Monday, July 25, 2011

Anders Behring Breivik's Thoughts on Christian Nationalism

I do a lot of bashing of WorldNetDaily; though this article has some useful reporting. The terrorist is 1. a European Christian Nationalist, but 2. not very religious himself, apparently. He is a Freemason. And he has thought about some of the issues like "what is a Christian nation?" and "what is a 'Christian'?" that we at American Creation have. God I hope he never visited our site.

"As this is a cultural war, our definition of being a Christian does not necessarily constitute that you are required to have a personal relationship with God or Jesus," he writes. "Being a Christian can mean many things; That you believe in and want to protect Europe's Christian cultural heritage. The European cultural heritage, our norms (moral codes and social structures included), our traditions and our modern political systems are based on Christianity – Protestantism, Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity and the legacy of the European enlightenment (reason is the primary source and legitimacy for authority). It is not required that you have a personal relationship with God or Jesus in order to fight for our Christian cultural heritage and the European way. In many ways, our modern societies and European secularism is a result of European Christendom and the enlightenment. It is therefore essential to understand the difference between a 'Christian fundamentalist theocracy' (everything we do not want) and a secular European society based on our Christian cultural heritage (what we do want). So no, you don't need to have a personal relationship with God or Jesus to fight for our Christian cultural heritage. It is enough that you are a Christian-agnostic or a Christian atheist (an atheist who wants to preserve at least the basics of the European Christian cultural legacy (Christian holidays, Christmas and Easter)). The PCCTS, Knights Templar is therefore not a religious organisation [sic] but rather a Christian 'culturalist' military order."

8 comments:

Phil Johnson said...

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Ideas like that require they be worked out. They could produce beneficial to society. But, when thinkers like that see themselves as being suppressed, their thoughts tend toward distortion and can easily turn ugly. Good examples are Timothy McVey and Kasinski, the infamous Unibomber.
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People need outlets for their feelings.
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He was a Knights Templar? They are quite religious in what seems like a secular sense.
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Jason Pappas said...

He seems to be using the word "Christian" as a demographic label. He refers to "Christian atheists" and "Christian agnostics" as cultural Christians. I've read the 1500 pages and the WND is fairly accurate. I'd add that with his so-called revived Knights Templar he sees the cross more as a coat-of-arms.

Overall, his political and religious leanings have nothing to do with his tactics. He comes across as a loner and outsider that wants the establishment to "get a message." This could and does happen with many alienated individuals with a nihilistic bent that want attention or want their cause in the news. It always backfires.

Phil Johnson said...

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Just to set the record straight, I have no qualms about the despicable act it was that this idiot produced.
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Regarding the definition of what it means to be "Christian", I'm an American Pragmatist. Christianity was created as an outgrowth of the times when the Apostle Paul practiced his ministry and it grew and changed over the centuries making itself relavent to the specifics of any times along the way.
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That change and growth continues.
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I'm tempted to see the Norway Incident as an effort to emphasize certain changes that are in process.
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Que sera sera.
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Brad Hart said...

Whether the terrorist is a Christian, Deist, Muslim, Jew, Theistic Rationalist, Rational Jewish Mormonized Chistian, etc. matters very little to me. In the end the only title that fits is:

Batshit

Tom Van Dyke said...

It was madness, and madness wraps itself around ideologies. As Bruce Bawer [a gay American living in Europe] wrote, this mass murder will now be used to shut down debate.

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/a-double-tragedy-for-norway/

As for the murderer, I hate to be glib, but it reminds me of SNL's "The Assassination of Buckwheat."

Ted Koppel: Everyone who knew him called him a loner: a quiet young man.


Ted Koppel: Stutts attended Sunday School at the Mercy Seat Baptist Church.


Minister: He was a loner, and a quiet young man. He attended church, and Sunday School. I remember he was always very polite.

Ted Koppel: Do you believe he killed Buckwheat?

Minister: Oh, yes. Definitely. That’s all he talked about.

Brad Hart said...

Hahahahahahaha! Buckwheat! Classic.

Jonathan Rowe said...

In that SNL skit, if memory serves right, Alphapha was the shooter? The kernel of irony is Carl Switzer died young but was no innocent; he supposedly was a real SOB.

Magpie Mason said...

Allow me to address the Freemasonry aspect of this dark day in Oslo.

The killer indeed was a Freemason, as confirmed days ago by Ivar A. Skar, Grand Master of Masons of Norway. His statement can be read at:

http://tinyurl.com/3d39prl

The Masonic Order in Norway is part of what is called the Swedish Rite of Freemasonry. Not limited to Sweden, this system of eleven Masonic degrees is found in the Scandinavian nations and in northern Germany. Anders Behring Breivik held the rank of Third Degree Mason, meaning he certainly was a member, but was a recent or otherwise inexperienced member. Only a minority of Masons in the Swedish Rite may progress through the eleven degrees, a spiritual and philosophical journey that takes many years. (There is a 12th degree, reserved for the King of Sweden, should he be so inclined.)

Since Breivik claims to have no belief in God, I say he was a fraud who bluffed his way into Freemasonry by lying about his religious opinions. In the mainstream of the Masonic world, it is necessary for a candidate for initiation to profess his belief in deity. (How he defines his personal beliefs is not investigated, and he is expected to keep that information to himself.) In the Swedish Rite however, the matter is quite different in that this system of Masonry accepts only professed Trinitarian Christians. This is not about exclusion for the sake of exclusion, but the teachings of Swedish Rite Masonry are Christian-centric, and would have little value to a man of another faith.

This topic is far afield from the mission of American Creation, so let me conclude with a referral to my own blog that may explain the purpose of Swedish Rite Masonry. I offer this in the hope that the sharing of truth will eclipse the taint this madman brought onto myself and all good and true Freemasons. Click on:

http://tinyurl.com/cokfd5

Cordially,
Jay