Secularism engulfing the Western Hemisphere

ANTHONY GOMES

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

In the interest of clarity, secularism is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as: "concerned with the affairs of this world; not spiritual or sacred, not concerned with religion or religious belief, not bound by religious rule". The latest wave of religious disparagement has prompted Pope Benedict XVI to caution Roman Catholics in the US about the need to understand the "grave threats" to their faith posed by radical secularism in the political and cultural arenas as reported in the Daily Observer of January 20.

Secularism is the grandfather of materialism and liberalism, which drive Western societies while producing the toxic side effects of criminal violence and libertinism, which has spawned the present "deep recession", with its overwhelming damage to the word's financial order resulting in the untold suffering of people from all walks of life.

The "bubble" that supported this artificial prosperity has now burst, revealing the reckless mismanagement of financial institutions, motivated by greed that is commonplace in the realms of the international financial world. Even greater disgrace and ignominy have befallen the national governments of many Western countries due to their profligacy and shameful waste of taxpayers' proceeds leading to national bankruptcy. It is therefore no wonder that public protests are widespread in many of the affected countries, with Greece being the most extreme case.

After two devastating world wars and various secondary conflicts, which in some cases are unwinnable, even with considerable military involvement - as in the case of Iraq and Afghanistan, where Christian nations have sacrificed an inestimable number of young Christian lives to liberate Islamist countries from oppressive regimes, the world is again teetering on the brink of confrontation between Iran and Israel with the involvement of the United States and other Western European countries which are concerned that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon. The world waits with heightened apprehension for the outcome of this contretemps.

The foregoing is a synopsis of the downward trajectory of world stability and peace that is accompanied by the accelerated decline of Western religious belief and practice in favour of the fastest-growing secular doctrine that is atheism. The spread of atheism has led to the dereliction of the faithful, and substituted wealth creation that is the "Golden Calf" of atheistic worship in place of the Divine Creator.

With the Abandonment of the Divine Creator and the adoption of secularism, a Pandora's box of aberrant behaviour and harmful practices, once restrained by religious belief, has been opened. Sanctioned by various governments, these practices include abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, same-sex unions, buggery, paedophilia and incest, all of which inevitably lead to the destruction of the family unit which is the essence of community life underpinning the structure of society.

A letter published in the Daily Observer recently warned: "Being atheist is now the most happening thing within the gay, lesbian and bisexual community. New adherents and veterans alike are now flocking to this newly found mode of awareness, and are using it as a proxy to further their foothold in society. The choice of atheism and not some other spiritual belief system is an excellent preference for them. For one, it helps fortify their fundamental claim of being born gay: and further, it grants them the force necessary to help challenge the main charge against them: that homosexuality is essentially an ungodly lifestyle choice. In other words, atheism provides the free-thinking platform where homosexuals can dismissively reject the absolute notion of a God and of a final arbiter over morality. By virtue of this, homosexuals are able to reject bluntly all forms of religious condemnation against them. This, of course, is central to their purpose, as they relish the idea of being able to use atheism as a doctrinal counterweight against all religions, especially Christianity which has been a constant rebuking thorn in their movement's path. The latest crusading effort by international organisations, under the guise of promoting human rights, has come in the form of the US announcing that future foreign aid will be doled out only to countries which are deemed homosexual-friendly (same position as the UK), thus delivering a crippling economic blow to countries like Jamaica and Uganda, which oppose homosexuality and which also rely heavily on foreign aid assistance to supplement their budgets. Very soon, this exotic union of homosexuality and atheism will barrel its way on to our shores and will take with it all vestiges of sexual morality. Watch out, Jamaica, a transforming force of human secularism is heading our way."

As with all destructive ideas and erroneous beliefs that need to be dispelled, remedial indoctrination must begin at home. The teaching of tried and true standards and time-tested benevolent traditions embodied in religious belief are the greatest gift to children who must eventually face the pressures of a materialistic society and remain true to the core beliefs taught by their parents. There are many biblical references dealing with the distribution of wealth in the society and concern for the overriding gap between the rich and the poor. The world has not yet found the perfect system of governance that would be incorruptible and provide the level of national discipline that would energise a strong work ethic with an above average level of integrity.

As with past challenges to Jamaica's culture and as a Christian country, we shall stand firm in the belief that "We small but we Tallawah"!

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Secularism engulfing the Western Hemisphere