Stan Evans' battle against paganism and cultural Marxism

By Cliff Kincaid

Those who assembled on March 12 at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Leesburg, Virginia, to celebrate the life of conservative thinker and writer M. Stanton Evans heard several references to his monumental 1994 work, The Theme is Freedom. This book is worth remembering and re-reading as we are being treated repeatedly to the spectacle in the media of "conservatives" endorsing gay rights and gay marriage.

In an illustration of what Stan called the "pagan ethic," he cites on page 128 "the campaign to change societal views of homosexuality – to treat it as an 'alternative lifestyle,' as valid in its way as heterosexual conduct." Stan comments, "Among other things, this is a reversion to pagan ways of thinking." He cites acceptance of homosexuality in ancient civilizations such as Babylon and notes, "All of this was unequivocally condemned by the religion of the Bible."

Yet, as Austin Ruse points out in his Breitbart article, "GOP Elite Ask Supreme Court to Impose Gay Marriage on America," a brief to celebrate homosexual "marriage" as equal to traditional marriage has been submitted to the court and signed by 300 conservatives and/or Republicans, including no less than 26 former senior Mitt Romney staffers.

These so-called "conservatives," who are not conservative in any real sense, are part of a "Project Right Side" that is designed to confuse the public about the meaning of the term. The "media" section of the website tells us how news organizations have covered the "conservative case for gay marriage."

But there is nothing "conservative" about asking the Supreme Court to impose homosexual marriage on all 50 states. What's more, as Stan Evans says, it is a return to paganism.

The fact that many don't recognize this as paganism demonstrates how the definition of "conservatism" is being changed right before our eyes.

Many are deceived because the media repeatedly offer up so-called "conservatives" who endorse homosexual marriage. The names of several of them appear on the brief to the Supreme Court. They are:

• Alex Castellanos, a Republican media advisor who appears regularly on NBC's Meet the Press and currently serves as a member of CNN's "Best Political Team on Television"
  
  
• S.E. Cupp, CNN commentator
  
  
• Margaret Hoover, CNN contributor
  
  
• Abby Huntsman, MSNBC political commentator
  
  
• Ana Navarro, CNN commentator
  
  
• Nicolle Wallace, co-host of ABC's "The View"
  

The subtitle of The Theme Is Freedom is "Religion, Politics, and the American Tradition." The dedication reads, "For my father, who kept the faith." The acknowledgments included the touching comments, "...these pages are not only dedicated to the memory of my father, but also reflect the many conversations I had with him across the decades about the religious basis of our society, and countless other issues."

Stan described the book as "an effort to trace, conceptually and as a matter of historical fact, the nexus between religious values and the rise of our political system." He notes for example:

• "That biblical teaching was the formative influence in the creation of Europe, and that Europe was the nursery of freedom as we know it, are both established facts of record."
  
  
• "If Christian doctrine is opposed to freedom, then liberty ought to flourish where Christianity has had the smallest degree of influence, and languish where that influence is the greatest. That a general survey prima facie says the opposite suggests that something in the conventional history is mistaken."
  
  
• "...this correlation of Christianity with the rise of freedom is anything but accidental. In fact, the precepts of our religion provided the conceptual building blocks for the free societies of the West – including the very idea of liberty as we know it, limits on the power of the state, and institutions that gave these practical expression."
  

The so-called conservatives who promote gay marriage can say anything they want, but their position is not conservative or Biblical. Regarding the latter, Robert A. Gagnon's book, The Bible and Homosexual Practice, is the best authority. The case against same-sex intercourse is based on scripture.

In Chapter Seven of his book, The Rise of Neopaganism, Stan Evans explains why and how Marxist concepts have become imbedded in Western thought. "More problematic in an immediate sense," he writes, "are aspects of the Marxist worldview, generally not recognized as such, that have already penetrated liberal thought and are considered perfectly routine and normal."

He is describing what we know to be the process of cultural Marxism. The return of paganism is cultural Marxism dressed up in "progressive" camouflage.

Paganism also denies the humanity of the unborn. "The Christian tradition from the earliest period says the unborn child is a human life that deserves respect and ought to be protected; the pagan view tells us it is not a legal person, and thus entitled to no protection," Stan writes.

