Monday, August 2, 2010

Book Burning?!

A reader thought I should draw your attention to this thread (the original is now inaccessible) on a traditionalist Catholic forum (wherein some of them, many of them, seem to advocate or defend the burning of books, especially the Koran) as another example of Crazy Trads.

We should be reaching a breaking point. This movement is going to have to make a decision, people; there is no more just Trad. It would be to our advantage to control the framing/terminology this time around. It is becoming quite apparent that you're either Renegade (of some variety), or you're Crazy. Make your choice.

9 comments:

Tony said...

Credo is a good guy. Vetus Ordo has always seemed a little crazy, if well-intentioned, to me.

I believe in book burning. But not in this day in age.

sortacatholic said...

Man, do you get a free packet of cyanide laced grape Flavor-Aid in the mail when you register with this board?

I have two copies of the Qur'an. I've skimmed the suras, and I've been trying to squeeze in a undergrad course on Qur'anic exegesis. I see no difficulty in reading the Qu'ran for comparative theological purposes. Ditto the Bhagavad Gita or the Lotus Sutra.
Only someone who's extremely insecure about their own faith would spout such dangerous nonsense like book-burning.

This is why I am very careful when I worship with traditional Catholics. There's a difference between a profound devotion to the traditional liturgy as prayer and praxis, and the wearing of the traditional liturgy as a shield against life's vagaries. I relish live as a rich pageant, and can't imagine why others don't.

sortacatholic said...

Did some poking around on the Fisheaters website. Pronounced anti-Semitic postings on this website. This website is really really bad news. :-((( Pearls before swine, really.

Tony said...

I'll post here what I emailed 'sortacatholic', who was understandably concerned with my initial comment.

I don't reject book burning as a solution to societies ailments. What I do reject is book burning in today's age, and certain kinds of books in any age. I would not advocate, for instance, burning Jewish texts (antisemitism is the furthest thing from my mind) or any other religion's, unless they were downright satanic. That said, I also support much (not all) of the Church's past efforts in this regard, namely when it came to heretical and ultimately harmful material being published like at the Reformation.

To reiterate, I don't think book burning serves a purpose today - but at critical times in the history of Western Civilization, I cannot say that I disagree with the method or principle. It is preferable, for instance, to burning heretics, which even St. Thomas More invoked as a solution to the disease of heresy.

Who Am I said...

Well what about The Jesuits and their burning of Maronite and St.Thomas Christian texts ? There was not an ounce of heresy found there, so what was that about ?

Likewise, what about the burning of Pre Christian texts that would have been adapted to suit the evangelizing needs of The Church ?

Steve said...

The actual Fish Eaters website is a useful resource, even if I don't always agree with them 100%. The forum, on the other hand, is horrible.

Anonymous said...

They're also talking about burning the proposed mosque at Ground Zero (that was Vetus Ordo’s suggestion) and throwing pork parts at Muslims.

Who Am I said...

Read the section labeled Pontifical Mission of 1578:

http://www.stmaron.org/marhist4.html

I agree with Steve and sortacatholic.

Anonymous said...

@ Tony
Re: "I would not advocate, for instance, burning Jewish texts (antisemitism is the furthest thing from my mind) or any other religion's, unless they were downright satanic."

I think some of the posters on FE would argue that any religious text except the Bible are de facto Satanic.

Just sayin...