More Scenes from the Passing Madness
Keeping up with cultural decline and mental erosion has now become a full time occupation. Simply listing all the cases of Political Correctness would fill hundreds, if not thousands, of volumes. And detailing the decline of the West is a never-ending task.
Just in case folks are not fully convinced that things are a tad out of whack, I occasionally perform this public service of listing a few of the more outrageous examples of Western decay and cultural craziness. Thus here are two more prize-winning examples.
Both speak of a West which no longer believes in itself, no longer knows what it stands for, and no longer seems to care that it is in terminal decline. Both illustrate what Malcolm Muggeridge once called “the great liberal death wish”. By that he meant the utter moral and intellectual bankruptcy of liberalism, and the self-destructive nature of it.
Despite freedom, prosperity and never-before experienced success, modern Western nations have forfeited their Judeo-Christian heritage, and have embarked on a project of self-immolation. Of course as the Christian basis of the West is lost, other pretenders to the throne rush in. Secularism and Islam are two chief candidates.
Let’s look at each in turn. Secularism has raised its fist to God, and with it, to morality and reason. Making man the measure of all things is always tricky business, and we have let this experiment run its course for quite some time now. The results are now coming in, and many do not like what they see.
With no ultimate basis of what is true and false, right and wrong, people simply make up their own beliefs and their own morality. And the modern virtues of tolerance and non-judgmentalism mean that we must now tolerate every thought, practice, belief and lifestyle, and we must not judge any.
So when a photographer recently displayed pictures of naked thirteen-year-old children in provocative displays, he could get away with it in the name of art. While the general public was appalled at this display, our elites rushed to the photographer’s defence.
Well, our intellectualoids have not let that story go. Now it seems we have another “artist” who not only has defended the Bill Henson photos, but has produced some of her own. Only this time the photographer, Polixeni Papapetrou, features her own six-year-old daughter in the nude. And on the cover of a national art magazine to boot.
She did this, she says, to protest the way Henson was treated, and the “hysteria” over nude children as art objects. The magazine, Art Monthly Australia, is subsidised by the government, that is, us taxpayers. Magazine editor Maurice O’Riordan, who does not have children, said the Henson furore was a “farce” and that he did not care if the photos provoked any complaints.
So what is wrong with all this? Let me count the ways. First, the six-year-old girl is hardly in a position to give consent here. Mum says ‘strip and pose’, and she does it. How will she feel later on in life, knowing she was exposed for all the world to see, all in the name of “art”?
Second, this is simply the exploitation of the young girl so that mum can score some cheap political points here. Her daughter is just a pawn in her stupid little protest game. Third, I would suspect that most Australians object to their tax dollars going to stuff like this. If people want to exploit and use children for selfish adult agendas, then surely they should do it at their own expense, and not compel unwilling tax payers to foot the bill.
As I told a national television news crew about this matter today, this mother is exploiting her daughter in the name of some trendy political protests. What kind of mother would treat her own daughter that way? It is simply appalling.
However my second example does not get much better. As I mentioned, as the Judeo-Christian worldview crumbles from attacks from without and sabotage from within, other groups are poised in the wings to fill the gap. Islam is doing a great job of this at the moment. The Islamisation of the West continues apace, and the following example is just one more scary case of how successful this is.
In an English school, two children were disciplined because they refused to pray to Allah. Yes, you heard me correctly. Evidently two boys from a year seven class of 11 and 12-year-olds refused to kneel down and “pray to Allah” during a religious education lesson. As a result, the boys were given detention, missing their refreshment break.
The teacher, Alison Phillips, the school’s subject leader in RE, is said to have got prayer mats out of the cupboard and also asked children to wear Islamic headdresses. At the moment she is staying away from the school until the furore dies down.
Indeed, the parents were furious at this, and accused the school of breaching the human rights of the boys by forcing them to take part in the exercise. However, a spokesperson for the Cheshire County Council defended the activity, saying, “Educating children in the beliefs of different faiths is part of Cheshire’s diversity curriculum on the basis that knowledge is, of course, is essential to understanding. We accept that such teaching has to be conducted with commonsense and sensitivity.”
But when does education become propaganda and indoctrination? It is one thing for voluntary lessons about other religious beliefs. But forcing kids not only to attend such classes, but to actually practice the beliefs of other religions is surely getting out of line here.