The pagan view is dominating America, thanks to the "conservatives" who join the liberals in either adopting or refusing to fight it. Stan describes how it works in practice for America's children:

• "...it is considered perfectly proper for children from religious homes to be taught the precepts of Darwinian-Huxleyan evolution, extreme environmentalism, the value-free 'alternative lifestyle' view of homosexuality and sexual conduct generally and other Neopaganism in their school work...Children may be taught the precepts of neopagan nature worship; they may not be taught the precepts of the Bible."
  

Incredibly, the paganism even infiltrates groups which call themselves religious. The organization, Dignity USA, which claims to be Catholic, is holding a conference featuring Dan Savage, described merely as a "writer, TV personality and gay activist." Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth describes Savage, who has been invited to the White House to celebrate "gay pride," as "the face of progressive hate." Catholic League president Bill Donohue says Savage has a history of offering obscene anti-Catholic rants.

The latest "conservative/libertarian" to jump aboard the gay marriage bandwagon is Charles C.W. Cooke of National Review, a Brit who argues in his new book, The Conservatarian Manifesto, that "there is more to be gained by including gays in the institution [of marriage] than by keeping them out." With that statement, he dismisses the Judeo-Christian tradition, which is the foundation for our freedoms. "Gay Marriage: The Wrong Fight" is one of his chapter titles. The battle against gay marriage "has been lost," he says.

It might be worthwhile to be pro-life, he concedes, since "scientific advances" might yet prove the unborn child is a human life. Again, there's no reference by this modern "libertarian" to the religious tradition that human life is sacred.

Cooke, a legal immigrant to the United States, would be well-advised to return to Britain and fight for the Christian values that are quickly disappearing in his home country. Mike Overd, a Christian street preacher, is going on trial in Britain for proclaiming the gospel in a public setting. The group Christian Concern reports, "Mike has been preaching the gospel on the streets of Taunton for over five years. But he's faced real opposition – police even appealed to the public in a local newspaper to record him preaching so that they could get evidence of him making 'offensive remarks.'" He was previously charged with quoting anti-homosexual references from the Bible.

Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch reports that one of his most recent "offensive" comments may have been discussing the Muslim Prophet Muhammad marrying a 9-year-old girl by the name of Aisha. Overd compared the life of Muhammad to the perfect life of Jesus. Spencer asks, "Will British authorities seize and destroy copies of the hadith of Bukhari for stating that Aisha was nine [when] Muhammad consummated his marriage with her?" Bukhari's collection is recognized by most Muslims as an authentic record of stories about Muhammad.

Commenting on the case, Spencer notes, "Britain is dying, while its authorities do nothing to save it, for fear of being called 'racist.' When telling the truth becomes an offense for which someone can be arrested and prosecuted, the society in which this happens [is] in its death throes."

Who and what killed Britain? Consider the book, The Rise of Gay Rights and the Fall of the British Empire. The author defines homosexuality as "resistance" to Western religious traditions and "imperialism."

This is how Britain began its decline. The Brazilian philosopher and writer, Olavo de Carvalho, says every nation has an elite or aristocracy. When this group goes against the traditions of their own country, rather than defending them, we see the nation begin to decline in influence and power. He says the elites begin focusing on their egotistical sexual desires rather than the good or interests of the nation.

The same thing is happening in the United States. The founder of the modern gay-rights movement in the United States was Harry Hay, a member of the Communist Party who also championed the rights of pedophiles. Now, key members of the Republican establishment have joined this campaign for gay rights.

What "Project Right Side" has done for us is name the members of the conservative movement and the Republican establishment who are signing up to accelerate our own nation's decline. One notable name on this list is David H. Koch, described as a "philanthropist" but more widely known as a major funder of the conservative movement and the Republican Party. The groups taking his money have a lot to answer for.

The result of these efforts, as Stan Evans predicted in his book, will be to help Barack Obama transform America into something we won't be able to recognize as being in any sense American. It will be a Marxist or pagan America stripped of its Christian traditions.

Just like the Christian street preacher on trial in Britain, our children will lose their freedoms in the process. Stan Evans saw it coming. He warned us. Whether it's called paganism or cultural Marxism, surrender would not be an option for Stan Evans.

© Cliff Kincaid