Is social conservatism a new religion?
Chris Orr links to a “Conservapedia” project that is literally attempting to re-translate the bible to conform to certain conservative principles. (Re-translate may be too strong, as one would doubt their organization has retained the many ancient Greek scholars the project would no doubt require.) Orr has quite a bit of fun at the project’s expense, but one serious issue does arise.
Principle 7 is “Express Free Market Parables; explaining the numerous economic parables with their full free-market meaning.” Even the most casual reading of the bible reveals distrust of capitalism, aggrandizing of the poor at the expense of the rich, and multiple calls for redistribution of resources.
This problem is not new to Christianity. The so-called “Prosperity Theology” has, especially in the last two decades, attempted this inversion of Christian principles, arguing that God rewards those he favors with material things, quite nearly the opposite of Jesus’ teachings.
Of course, this move is absurd according to traditional Christian principles, but those commentators that seem astounded have a short memory. Religions have generally evolved to justify the morality of the day. A biblical re-translation indeed seems in more ways more honest — instead of finding justification in little-known passages or discredited interpretations, the Conservapediests are in essence starting over. Whereas Christianity was founded as a religion for the disempowered, this inversion will be a religion for the well-off. (One wonders what Nietzsche would have had to say about the creation of a religion for the powerful).
They would likely not admit to it, but the re-translation project represents the founding of a new religion — ironically, it’s social principles will likely be similar to the Roman pagan religions Christianity was founded to replace.
-John
Related posts:
- Conservatism ctd.: responses to Freeden
- Science v. Religion Pt. 574
- Hobbes and religion … in Hebrew
- Was Brit Hume right?
- Strains of modern conservatism
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