I have been thinking about words this week. Some words seem more reliable than others. Someone in my social media circle (who had been introduced to academic post-modernism/Neo-Marxism a little later in life than is usual) said in an otherwise rational exchange of comments about denouncing "Christian Nationalism" and substituting a utopian multicultural power-sharing form of "democracy" - - presented as an earthly Christian "Kingdom of Heaven":
I don't really care what it's called. Words are all made up anyway.
"Christian" and "Socialist" are totally interchangeable. More on that later.
The quote below seems like a contrast to me. The words seem real. Do you notice a difference?
If printing money would end poverty, printing diplomas would end stupidity. - -
Javier Milei
Contranyms
A couple of decades ago, I learned about contranyms.
A contranym is a word that has two diametrically opposed meanings. For example, the word "dust" can mean the removal or application of dust (as in dust with powdered sugar), or "fast" which can mean speedy or stationary (to make fast a line on a sailboat).
Can you think of any other contranyms? Here's one that occurred to the author of this piece later:
"cover; covered; covering.
Once, when a reporter was covering something or someone, that meant they were trying to extract information that is generally unknown.
Now it means acting in a way to prevent information from becoming generally known. i.e. giving cover."
Back to the Substack piece:
Democrats are playing that game this election season. They always play it, but this time it is not for advantage, it is by necessity - and it has put their installed nominee in a tough spot.
I sort of get Kamala's situation.
I do not sympathize with her, but I do get it.
People wonder what she is doing now that Scranton Joe has taken to his beach lounger at his dacha on the Jersey Shore – but she cannot operate in her official capacity as Vice President because that would mean she would have to execute policies she now opposes. That would link her to the Biden Administration, one that she contronymically defines as both successful and not successful at the same time depending, of course, what she needs to highlight or hide from.
In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll wrote:
When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.“
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master— that’s all.”
In all honesty, she can't come out with anything substantive because nobody in the Democrat power circle has told her what she is running on yet. In true San Fran Nan fashion, she is going to have to have a national convention first before she can see what she believes.
She has taken some baby steps.
Of course, she is for the standard Democrat stuff . . .
This was written on the eleventh. How much has changed since then in Kamala's Campaign of Joy? Has she filled in the details on any policies? Come out for or against any current policies of the Biden/Harris Administration?
The rest of the short piece includes some comments on Walz, a comparison to Obama, and an interesting comment about an early vacuous speech by Obama.
The War Against "Christian Nationalists"
As suggested at the top of the post, someone in my social media world posted a clip from a sermon by a seminary student who is also a member of the Texas House of Representatives.
I am no theologian, but this guy is supposedly well on his way to finishing a course in a seminary, and he seems to have gotten some things wrong about the basics of Christianity, even for a Presbyterian. Here's the whole sermon.
Can anyone tell me if early Christians called themselves "The Way" instead of perhaps saying that they were following "The Way"?
Was "The Way" centered around sharing all things in common, along with refusal to participate in the surrounding economy, culture and military, or was there something more to "The Way"?
It seems that many people who came under suspicion of being American Christian Nationalists became aware of this term in about 2021. Yet the young man above associates them with the evils of the Emperor Constantine, the faults of all of Western Civilization, White Supremacy, as well as deep, intractable personal evils. All of Christianity must repent of Christian Nationalism. And perhaps for the existence of nations.
He has a dream, like MLK. The closest thing we have to the Kingdom of Heaven is a multi-racial, multi-cultural democracy where power is truly shared among all people. This is something that has yet to exist in human history.
This is what my friend agreed with in this video.
I thought of this man when I heard this dream of the Kingdom of Heaven.
That's where my friend said, "Does that need to be socialist, or Christian? I don't really care what it's called. Words are all made up anyway."
Apparently, the "Radical Love" Jesus taught is all about power sharing between racial and cultural groups, or something. Or between "all people". I am sketchy about the details, and about whether Chaz/Chop came close to the Christian ideal.
I looked up a few things. What can you say if someone asks if you are a Christian Nationalist?
C.S. Lewis on Christians in politics from the Screwtape Letters
Preacher Voddie Baucham on Christian Nationalism. He is speaking in the USA, but is presently a resident of Zambia, an official "Christian Nation" with freedom of religion, according to its constitution. (Remember David Livingston and his campaign against slavery?)
He says that Christian Nationalism is difficult to define because it is always meant as a pejorative. Educational video.
Incidentally, Zambia may be an officially Christian nation, but they owe China a lot of money for their railroad to the coast, for their construction capacity and other stuff. Here are African Kids doing Chinese Stuff.
Weekend Musings
When people ask me what hurts/enrages me most about the woke destruction of our culture, it is this: they are joy-eaters, like Dementors.
Music
Hope you have something nice planned for this weekend.
This is the Thread before the Gardening Thread.
Last week's thread, August 10, Black Swans and Swan Songs
Comments are closed so you won't ban yourself by trying to comment on a week-old thread. But don't try it anyway.