Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The Fountainhead of Satanism
First Things ^ | June 8 2011 | Joe Carter

Posted on 06/08/2011 9:34:29 PM PDT by Shalmaneser

click here to read article


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 141 next last
My first post. Sorry if it is wrong.
1 posted on 06/08/2011 9:34:31 PM PDT by Shalmaneser
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: Shalmaneser

Why is that?
^^^^^^^^^^

When Ayn Rand is right she is very right!

And...Yes, parts of her philosophy are flat out wrong. That can and should be acknowledged without discarding and discounting everything that is true. True is true and will **always** be true. Truth can not be made to disappear simply because wrong also exists.


2 posted on 06/08/2011 9:40:08 PM PDT by wintertime
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shalmaneser

How absurd.

Equating Rand to Satanism? Let alone LeVay’s cult version of Satanism?

Maybe if you are naive enough to buy into the mythology, but LaVey was a hoax who started a cartoonish cult that was in vogue for a short period of time (No really, the Rolling Stones were counted as fans)...and later in life, fans of metal music, and a certain Dungeon and Dragons crowd picked up on the imagery of it. He is not influential. He essentially mixed ideologies from Darwinism, and a bunch of -isms, including even Calvinism, and mixed it with Aleistor Crowley and Alice Bailey mumbo jumbo. If a real Satanic church exists - he isn’t it, and likening Ayn Rand to that legacy is even more far fetched.


3 posted on 06/08/2011 9:44:04 PM PDT by harmonium
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shalmaneser
My first post. Sorry if it is wrong.

Within hours(?) of signing up. Expect to be under the microscope for months.

You noobs think you're a big deal, don't you? If you had any integrity, you would name names instead of trying to have us follow a link of dubious origin.

4 posted on 06/08/2011 9:45:43 PM PDT by buccaneer81 (ECOMCON)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shalmaneser

Your premise is shaky and your conclusion is, well, retahded.


5 posted on 06/08/2011 9:51:42 PM PDT by ExpatGator (I hate Illinois Nazis!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shalmaneser; Religion Moderator; Admin Moderator; Jim Robinson; darkwing104; Old Sarge; 50 Cal
LeVey was able to recognize what many conservatives fail to see: Rand’s doctrines are satanic.

Time for the Kitties!!

6 posted on 06/08/2011 9:52:25 PM PDT by buccaneer81 (ECOMCON)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shalmaneser

IB4TZ!


7 posted on 06/08/2011 9:55:28 PM PDT by freedumb2003 (Herman Cain 2012)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shalmaneser
Welcome to FR.

Take a look at


Also, when you find something you like, right-mouse-click it and click on source, then copy and paste what you like out of it, into your comments.
Also be sure to preview your comment before you post, and make the changes you want, before you click post.

Again, welcome to Free Republic, and have a good time.

8 posted on 06/08/2011 9:55:43 PM PDT by Yosemitest (It's simple, fight or die.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shalmaneser
This one makes for a curiosity. The standard complaint about Rand is that she was too moralistic. She did transpose "Judge not, lest ye be judged" into "Judge, and prepare to be judged." She also came up with a defense of black-and-white thinking in morals, saying that grey areas were compositions of black and white elements. She went out of her way to say that letting evil hide in the gray areas through non-judgmentalism only makes evil grow.

I find it hard to reconcile Rand's moralistic streak - obvious in her non-fiction writings, particularly her later ones - with the claim that Rand was a proto-Satanist. Don't Satanists want to obliterate all moral judgments?

9 posted on 06/08/2011 9:57:44 PM PDT by danielmryan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: buccaneer81

Good god man give it a rest!


10 posted on 06/08/2011 9:58:49 PM PDT by Soothesayer9
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Shalmaneser
"My first post. Sorry if it is wrong."

There's nothing wrong with the way you posted, but your logic sure could use some help.
11 posted on 06/08/2011 9:59:40 PM PDT by shibumi (Ego Nunquam Ubi Sub Ubi!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Shalmaneser
Welcome to FR
Ya didn't do too bad for a first post....
I've seen worse.....

Be prepared for criticism......
Your post will come under close scrutiny......

N00Bs who post the first thing after joining FR usually don't fare too well.......
Good luck....