But as mentioned, the inroads of Islam into all areas of Western life continue to gather pace and pervasiveness. Being shy about our own Christian heritage, many in the West are afraid to check the spread of Islam, for fear of being labelled Islamophobic, intolerant and exclusive.
Thus we stand back and simply observe the de-Christianisation of the West, with its continued secularisation on the one hand, and Islamification on the other. Today schoolboys are disciplined for not bowing the knee to Allah, quite literally. Perhaps tomorrow it will be jail for all infidels who will not prostrate themselves.
If that happens, it will be due to two things: Christians not standing up for their own beliefs and practices, and Muslims who are standing up for their own beliefs and practices. For a Christian, the first is both unforgivable and frightening. The question is, can we turn things around?
[1087 words]
I too am appalled at this person taking advantage of a young child – especially her own. This is a disgrace. Children of this age do not know about the provocative poses that they are asked to take. I was upset about the Bill Hensen issue but to take your own daughter & use her in this manner…………. I don’t know how to put my feelings into words. I hope this does not have negative effects on this innocent child when she grows up.
I am equally upset over the praying to Allah issue. If we asked all children to pray to God & they refused, would there be such punishment inflicted. I doubt it. Such a double standard where christianity is involved. I believe that these boys must have been uncomfortable about doing this & so they should have the right to not take part. Since when does the school have a right to force another religion on our children.
May God Bless those boys for standing up for themselves. We need more people like them who wil make a stand for what they believe in.
Thanks Bill for your constant flow of news on these issues. Keep up the great work.
What is happening in England, still nominally a Christian country, is truly horrific.
To justify making children pray to Allah as part of the school’s “diversity curriculum” defies belief. This is forced Islamisation pure and simple and the teacher should be instantly sacked. Instead, the boys who refused to bow down to this satanic cult were punished.
Let’s hope this is a wake-up call for Australia not to go down the same road. Respecting other’s belief systems is one thing (and it is our Judeo-Christian culture which enables us to enjoy religious freedom), but giving each equal weight is ludicrous, especially when Islam breaches all our notions of equality and human rights, as it is racist and intolerant of all other religions.
In the name of a false cultural diversity, we must not tolerate an intolerable death cult which seeks to impose monocultural Islam.
Cassandra Waxman
The operative word at the centre of this issue is the word RESPECT and is perhaps the guiding principle that informs all the teaching of RE teachers, fresh out of teacher-training colleges. But this is same word that thugs use in order to demand acceptance of their rule of a territory, be it a part of a playground, street, neighbourhood or whole country. But why should we respect a religion that denies human rights? The punishment of the two boys, who demonstrated far greater courage than the craven Cheshire Education Authority, and who defied the order to bow down to this idol called Allah, would no doubt in a few years times be punished, not with detention, but with enforced indoctrination, public lashing and perhaps even worse. It is evolutionary humanism which whilst retaining the outer wrapping of our words has replaced them with a product that means the complete opposite of the original. Hence whilst we are asked to respect Islam, it really means that we bow to all attitudes and values irrespective of their truth, especially if they threaten us.
Discrimination and Intolerance are certainly no-nos and mean an insistence on exercising a proper use of judgement. Tolerance, means we are forced to accept a nihilism where there is no meaning to anything, a world where there is no right or wrong, up or down, black or white, anything goes. “It’s all good.” Progress means anything that is constantly changing and evolving towards a future of our own making. History is irrelevant and our parents are Neanderthals. Diversity means being forced to accept a breaking down of all categories and boundaries in order to make society into a flexible, malleable, interchangeable and unrecognisable mass. Achievement is simply a measurable, materialistic and quantifiable statistic. Liberty is the absolute right to self-determination, self-assertion, free from all constraints and limitations. Neurosis means that we still persist in believing in sin and evil and therefore need psychiatric treatment and diversity training.
David Skinner, UK
I think we need a few Christians who are prepared to publicly challenge the deepening decadence of our society and the deceit of Islam. However, those who step forward should not necessarily expect support from within our ranks – although the Catch the Fire case garnered sufficient financial support.
Ray Robinson
Wanda asks: “Since when does the school have a right to force another religion on our children?” To which I would answer: ever since the introduction of evolution into the school science curriculum. The religion of Secular Humanism/Evolutionary Humanism has been the default religion of our public schools now for many years. Unfortunately, this has gone on and continues to go on under the radar of most Christian parents. Secularism has opened the door to other false religions including Islam.
Ewan McDonald.
Ray (Robinson), do you seriously mean you would not support other Christians who are being attacked for their faith? Can you please explain what you mean here?
Andrew Dinham
The poor world, staggering like a drunken man. Hardness of heart will send millions to a Christless eternity.
Br Jim Junkins, PNG 🙂
Thanks Andrew
Ray can respond, but I read him to mean that we may not always be able to count on other Christians to help us out, with so much apathy and indifference in the churches. I trust that was his intent, anyway.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
No worries Bill, thanks for clearing that one up.
Regards, Andrew Dinham
I have to say, I consider the parents of those two boys absolutely brilliant to have raised them to already understand the difference between right and wrong, rather than accept ‘being nice’ as the ultimate good. They deserve the highest praise and how good for the boys to have at such an early age to have experienced the reality of the so-called ‘tolerance’ of secularism. They knew something was wrong and they responded admirably. I’m sure all of heaven cheered at the stand of two boys! May they grow to be strong men of faith.
As for Polixeni Papapetrou and Maurice O’Riordan? Contempt, comes to mind. Does the innocence of children mean anything to these exploitative vultures? Whatever outrage they may have felt about the treatment of Bill Henson, I can safely say, double it, right back at them for their petulant sick response.
Mark Rabich
An excerpt from Greg Koukl’s “Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air”, which discusses some of the artwork of Robert Mapplethorpe. (Caution: graphic descriptions… No, what am I saying… it’s only art?)
Duane Proud
Man takes photo of child in nude, posts it on internet = Sexual Preditor
Woman takes photo of nude child, publishes it in national magazine = Art
Intentions do come into play, but the child is a victim of both. A child should not be exploited to prove a point. The children in this nude child controversy are victims of adult idiocity. Leave the kids alone. Prove your point on the debating podium – don’t exploit your child to do it. I hate child exploitation in any form.
Joshua Ferrara
Again the art world will scream “it’s a matter of the artist’s intention”. I’m so darn sick of people hiding behind this excuse.
George Kokonis
There is only One God, as any God fearing human being knows. And as to whether He is called God, Allah, Jehovah, Father or any other of His many names, really does not matter if the individual him or her self understands they are praying to the only Creator God. However, to make Christian children kneel and pray to Allah, wearing Islamic dress, is clearly wrong, and there should be strong protest against such religious abuse.
Sue Carlyon
Thanks Sue
Although if you glance at some of my posts in the Islam section, you will see that I think the name of God does matter, and it is risky to equate Allah with Yahweh.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Christians are told they cannot hide behind their religion when making so-called intolerant, discriminatory and politically incorrect statements about homosexuality, but it is OK for Sir Elton John to hide behind artistic expression when putting on a performance at the Royal Albert Hall that is blatantly paedophile in its implications. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19991201/ai_n14271097
Plus this: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/article2537080.ece
And his association with Gaydar.com: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-1863.html (EUROPRIDE CHARTS No1 is Sir Ian Mckellan, the co-founder of Stonewall. No 3 after Elton John is Garry Frisch, founder of Gaydar.com)
David Skinner, UK
Bill,
I read that the girl was photographed by her mother in 2003.
Questions:
a) why is the issue being raised now? (including Bill Henson originally)
b) By whom?
I suspect that it is the “art industry” pushing the boundaries again. More shock value for publicity.
And the tactics work, because if we are shocked, they will achieve their goal of offending the population and gaining notoriety, but if we choose to ignore it, they will accept it as permission to do more next time.
The only way it seems to defeat this tactic is to withdraw government funding, and that means working to draw the community into a realistic debate about funding of the so-called arts, including Arts Festivals, Comedy Festivals and Mardi Gras parades around the nation.
John Angelico
Thanks Bill,
Perhaps we need to think differently in order to challenge this apparent distinction between art and pornography. A thought I have found rather thought provoking is that, rather than being a crime in itself, pornography is the evidence of a crime. Afterall, both paintings and photos are depictions.
I think both the ‘art’ and the ‘pornography’ are voyeurism.
Eph 5:12 “For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret”.
Jeremy Peet
Hi Bill. How long before one of these two boys become old enough to be the Archbishop of Canterbury?
Stan Fishley
Three points come quickly to mind. The oft quoted ‘Common sense is no longer common’.
Art is whatever the ‘artist’ (or critic) thinks (s)he can get away with.
