circumstances. But he recognizes the obligation that comes with hearing the Gospel. And keep this in mind: if they did this to him, they will do it to you.