12 posted on 06/08/2011 10:00:30 PM PDT by Fiddlstix (Warning! This Is A Subliminal Tagline! Read it at your own risk!(Presented by TagLines R US))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Yosemitest

It won’t be around long enough to have a good time.


13 posted on 06/08/2011 10:01:12 PM PDT by buccaneer81 (ECOMCON)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Shalmaneser

IMHO...

You’re absolutely right. I think it every time I see fawning over this or that book or author.

Christians must remember their faith, and if they do, they will not be so caught up in this or that non-Christian ideology or philosophy. Then someone will say “but that’s blind belief”. No, I’m simply saying to take things with a grain of salt, digest them (intellectually), then in your daily prayers and meditations, take some time to analyze this new ideology or philosophy, and validate it against Scripture. Of course, in order to do that, one has to be quite familiar with Christian doctrine. Then again, we should be that, anyway. Over time, we will come to see where our secular works differ with the word of God. Of course, in the mean time, in our zeal to think that some ideological author has happened upon some magical cure for our problems, we can very easily mislead ourselves, which is why Christians need to study the Bible and consult properly ordained pastors. And if we hear unsound doctrine, doctrine that, try as we might, we can’t escape the fact that it seems to be flawed, find another. Because as sure as Jesus is truth, the word of God is perfect. In the Bible is everything we need to meet life’s challenges. And every man, in his conscience, must come to terms with God. This is why people change congregations or even denominations. Bible study is the most important study we shall ever undertake.


14 posted on 06/08/2011 10:02:47 PM PDT by PieterCasparzen (If you are a Patriotic Conservative Christian Capitalist, I invite you to visit my Profile)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ExpatGator

It is neither my premise nor my conclusion. I did not write the article. I only posted it.


15 posted on 06/08/2011 10:03:28 PM PDT by Shalmaneser
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: buccaneer81
The link is not dubious in any way. First Things is a reputable journal of religion in American life that has been published for several years.

There is no need to attack me personally. I am sorry you found the ideas in my first post to be offensive. I did not realize that criticism of Ayn Rand's ideas was forbidden here.

16 posted on 06/08/2011 10:03:32 PM PDT by Shalmaneser
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: buccaneer81

Lighten up on the newbie.

First Things is a well respected Catholic opinion journal. There is nothing new here. Rand’s atheism has always been criticized by Christians. See Whittaker Chambers in National Review in 1957:

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/222482/big-sister-watching-you/flashback


17 posted on 06/08/2011 10:04:11 PM PDT by iowamark
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

Comment #18 Removed by Moderator

To: Shalmaneser
Really?

What would Christ/God think of someone who prays, tithes and does charitable works due to guilt, hedging their bets on whether there's an afterlife and/or to feel superior to others?

Rand clearly speeks to these types of people and her opinion of them is just as low as Christ's would be.

Rand deals with government forcing one to give what they earn at the point of a gun. Government is us - the people.

Jihad on behalf your your God, whether by beheading the infidel or having government force one to obey the tenets of your God is wrong, un-Christian and not what Jesus taught us.

I can make the same case you do that Rand is laying the blueprint to follow Christ's admonition to render to Ceasar what is Ceasar's and to God what is God's...

Christ wants us to come willingly to his Father out of love, not guilt, superiority or bet-hedging.

If we then force the unenlightened to come to God via the point of gun (social justice) they are not saved and neither are we.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being saved and recognizing that Rand correctly pointed out the dangers of a collectivist government and a theocracy.

Regards.

19 posted on 06/08/2011 10:05:39 PM PDT by Abundy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: buccaneer81; Religion Moderator; Shalmaneser
You noobs think you're a big deal, don't you? If you had any integrity, you would name names instead of trying to have us follow a link of dubious origin.

The link works just fine. First Things is a conservative Christian Magazine which is often cited here on the Religion Forum. Personal insults like the one you hurled above are generally not accepted here. It is true, however, that nasty responses like that are quite common on the Religion Forum after criticisms are leveled against another religion. In fact, your response bolsters the case made in the article that Any Rand's philosophy really is a religion!

20 posted on 06/08/2011 10:06:22 PM PDT by Ronaldus Magnus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 141 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson