Sunday, September 30, 2007

Expect More Without the Gospel Influence

In his tape series, "The Dionysus Revival," Gil Bailie speaks of the West's infatuation with the élan of the Dionysian. Those who saw and felt first hand and tasted of its heady false-freedoms, say, in the 60's, know of what Bailie speaks. What no one then knew then was that, anthropologically speaking and what René Girard has made so clear, the first intoxicating buzz of the Dionysian throwing-off of mores and prohibitions leads to the place of blood sacrifice. This is the primitive Sacred.

The mythos that silences concern for the victims of such regressive religious and neo-pagan behavior now attempts to throw a cloak called "choice" over our sanitized altars of Moloch -- read abortuaries -- in the West. But those whose hearts and minds have been formed in the ethos of the Gospel -- however little "Christ-hauntedness" remains in the West -- can still see clearly and feel the revulsion of the Sacred in all of its crowd-powerful glory when it comes to us from a non-Gospel influenced culture.

Let us consider an example. LGF reports on an "honor killing" shown on Youtube. And a question: If you were an anthropologist from the West who happened upon such brutality, what would you do?
(a) Observe closely, take notes, and later write an ethnography to publish in a professional journal.
(b) Watch in stunned horror, walking closer to the action, and later wonder, starring at your hands, "Where did this blood come from?"
(c) Roar in indignation, throw yourself upon the girl's attackers in a mad adrenalin rush.
(d) Slink back, look at your watch, and retire to your hotel room feeling depressed, diminished, with memories of going to Confession as a boy. Choose one.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

C. For sure.

Ellen R. Sheeley, Author
"Reclaiming Honor in Jordan"