I was recently watching an episode of an old television programme in which a supporting character was killed. Her companions held a “celebration of life” for her afterwards (the word “funeral” was not used). I found the whole proceeding to be incredibly sad. The show being set in the future, where money and “superstition” have been eliminated, none of the characters believed in the existence of an immortal soul. For them, this dead character would simply “live on in memory”.
This is not living, however. If it is true that there is no immortal soul, no resurrection of the dead, then this world is a very sad place indeed. Each of us could die at any time through some accident, some unknown bodily weakness, or some virulent disease. If the dead are not raised, then death is the end. No one will ever see his loved ones again. There will be no final court of justice to right the wrongs that we have suffered in this life. When all written records and living memory of a person have ceased, he will be unknown to future generations. The uniqueness of an individual will be lost to the void of oblivion.
Such atheistic services can hold no real comfort. There is sadness at the thought of the loved one never living again and those attending will be sad for themselves when reflecting on the fact that they too must die. Thus, striving to defeat the evil of death ourselves, rather than relying on God, corners of the scientific community have turned to the pursuit of immortality, echoing the travails of alchemists and occultists in ages gone by. Some look to transfer our consciousness to machines, others to replacing our flesh with machine parts, still others to unlocking some secret of DNA that makes our cells age and warp.
Our ancestors generally accepted that death was not the end. They saw death frequently in the form of infant morality and in the slow death of the aged, who died in the family home, not put away in hospitals and “facilities”. In the Catholic liturgies of the pre-Reformation era, the Day of Judgment motif was ubiquitous, while the post-Reformation evangelical preaching of great men like John Wesley also appealed to this simple truth:
…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.
-Hebrews 9:27
And so, as people take part in Halloween celebrations or in subsequent All Saints’ Day services, let them think on what death means, and let us hope that some atheists and non-believers are prompted by images of death to think about Christ’s work, to turn to Him, and be saved.
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
-Revelation 1:18
bozoboy87 said:
The unsaved will believe anything and everything. I ought to know. I was unsaved at one time.
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Scoop said:
Yes, if death is but an eternal dreamless sleep, an annihilation of soul and consciousness, then for each individual there is no law, not man-made, God-given or natural (being written in our hearts). Life, then would be a race to enjoy every possible pleasure before one leaves the land of the living. At times, it seems that this is the philosophy of the world today anyway. We even see this attitude among those who call themselves Christians as well as atheists.
It seems a sad a dreary existence indeed when there is no hope, no love but love of self, and no charity unless one is esteemed for acts of kindness and therefore gives the individual some sort of pleasure in this life. Sacrifice and struggle is pointless unless it will extend your own personal life here on earth. As you say, science is in pursuit of this end as an antidote to a pointless life and death and every week or so you can read about their progress toward the goal preserving their own life. Another’s life, such as an aborted baby, however, is not seen as an evil but as a scientific good that will financially and benefit those who already live and free them from responsibilities leaving the living to pursue a life of pleasure and longevity for themselves only.
Yes life then is pointless and our deaths simply an evil visited upon this mortal existence. And death is but an escape from pain or a loss of one’s ability to enjoy the pleasures of life. Nothing more. Instead of RIP (rest in peace) we might mark our graves with GCW (goodbye cruel world).
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Nicholas said:
Truly it is a sad and hopeless existence. More and more, I am persuaded that Christians must keep their focus on the millennial reign of Christ.
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Philip Augustine said:
I was just having a conversation with an atheist on law and morality. The explanation is that morality is biological is the most unconvincing argument I’ve encountered in a long time. My point I made was that even if that were so, once we’ve realized it, it would no longer be logical to continue to be “moral” agents. He ended trying to explain that he did things out of love l, whereas I do them out of obligation, I left it but I would naturally ponder, what is Love to the Godless? And is obligation necessarily separate from it?
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Scoop said:
He has simply traded his “obligation” to self for an obligation to a Creator. So now, his is the center of his universe and answers to no one but his desires, wants and needs as perceived by his superior motivation to serve himself.
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Scoop said:
I just read the following review by Fr. Z on Esolen’s new book on Nostalgia. It is aimed not simply at the changes to Catholicism but the changes each of us feels in our hearts as the ‘place’ we long to be or is the proper place to be seems to have been destroyed and we are left with no way to attain that for which we long. It is very good. You can read it here:
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2018/10/book-received-nostalgia-going-home-in-a-homeless-world-by-anthony-esolen/
I also read this piece this morning which uncovers the truth about the origin of the thousands of invaders heading toward the US border in time for the elections. It seems that the money and organization of this is what one would think: the Open Borders groups; and need I say it, this is the same bunch that Soros is tied to and spends his money around. Although not stated in the article, you can bet that the Soros cash is flowing into this whole movement. And then there is the Methodist Church that is acting as an operative for these groups in Chicago. Maybe this is the new religion for the atheistic society that you speak about in your post this morning.
https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-open-border-activists-behind-the-illegal-immigrant-caravans/
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Nicholas said:
Thanks for the links. The powers of darkness are intent on destroying our national identities and structures – they want an alliance of humans to oppose Christ at Armageddon rather than individual nations sending delegates to welcome Him in pledges of fealty. These groups that seek to destabilise us hate everything that points beyond the here and now to what was and what will be, viz. Eden and the Millennial Eden. We must oppose them and expose these dead denominations for what they are (which does not mean there are not faithful Christians in them). Everywhere there is rotten leadership: bishops, etc. In particular they despise Europe’s medieval heritage.