Focus on the Family dramatisation of the Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer has Dietrich saying in response to his fellow pastors unwillingness to stand against Nazi oppression “The Nazis will never compromise. They leave that to the Christian Church”.
On such a tide we are now even more afloat.
Arthur Hartwig
Hello Bill,
I have just checked the website of Art Monthly Australia, and was surprised to see that the current issue not only presents paedophilia as art, but also includes an illustration of an octopus performing oral sex on a naked woman. This is on the website for all to see – I can only assume the magazine has more graphic images.
How can these “artists” protest that the images are innocent when they are presented side by side with such obvious perversion?
Peter Gregory
Sue, I don’t believe that there is only one god. The third and forth of the Ten Commandments tell us of the existence of idols. There is the worship of the one true and living God who has spoken and revealed himself to us through Jesus Christ and the Bible and then there is idolatry, the worship of our own imaginings.
Muslims attempt to quieten our anxieties by claiming that they and we worship the same God: we are all sons of Abraham; and yet Jesus said in John 8:42ff, to the Pharisees who made the same claim: “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
John the Baptist in Matthew 3:7ff had previously said to them and the Sadducees who claimed the same descent as Muslims do: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Clearly the cause of the Jewish Diaspora stemmed from idolatry. As for Islam, Allah is associated with the moon God (hence the crescent) and is a demon of deception, distraction and destruction. Don’t allow anyone to tell our children that we worship the same god.
David Skinner, UK
I must say that I agree with sue that there is only one God, although I think that the term God would need defining before the arguement progressed. Because I view a deity has being eternal, perfect, good ect. there can only be one God. But If you use the term God to refer to any spiritual power, then you do have many Gods. In my understanding of the Christian worldview, God is the only true and living God. Anything that claims to be God is a liar.
Also, in reguard to idols does not Paul say that idols are nothing? And then he goes on to say,there is no God but one (1 Cor 8:4). Furthermore, in 1 Cor 10:20 he says “the sacrifices offered by the pagans are offered to deamons.
Therefore, I think that Christians can only acknowledge one God, yet there are many deamons who deceive people into worshipping them as Gods.
Hope this is helpful
Philip Coombe
Teacher takes photo of child in the nude for public display = instant dismissal from occupation and public shame.
Who are these artists trying to kid? Shame on them for using this 11 year old to continue to push their ridiculous point. Read the many blogs about this issue. Australians are overwhelmingly non supportive and sick of this rubbish!
Teresa Binder
Thanks Teresa
Yes I think most people are. Yet our elites in the mainstream media (like the Melbourne Age) are doing their best to defend the woman photographer and her photos of the then 6-year-old daughter. And most people were appalled at hearing the daughter justify all this. Not surprisingly, her defence sounded identical to that offered by her trendy lefty parents. She was obviously well drilled by mum and dad. A perfect little trendy clone.
And of interest, her dad is an art critic for the Age, one of our most leftwing newspapers. It all sort of makes sense, doesn’t it? The masses on the one hand have common sense, decency and morality, while our trendy elites on the other hand seem to have none of these virtues. But hopefully the masses are beginning to wake up and deciding that enough is enough.
Bill Muehlenberg, CultureWatch
Have you heard the saying “A people get the government they deserve”. I ponder on this saying sometimes in light of the decline of Christianity in the governments of the West. The West has thumbed its nose up at the Christian God believing we don’t need Him. What does God do? He gives the western nations over to another god, perhaps the god of Islam. Then His Church may wake up, come her senses and start to share the gospel and hopefully some of the unbelievers may just come to their senses too and come to Christ.
Keith Lewis
Andrew & Bill,
Yes Bill, I did mean that as I step out publicly there is no expectation of support from within our Christian ranks for the reasons you stated. I think the battle that Fred Nile has faced for twenty five years is indicative of my point. On that count, albeit a small contribution, I have stood all day handing out how to vote cards on election days for Fred since before he first succeeded, and from time to time receiving abuse.
Ray Robinson
This whole child nudity issue caused me to reflect on the fact that God has a moral standard which Christians may have lost sight of. I found that our whole culture is taking a relaxed approach to nudity – when God’s Word puts all nudity, not just that of minors, in a significant moral perspective. My 2 articles on the subject can be found at: http://chrisfieldblog.com/tags/nudity
Concern about child nudity is a start – which should lead us to a more mature understanding of what God has given to us in our own nakedness.
Good work Bill for your many fine articles.
Chris Field