Guest Post by Patrick J. Buchanan
The culture war against Christianity is picking up speed.
Last week came word Saint Louis University will remove a heroic-sized statue of Fr. Pierre-Jean De Smet S.J. from the front of Fusz Hall, where it has stood for 60 years.
The statue depicts Fr. De Smet holding aloft a crucifix as he ministers to two American Indians, one of whom is kneeling.
Historically, the statue is accurate. Fr. De Smet, “Blackrobe,” as he was known, was a 19th-century missionary to Indian tribes who converted thousands. A friend of Sitting Bull, he spent his last years in St. Louis.
And as the mission of this Jesuit university is, presumably, to instruct the Catholic young in their faith and send them out into the world to bring the good news of Jesus Christ as Lord and savior to nonbelievers, what exactly is the problem here?
According to SLU Assistant Vice President for Communications Clayton Berry, “some faculty and staff … raised questions about whether the sculpture is culturally sensitive.” Senior Ryan McKinley is more specific: “The statue of De Smet depicts a history of colonialism, imperialism, racism and of Christian and white supremacy.”
But if the founder of Christianity is the Son of God, then Christianity is a superior religion. What Ryan and those faculty and staff seem to be ashamed of, uncomfortable with, or unable to defend, is the truth for which Saint Louis University was supposed to stand.
But simply because they are cowardly, or politically correct, why should that statue be going into the SLU art museum? Why should not they themselves depart for another institution where their sensitivities will not be assaulted by artistic expressions of religious truths?
The message the SLU president should have given the dissenters is simple: We are a Catholic university that welcomes students and faculty not of the faith. But if you find our identity objectionable, then go somewhere else. We are not changing who we are.
Yet another missionary to the Indians is now becoming a figure of controversy. On his September visit to Washington, D.C., Pope Francis plans to canonize Fr. Junipero Serra, the Spanish Franciscan whom John Paul II beatified in 1988, who converted thousands of Indians in California in the 18th century, when it still belonged to Mexico.
Fr. Serra established nine missions up the coast, among them missions that would grow into San Diego, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Barbara and San Francisco.
Not only is Fr. Serra’s name famous in California, his statue has stood since 1931 in the U.S. Capitol in one of two places set aside for the Golden State. The other statue representing California is that of President Ronald Reagan, unveiled in 2009, which replaced a statue of the preacher Thomas Starr King.
With the pope coming here to canonize Fr. Serra, the war drums have begun. It is said the priest accompanied Spanish soldiers who brutalized the Indians, and Fr. Serra helped to eradicate their religion and culture, replacing it with his own.
Now a move is afoot to remove Fr. Serra’s statue.
According to the Religion New Service, “State Sen. Ricardo Lara, an openly gay Los Angeles Democrat, wants to replace a bronze statue of Serra with a monument honoring Sally Ride, the nation’s first female astronaut. Lara said Ride would become ‘the first member of the LGBT community’ to be honored in Statuary Hall.”
Another drive is underway by feminists to remove the visage of Andrew Jackson from the $20 bill and replace it with that of a woman, preferably a minority woman. Jackson, it is said, was responsible for the ethnic cleansing of the Cherokees in the Trail of Tears.
Yet, Jackson, slashed across the head by a British soldier in the last days of the Revolution for refusing to polish his boots, was also arguably the greatest soldier-statesman in American history.
Gen. Jackson led the 1815 defense of New Orleans against the British invasion force, and crushed the Indian marauders in Florida, drove out the Spanish governor, and cleared the path for annexation.
Twice elected president, Jackson is, with Jefferson, a father of the Democratic Party, and he and his proteges Sam Houston and James K. Polk virtually doubled the size of the United States.
One Internet poll advanced four leading candidates to replace Jackson: Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Wilma Mankiller and Harriet Tubman.
But when we look at who is currently on America’s currency — George Washington on the $1 bill, Abe Lincoln on the $5, Hamilton on the $10, Jackson on the $20, Ulysses S. Grant on the $50, Ben Franklin on the $100 — do any of these women really compete in terms of historic achievement with what those great men accomplished?