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Scoop said:
Yes they abandon their own heritage and have sold for the pottage of a new Orwellian future. As for me, such a thing, is in a sense, worse than death.
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Nicholas said:
Yes, sometimes in moments of contemplation, it feels like we have been thrust through the veil that separates us from the world of demons. I never expected this world to be so devoid of Christian understanding – I suppose the shock is a product of my looking too much to our Victorian ancestors. WWI and WWII shattered our culture.
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Scoop said:
This is WWIII. We fight degeneracy with holiness and there is scant few left for the fight. Hopefully our ranks will increase and theirs will die-off due to an awakening to the realities of their utter uselessness and self-centered (and sometimes self-loathing) goals.
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Nicholas said:
I fear this world must be wrested from the grasp by the death of the martyrs and the horsemen of heaven. They will shrink in terror at the sight of the saints, the angels, and Christ Himself in His dreadful majesty.
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Scoop said:
Could be, but I still hope for a new crop of mortal saintly men and women who might slay this new found love for evil. But they best start arriving soon or it will take the Powers of Almighty God to cleanse this filth we have adopted for our home; which is little better than pig sty.
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Nicholas said:
There certainly is a move of God among conservatives in all the denominations. The one good thing about this shaking at the moment is that it is easier to determine who is friend and who is foe. I no longer harbour any trust for middle class “respectability” – a lot of the trouble comes from middle class intelligentsia types. Frankly, when it comes to politics, etc, I often get on better with working class guys and guys who run their own businesses.
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Scoop said:
I agree. I gravitated more to the working class since I was in my 20’s and drove a taxi for a living. Never liked my colleagues much once I became part of management/sales during my post-marriage work life. It was like a circle of smiling asses who plunge a dagger into your back if they thought it would further their careers.
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Nicholas said:
Indeed – and it feels in many circumstances like you are constantly biting your tongue, keeping from saying what you really think.
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Scoop said:
There is that as well. And this simply drives us into more isolation. It is probably one of the root causes for the ‘silent’ majority who keep to themselves: the people who quietly voted for Trump and the pollsters had no clue where they came from. To them, it must have been caused by the Russians.
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Nicholas said:
Indeed – I was just as surprised by the Brexit outcome. I had reconciled myself to losing and took my despair as a judgement from God – we were not good enough to be granted escape from the EU. Boy was I surprised – grace from heaven! But we must fight to defend it – and the majority are angry, very angry.
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Scoop said:
Indeed so. The losers wish to steal back that which they legitimately lost. It is like a loser at the card table laying in wait for the winners out in the street to waylay them and get the winnings in a clandestine and even a violent way.
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Nicholas said:
It will be interesting to see if IREXIT will happen. We do not see eye-to-eye with the Irish in all things, of course, but the fact is: they have been Anglicised. They share a lot of our values, and when these are combined with their own nationalism, it makes them angry when they see the threat posed to Irish identity by the EU and the migrants from Africa and the Middle East. The EU has not heard the last from the Republic of Ireland.
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Scoop said:
I pray that the tide is turning. There is a growing resistance against these liberal elites who have been running things these past recent decades.
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Nicholas said:
Found this and thought you might be interested: medieval sources of the liturgy – http://medievalliturgy.com/Primary_sources.html
From the antiphonary, 4th Sunday before Christmas: “Ad te levavi animam meam Deus meus in te confido non erubescam neque inrideant me inimici mei etenim universi qui te expectant non confundentur” “- I have raised my soul to You, my God; in You I put my trust; I will not be ashamed / let me not be ashamed; nor let my enemies laugh at me; all those who wait for you will not be let down”.
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Scoop said:
Indeed so – I wish our liturgy was as forthcoming as it once was.
For all the secular progressives, modernist elitists who call people of principle (namely Christians) homophobes, misogynists, racists, haters, fascists, intolerant (and the list keeps growing) . . . the real ‘fear’ and ‘hatred’ is actually theirs and it is mainly about a singularity: fear and hatred of God, Christ and His Law. One might call them Christophobes but what is the use. They want to remake God into their own likeness and therefore make Him acceptable to themselves . . . in that way they love God as they love themselves.
