15 September 2009

Old Possum on secular religionists

" . . . for the most part [the secular reformer] conceives of the evils of the world as something external to himself. They are thought of either as completely impersonal, so that there is nothing to alter but machinery; or if there is evil incarnate, it is always incarnate in the other people--a class, a race, the politicians, the bankers, the armament makers, and so forth--never in oneself."

Wow, does this sound familiar or what? And a valuable warning for those of us for whom any attack is fine as long as it's prefaced with "Well of course I'm the biggest sinner there is, but . . . ".

"The term "social justice"is in danger of losing its rational content--which would be replaced by a powerful emotional charge."

Prophetic indeed. At least he's been spared the pain of witnessing the abuse done to "sustainability" and "organic."

T.S. Eliot, Christianity and Culture

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