Aren’t we carrying this affirmative action business a bit too far?
What all these arguments are at bottom all about, however, is a deep divide among us over the question: Was the European Christian conquest of America, given its flaws and failings, on balance, a great and good thing. Or not?
See… thumbs down without even reading a word. works every time. squirm like a little bitty bug.
AND stopping follow ups… enough of this.
“See… thumbs down without even reading a word. works every time. squirm like a little bitty bug.” —–Maggie
LOL
shit-for-brains bb has EIGHTY SEVEN thumbs down, just in this thread. LMFAO!!!
I would conservatively estimate that just in the past 3 months, it must number in the thousands. Literally. And since he’s been here … in the tens of thousands. Seriously.
Yet, he thinks he’s relevant, or credible, or respected, or liked. Never in human history has one been so deluded as the Village Idiot.
I could care less about your like or respect.That many thumbs down. I must be doing something right. ha ha .Nothing you can say or do will change my core convictions or world view.
@bb, “nothing you can say or do will change my core convictions…”
That sums you up @bb.
The world changes, dramatically, around you, but you refuse to even consider a different view. Reality and truth be damned.
This life was blessed to each of us to grow and learn and become more in tune with our maker. Refusal to allow for new ideas is refusal to learn, refusal to learn is refusal to grow closer to Heaven.
Which is the EXACT reason this world is so freaked up.
@I_S, thank you, I totally understand their frustration as it is now mine too.
I do not want, nor will I support, any church that furthers hatred and exclusion as methods to Heaven, either here, or there.
Glad to hear I’m not the only one.
Oh, and @bb, I’m not miserable now. And I don’t want a new husband, car or house, so I know those things wouldn’t make me happy.
Happiness has nothing to do with those things. I live in a pretty harmonious state, it just isn’t a permanent or real one, exactly like we are ALL living in, in this 1st world, soon to be falling, country.
Save your pity and condemnation for me @bb, I’m at a spiritual level you sadly may never see, and know beyond a shadow of a doubt my feelings about God and His Son are not the things I will be made to atone for. Spreading his love and acceptance brings more to his flock, spreading bigotry, war and condemnation is doing, has done, and will continue to do the exact opposite.
God love ya’ bb, cause right now I sure as hell don’t.
@TE… I can only assume some little bitty bug refuses to change its world view for anything since I refuse to read any more of the inane self-righteous only-I’m-right-and-my-mind-is-closed crap emanating from the tentacles of that bug that has decided to infest this place with its holier than thou attitude. No thanks… been there done that and have found the Truth and it has indeed set me free.
I don’t understand why so many take it upon themselves to invade the rest of our lives to make sure we are living right. Get over yourself. Get out of my business and get yourself a life. And if you are the bug, don’t bother to reply… I don’t talk to bugs.
If you are TE… hello, dear.
@Maggie, wow how I love the women around here.
Shrinking violets, the ones that stay, we are not.
Hello right back to you! How’s the doomstead progressing?
Maggie and TE ,you are reason women should have never been given the right to vote.You both remind me of Shirley McClain.
You are the reason The Rothschilds never allow women to run any of their financial institutions. Smart Jews.
Speaking of momenz – Where’s PJ and Hope and Chicago and T4? (And all the rest?)
I luvz them too!
Oh mah gawd. What in the shitballs kind uh site is this? Sounds like uh bunch gay holy rollers to me. From what I read here Stucky is yer leader, but he sounds like a gay aetheist. I’m seriously confused.
@TE, a funny thing happened on the way to TEOTWAWKI. We fell in love with living in these hills, clearing the land and turning this log house into a home. We decided that maybe it isn’t exactly the end of the world yet after all. And that even if it is, perhaps we are part of the remnant and we will shelter as many as we can from the oncoming storm. The password is “squish all bitty bugs” dear.
