Has anyone else noticed a curious confluence of Breivik’s proposals regarding the church and those espoused by the current conservative holder of the see of Rome and certain proponents of radical orthodoxy? They share: an anti-Islamic perspective, a critique of liberalism and Marxism, an argument for the vital role of liturgy, the proposal that the Roman Catholic church functions as a line of defence against Islam and modernity, and – crucially – the suggestion that Roman Catholicism should re-absorb Protestantism.
26 July, 2011
Breivik, the pope and radical orthodoxy
Posted by stalinsmoustache under politics, theology, total depravity | Tags: Alasdair Maclagan, Anders Breivik, bishop of Rome, Islam, Protestantism, Radical Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism |[7] Comments
26 July, 2011 at 10:06 am
*Raises hand*
I noticed. You must be gifted in reading minds, Roland.
26 July, 2011 at 10:16 am
Maclagan must be feeling a little uncomfortable at the moment.
26 July, 2011 at 9:38 pm
You’re giving Breivik too much credit – he has stolen most of what he writes on religion. Just google any given part and you’ll see what I mean. I.e. he has stolen some from some vaguely R.O. influenced people.
27 July, 2011 at 9:07 am
Yes, but the fact that he has collected such information indicates he agrees with it. And who said the right was original anyway?
27 July, 2011 at 10:32 pm
I’m reconstructing the logic of his writings of religion thus (fairly speculative, but still): like most people in the Nordic countries he has little interest for religion or knowledge of what its about (he was raised to “chose himself” what worldview to adopt. But he has made contact with groups that combine right-wing politics with Christianity, mainly Serbs it seems. So in trying to understand how the Christianity he is familiar with (liberal protestantism) could serve as motive for war he looks for texts that help him, and he has found some catholic criticism of liberal protestantism, US religious right defence for weapons and so on. Really, anything that works. And the vaguely R.O. sounding bit on theocracy. He makes no attempt to understand these different sources or reconcile them. He’s only “original” contribution is the part were he is thinking about martyrdom, where he sounds like a jihadist more than anything else.
27 July, 2011 at 5:02 am
“Breivik condemns Pope Benedict XVI, for his dialogue with Islam: “Pope Benedict has abandoned Christianity and all Christian Europeans and is to be considered a cowardly, incompetent, corrupt and illegitimate Pope.” It will thus be necessary, writes Breivik, to overthrow the Protestant and Catholic hierarchies, after which a “Great Christian Congress” would set up a new European Church.”
Thus sayeth Wikipedia…
27 July, 2011 at 9:09 am
Thanks for the correction, but he does wish to see Roman Catholicism restored as the ‘original’ form of Western Christianity.