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Nicholas said:
Yes – they would have all reminders of God kept from public discourse, from the public square, etc. This seems in itself intolerant: the presence of a prayer meeting or a procession or a sermon in a public square takes nothing away from secular people – they are still free to speak as they like and to go elsewhere temporarily and indeed to hold their own meetings there the following day. They would have Christ removed altogether and they should be honest about it.
See also this recreation of a 15th century Mass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTSJ7LqZLYQ
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Scoop said:
Thanks for that Nicholas. It was very interesting. I could follow most of it though the native language of the reading and Gospel were impossible. Many of the prayers were the same as today’s Traditional Mass.
I really hate the loss of many of the prayers in the Novus Ordo. They have stripped it bare and we do not get the point of the Mass at all: its been disguised. One prayer I miss quite a bit is the prayer before ascending to the the Altar of God:
In English:
I will go in to the altar of God, to God who gives joy to my youth.
Do me justice, O God, and fight my fight against a faithless people; reuse me from the wicked and deceitful man.
For you, O God are my strength.
Why do you keep me so far away?
Why must I go about in mourning,
with the enemy oppressing me?
Send forth your light and your truth;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling place.
I will go to the altar of God,
to God who gives joy to my youth;
I will praise you on the harp,
O God, my God!
Why are you so downcast, O my soul?
Why do you sigh within me?
Hope in God! For I shall again be praising him,
My own savior and my God!
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Scoop said:
N.B. that was supposed to be “RESCUE” me, not REUSE me (darn spell checker anticipated what I was writing again).
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Nicholas said:
Yes, the old liturgy made a greater use of the Psalms than the modern ones do, and the wise compilers of the Book of Common Prayer were keen to keep much of that material – just convert it into English.
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Nicholas said:
An interesting book by the sound of it. It made me think about how sad I feel about what is happening in the CofE, a patrimony handed down by my ancestors. It’s majesty is gone now – even in the sublime evensongs of grand cathedrals and chapels the sermons stink of modernism – there is none of the grit and fire that the puritan CofE preachers had in the days of the Tudors and Stuarts – nor of the catholicity and reverence for the path held by the old High Churchmen of the Oxford Movement. The CofE is symbolised today by the ruin of Coventry Cathedral, bombed during the War.
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Scoop said:
Indeed. It is what we traditionalists of the Roman Catholic persuasion pine for as well. VII turned our homeland into a foreign land.
And politically we are also becoming strangers in our own lands. Reminds me of an old song called Strangers in a Strange Land. That seems to be our lot today.
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Nicholas said:
Clannad produced a great song called “Strange Land”; I think it was for the “Robin of Sherwood” series in the 80s rather than as an independent piece. I do like Irish/Celtic music.
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Philip Augustine said:
Interesting, I read “Out of Ashes” And was blown away by his bluntness. He’s a speaker at the Missouri Synod Lutheran conference this year. It’s no surprise, the Missouri Synod is unapologetically proclaiming the Gospel, something I envy of my wife’s Church.
I did see he also has a translation of the Divine Comedy, I ordered it. I’ve always enjoyed the premise but honestly I’ve felt every translation be a bore, I just chalk it up that it’s better in the Italian and that I’m not a big fan of poetry.
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Scoop said:
Yes, I am interested in this new book as well. It hits home for everyone. What is the home we seek and where have we been and where are we trying to go? Interesting questions.
I know what you mean of the Divine Comedy. I’ve read much about it but have yet found an enjoyable copy or translation of the original.
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Philip Augustine said:
Esolen’s talk at the conference is that the move of Western Civilization from Christianity to secularism is cultural suicide. The basic idea that our morality, ethics, laws, etc. are empty without our culture’s religion.
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Scoop said:
It’s true. Law serves the ‘common’ good and nothing is more indicative of ‘common’ good that the Creator of all. To deny or defy the law is to deny or defy God Himself.
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Philip Augustine said:
https://issuesetc.org/2018/09/13/soundbite-2-dr-anthony-esolen-western-civilization-without-christianity-9-14-18/
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Philip Augustine said:
Good stuff, Nicholas, My former boss just passed away from cancer. And she is having a “celebration of life” on Sunday. My coworkers asked me if I was going but I have family concerns to attend. There is a terrible irony of having such a celebration on Sunday, when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ, I also found the whole idea sad. In my classes, I always make a point to my students of 1 Cor. 15.
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Nicholas said:
Thank you, Philip. I’m glad you point out 1 Cor 15 to your students. I worry that our society has lost sight of the resurrection and the last judgment.
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bozoboy87 said:
Good brother Nicholas, you know these Semiramis worshipers consider you as hell fodder, yet you smile and wave as they smile and wave at you.
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bozoboy87 said:
The trumpet shall sound. And the dead shall be raised. We shall be changed.
We …..is the saved.,…. not those who bow befor a sun god and female graven images. Time to chose whom ye will serve.
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