Let me say this real slow, I know how difficult my syntax can get:
1. I said before that BW is hilarious. That got me categorized as an “assclown”. (Yet here you wake up to something most of us have known for some time; BW is, by his own admission a baiter)
2. I said that I-S was getting to be a tiresome noise with his continual bitching about “assclowns”.
3. The fucker told you he had no feud with me then went on to call my wife a mongoloid.
3. I defended bb because I thought he was funnier than I-S.
4. At no time have I said I-S was not a valuable part of TBP. I said he is an asshole.
5. I complained about the exalted status of the Big Dog mafia.
6. I said Big Dogs ought to be an example and not merely exalted assclowns as opposed to lower assclowns.
7. This criticism does not extend to all Big Dogs.
8. Thanks for your support all these years.
9. I categorically repudiate your hallucinatory pagan non-religion, the price of your friendship is too much, sorry.
I can offer you the consolation of a modern theology you might like:
If you want to devise your own religion, though I doubt it would be to
your salvation, you might try Cybertology.
BACKGROUND
Every religion has an origins narrative and an inevitable evolution or endless loop story. Cybertology has its beginnings in the 70’s when Jobs and Wozniak developed the home computer. Since then, the computer and Cybertology (the Creed) has undergone many transformations, evolutions if you will, and the time is nearing when computers will supplement human intelligence directly without any voluntary entry of data.
The creators of the computer will be long gone by the time computer chips are introduced into the human carrier. Mankind will forget the creators of the computer.
MECHANISM
Base instincts formerly assigned to the Id are recorded in the computer and are satisfied by database virtual reality. On death of the organism, all memories residing as the Ego are downloaded to the cloud and assigned an identifier.
Successfully downloaded memories are said to go to heaven or the cloud. There, they reside with the Supreme Being, in this case, the master database.
Memories found incompatible with state law are deleted. This the second death.
FAITH
There is no element of doubt here so faith is not a requirement for salvation. It’s all defined and clearly written in the testament or contract.
SALVATION
Since there is no place called hell, the cloud is called heaven. All approved downloads will reside in perpetuity with the Supreme Being, this database is called Eternity. Memories deleted by the State go to a retrievable storage called Limbo. Those memories that are permanently deleted are said to go to a memory hole and can never be retrieved or otherwise accessed.
A. Sin is non-existent as such, all carnal impulses, greed, lust, gluttony and others are satisfied in virtual reality mode and deleted along with all Id memories upon download (death) of the organism. Related source: Haitian Vodou
B. Heaven can be modified to suit the program of downloaded memory, loners will find themselves undisturbed by human contact while dependent individuals will find themselves in the company of like-minded programs.
C. Living organisms can access programs in the cloud and review them in hologram mode, however, they cannot write on the program or modify it in any way, including by interacting with the program.
POSTSCRIPT: This is a nascent religion which has yet to be approved by the State. It is based on popular conceits of the moment and is too shallow to be considered viable, proceed with caution.
EC – you and IS are going to have fun. I am going to try to stay out of it.
I have regard for both of you, and wish it were different.
Re the above:
1) BW is a blight on the ass of the world
2) alrighty then
3) yep, saw that. A bit aggressive, but this is TBP.
4) defending bb is worthy of an ass-kicking. You are smarter than taht. But everyone makes mistakes.
5) alrighty then
6) ummm, I do not understand, But Big Dogs get to play by their own rules, which get changed day to day and which are arbitrary, and which reflect long and continued service to TBP.
7) I hope that means me!!
8) you are welcome!
9) do not know who that was to, but “pagan non-religion” is funny!
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Can I get a group hug from everyone. Lipoh ,less then a month ago you said I was a friend of the TBP and a valuable member of the BP family of monkeys. Where did the love go?
Did I hurt feelings?Do you really think you’re a big dog? Maybe your just a bitter old man.I’mglad I chap your ass .
One thing for sure you will never forget this ass beating.
LLPOH, I know they change the rules. I also know there are no rules except SSS’ no nips rule.
