Among the sixteen principles that Vox Day helpfully outlines as constituting the Alt Right, “harmony with . . . reality” is included. This is most certainly true: to its praise, the Alt Right is deeply committed to evidence-based realism in the areas of race, gender, economics, history, and so forth. Rare are flights of inhuman speculation in which leftists are wont to indulge; frequent are cold analyses of statistics aimed at truly maximizing our people’s flourishing.
Strangely, however, this commitment to evidence-based realism is not infrequently paired with a far more utilitarian view on religious doctrine and practice: that while we of course don’t believe in invisible beings, nevertheless we can appreciate the “cultural tradition of Christianity,” and see value in sending off our wife and kids to church to become part of a wholesome community and develop strong morals.
It’s not difficult to perceive a contradiction here. If we are to be committed to evidence-based realism in our worldview, this must be applied towards religious truth. If we seek to banish pretty lies and empty posturing from a “conversation about race,” we should do the same for religion.
This same problem also exists for those who affirm the existence of the supernatural but deny Christ for paganism. Perhaps some pro-white pagans are entirely sincere, but they must all grapple with the all-important question: is paganism true? Is there really a population of deities as described in the ancient European pantheons, and/or are there really spirits inhabiting trees and streams? If we do not take this literally, what are our literal pagan beliefs concerning the population of the supernatural realm and our duties towards them, and how are those beliefs justifiably held? Is there any evidence, even if only from the testimony of tradition, that the gods of the ancient pantheons exist as the myths describe them, and if not, how do we justifiably create and promulgate myths describing the gods contrary to their real descriptions?
I’m not here asserting that these questions cannot be answered – I thoroughly reject the (((deconstructive))) requests for evidence that somehow see themselves as ipso facto disproofs – but if paganism is to be touted as a viable alternative for today’s nationalists, they must in fact be answered. Arguing that Christianity is objectionably Jewish, to whatever extent that argument is successful, still gets the pagan nowhere in demonstrating the veracity of his own tenets – which, again, have to be clearly articulated before they can be demonstrated in the first place. Yet whenever I look at the pagan vs. Christian segment of Alt Right disputes, I rarely see this crux of the matter discussed; the central discussion is the less relevant matter of whether a particular religion sufficiently supports our present nationalist aims.
A focus on religious truth, on religious reality rather than religious utility, brings clarity and life to a discussion otherwise mired in confused rhetoric and posturing. And once we make this commitment, we see that paganism has no chance of revival. We must instead see that, as in all other topics, “the truth will set you free,” and follow the evidence unto our King and Christ.
| Tweet |
|
|
|
