Paradosis

July 23, 2007

"The Russian Orthodox Church is undermining secularism"

We are warned.

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Vyacheslav Glazychev, a senior official in the Public Chamber, an advisory body charged with scrutinising parliament, said he wanted to defend the values of a normal, tolerant and secular society."

Well to the first charge: of course she is undermining secularism, amen!

"a normal. tolerant, and secular society"?!?!? NORMAL?!?!? Tolerant? What does that mean? Of course, it means a certain subset of currently politically correct ideas of "tolerance." Some things are tolerable, some things aren't. It changes from day to day. And of course what does it mean to be tolerant? To be tolerant of homosexuals means that you don't advocate their execution? or what?

I'm so sick of the media slamming Russian religious issues and their perceived "lack of secularism" (whatever that means), while the entire Islamic world is utterly lacking of any semblance of PC "tolerance." (except by those who somehow earn the titles of hate-mongers, bigots, and islamophobes) Last I heard it was still legal to practice religions other than Orthodoxy in Russia, yes? Last I heard there was no death penalty or government mandated lashings for being gay in Russia? Last I heard there was no stoning of women for adultery in Russia? Last I heard people in Russia could freely deny God's existence and reject and even blaspheme Christ without fear of a death penalty, no? And really, here in good old free and secular America, we can say the Orthodox Church is a load of bunk (or...ahem...publish a news article like this one) without fear of Patriarch Alexei offering a religious decree calling for your murder, yes?

Ah yes, lets us wring our hands and worry about the failing religion of secularism in Russia.