I know better than to pick a fight with my boss but this isn’t work. I-S has been bugging for a long time with his constant nagging. I don’t want to keep quiet even at the threat of an ass-kicking.
Too bad Stuck got involved. bb has been riding Stucky like a rented mule about his so-called apostasy. The truth is that everyone is responsible for his own salvation.
I don’t like to see Stucky get all butt hurt, I’m not much of a hug it out sort of person. Shit, one of the reasons I like Billy is because he isn’t a hugger either.
Regarding bb, I will defend him when it suits me but that doesn’t mean I believe in everthing he says. As for BW, I suspected you or Stucky, or possibly some other smart fellas here with a wicked sense of humor. Finally, I had no clue. Maybe we will never know. Admin outed Jackson as the writer behind the excellent alter IraK. Will we ever get lucky again? Doubt it. BW roasted my beans worse than anything I-S could dish out but I thought it was all in fun so I laughed.
Come back, Stuck. Maybe BW can give you a handjob to soothe your hurt feelings. TBP can’t afford to lose you. Your lots of fun and very informative and even better when you combine those two qualities. Sorry I can’t come up with bigger, juicier accolades, I’m just not good at condolences or congratulations, just come back already, all is forgiven (don’t let it happen again).
Stucky says: IF you’re so inclined to review your asinine statements, and perhaps regret it, and perhaps extend an olive branch, well … DON’T BOTHER!!! Neither will one be forthcoming from me, ever, I swear it on my son’s life.
Far be it from me to cross that line, you swore on your kid’s life. Nope, no reconciliation possible, I understand. We are sworn enemies now. You and I-S are dead to me, it must always be so. I wish you two the best – as I do Billy.
I only really liked LLPOH anyway. And Admin, of course.
TE says:
God is love, anyone that believes gets in, not man’s place to judge or control other men.
_____________________________
Jesus copied that part from Zarathustra. He was probably educated at Sepphoris and learned that the Jews fucked up that religion when they copied it after their liberation from Babylon so he sought to set things straight. The name of your god is Ahura Mazda.
El Coyote
I mostly observe here and one thing I have noticed is this sort of falling out happens in cycles, then everyone compliments each other and life is good until the next falling out. It looks at times like a family, fight like hell then loving each other.
I caint count on one hand how many times Stucky has had a homo erotic freak out over a slight delivered via TBP comments. Sticky will toss and turn all night, as an irrevocable tension in TBP comment section is a threat to that 7ft tall Slavic mongreloid’s very existence. Tomorrow he will very awkwardly let bygones be bygones. Ask llpoh. The kraut and the redskin have turned sworn enemies inter best friends at least uh half dozen times. If yew lay low and just keep saying ‘think yew meester’ fer uh day or two they’ll let yew back inter the club.
“the only haters are these fools who mock the Christian Faith.” –bb
bb
There is no FOOL who mocks the Christian Faith more than YOU.
You present yourself as a Christian and then project yourself to be a total FOOL!
YOU MORE THAN ANYONE, associate Christianity to be the RELIGION OF A FOOL!!
GROW THE FUCK UP!!!
BW
I was accused of writing shit and destroying people’s minds. Really, there’s no worse think one can say to a writer. The Rubicon has been crossed. No reconciliation is possible.
None of you are dead to me.You’re just to much fun.
Little bb says he still loves you Stucky. He’s crying.
Stucky
You totally misread El Mongreloid. In his little beaner broken English he was tryin ter pay you a compliment. “You blow his mind.” White people use ‘shit’ as a pejorative, but brownskinned monkeys literally chunk feces at each other fer fun. Billy Jr sometimes sits down and slobber down uh bowl of shit too, but he’s a real asset retard. Anyways, fer what it’s worth, don’t let the sun go down on yer anger.
BW –
I was accused of writing assclown shit and massacring the syntax. Really, there’s no worse thing one can say to a writer. The Rio Grande has been crossed. No reconciliation is possible.