Posted on 05/11/2013 12:12:17 PM PDT by JerseyanExile
Ayn Rand was no fan of C.S. Lewis. She called the famous apologist an “abysmal bastard,” a “monstrosity,” a “cheap, awful, miserable, touchy, social-metaphysical mediocrity,” a “pickpocket of concepts,” and a “God-damn, beaten mystic.” (I suspect Lewis would have particularly relished the last of these.)
These insults and more can be found in her marginal notes on a copy of Lewis’ Abolition of Man, as printed in Ayn Rand’s Marginalia: Her critical comments on the writings of over 20 authors, edited by Robert Mayhew. Excerpts appear below, with Lewis’ writing (complete with Rand’s highlighting and underlining) on the left and Rand’s notes on the right.
(Excerpt) Read more at firstthings.com ...
Rand is a social Marxist. It’s the opposite of the culture that accomodates constitutional freedom. It is the culture of communism.
Not only do they miss it, they get uppity about it when they do! :-)
Excellent post! Nailed it exactly.
What anti religionists miss is that religion is never done away with. People find a substitute such as the environment or vegetarianism, or their politics become in essence their passion/religion. They end up worshiping charismatic manipulators or worshiping themselves and it never ends well. Strange that Rand seemed to miss this point. Organized religion works better than chaotic random religion.
The left hates religion, so Rand’s elimination of it makes her novels/concepts/ideals the perfect weapon against them. For example, I’m arguing with some pro-infanticide lefty on our local newspaper’s website. She keeps accusing me of throwing my religion around yet I have not used religion to prove why infanticide is wrong. She now has no argument because she fully intended to use that as her only argument. It really pi$$es the left off when you take religion out of an argument because then they can’t whine about it and change the argument to a religious debate.
The God you ask about is the creator of the universe. Given this alone, there is nothing that gives any human being the standing to inquire, let alone know, God’s motives.
Good answer and well supported.
Inevitably, atheism collapses under the weight of truth.
All language and all thought proceed in the context of God’s truth.
Immanuel Kant, German philosopher a few centuries back, was simply wrong when he proposed that the language of science is separate and incompatible with the language of faith.
Unfortunately, Kant is probably to blame for the way this false dichotomy has taken root in the imaginations of so many to this day.
Had not read such a quote before. She really WAS lost, wasn’t she?
But at least the quote confirms my suspicions. Thanks.
While I agree with you, the left always takes the religion aspect of a debate and then uses it as an attempt to debunk the entire argument. Debating without inserting God and religion completely befuddles them and it’s amusing.
I will probably have to steal that line although I may give you attribution, possibly once, in some endearing manner.
It was published as “We the Living” in novel form, but I’m pretty sure it was called “We” when it appeared as a Novella in one of those pulp magazines.
Unfortunately, my copy is in a trunk stored in another house, so I can’t check it right now. I could be wrong about it.
Your moral thinking has never progressed beyond that of a 5-year old or a literal savage. You cannot conceive of the operation of moral principles in the world - that’s apparently beyond your intellectual capacity - so all you can do is rely on supernatural rewards and punishments, the equivalent of Mommy or Daddy giving you extra desert, or swatting your behind.
You’re referring to “Anthem,” not “We.” I know you read the Ayn Rand novel; you just switched the names. The 2 novels are often compared; they’re both by Russians, both dystopias condemning collectivism. “We” was written by Yevgeny Zamyatin.
Whose name?
Somehow, I missed that. What, in particular, gave you that idea?
Aren't you a little confused?
Thank you. That's the comment I wish I had made about the atheist old bag myself.
OTOH, I know someone, a devout professing Christian mind you, who says stuff like... "We live in a free enterprise economy, and IT'S BRUTAL."
I see it your way myself.
Quite a recommendation.
>>Your moral thinking has never progressed beyond that of a 5-year old or a literal savage.<<
Yeah, okay. Every believer in God is an idiot, and you are the smart one.
Good luck with that.
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