In The Journal Of Contemporary Heathen Thought there is an article of Alain de Benoist called Intolerance and Religion. In this article De Benoist argues that religion is one of the major sources of the world’s conflicts, especially monotheistic religions.
Indeed, what is most striking, when studying Europe’s ancient religions -the pagan ones- is precisely the fact that they do not know any form of intolerance which is, properly speaking, religious in nature. These are polytheistic religions to which peoples adhere without thinking for one instant that they must criticize other people’s needs to sacrifice to other deities. These religons are strangers to fanaticism. They know neither religious presecution, crucades against “infidels” or “non-believers,” nor war in the name of God. More orthopractic in nature than orthodox, they equally know nothing about notions of dogma, schism or heresy.
So how comes that the author of On Being A Pagan gets six pages in a pagan journal to rant about the “Abrahamistic faiths”, a hobby of many heathens? Sure, more than a few followers of the “Abrahamistic faiths” do not give a very good example of ‘religious tolerance’, but when ‘we’ claim to be ‘better’ because we are ‘polytheistic’, would it not be logical to start giving a proper example instead of continuously rant against Christianity in particular? Sure, we can go on quoting the Bibles’ and Qur’an’s bloody passages, keep telling about the bloody pasts and the fanatics of our own time, but to what end?
Personally I prefer to look at the bright side. If Christianity did not incorporate so much ‘heathen’ elements in our parts, who knows what would have come from them? Also, I prefer genuine religious people over the larger part of our contemporaries who care for nothing but their career, house, car and prestige. I have had better discussions with Muslims and Christians alike, then with people calling themself “pagan” while they are actually atheistic politicians. I do not say that we have to tolerate anything that is done under a guide of religion. Surely not, much of what happens under a pretended religious banner is nothing but the lowest level of fanaticism. A person who is truely religious understands that another person with perhaps another faith, is truely his brother or sister. The fact that abominations are executed with religion as excuse, does nothing about the religion itself, or what it should be. And to close this little flow of thought, we should not tolerate, meaning, seeing things through the fingers that we disapprove of, but respect what is to be respected and that because we are religious.
More striking, I think, even than the measured of intolerance you observe is a certain anti-Semitism that seems to dominate de Benoist’s article and a simultaneous defence of Mohammedanism. De Benoist would be hard-pressed to escape these: historically the French have always been the most anti-Semitic of European nations and simultaneously the most Islamophilic. The French traditionalist tradition, after all, far from being dominated by the likes of Edgar Julius Jung or even Evola, prefer Rene Guenon (Abd al-Wahid Yahya), himself a devoted convert to Mohammedanism despite claiming to be a Western traditionalist.
Thus your critique of de Benoist is quite astute and accurate, but, I would say, incomplete in that it does not consider the socio-cultural as well as the socio-religious implications of the work.
My thoughts were only about the specific article, perhaps even only about parts of it. However I disagree with De Benoist for a large part in many of his writings, I still enjoy many of them. In this case I just found it strange that he opens with saying how unfanatic, undogmatic, etc. polytheistic religions are and yet under the monicker of such a faith (in a heathen journal) he displays his intolerance (or even bias).
Why tolerate the intolerable? I offer no tolerance, especially when the same would never be granted. Christians are weak, and they prove it by wanting to convert and judge the world. Islam seeks to dominate the globe, by force of murder. And Judaism … don’t even get me started. I guess i’m “anti-semitic” then huh? Wotan forbid, I tell the truth.
Robert, did you actually read my ponderings?
Ow, what do I see in comments? I was just seeing the article on Rune stones, and by chance i see we talk of De Benoist in comments on Tradition. You’re lucky, I’m fench and i’me very interested by the politic. Not only what i mean the “light politic” but the “dark” politic, too. What is hidden so u_u
Bob is not really wrong, nor right. It’s true, France has an antisemitic dimension. Vichy is an exemple in WWII. You quote René Guenon … Okay. This is right. But do you know that this autor is quasi cmopletely unknow in France??? Do you know that the antisemitic genius Louis Ferdinand Celine, famous for his roman : “At the End of the night” (Voyage au bout de la nuit) took part in case of refuse of posthume reward? (a story about CRIF : Conseil Représentatif des Israeliens de France… Very important in France =_=” )
Okay, France was sympathizer of Arab league there was some years…. Okay it supported Palestine versus Israel… But all this never came u_u
Today France is zionist, the humorist Dieudonné m’bala m’bala, black guy, is insulted in ALL the media because of his antizionism. He even was been treated of “Black Hitler” u_u it’s totally crazy…
“Case Dreyfus” is one of the most “sensible” part of frnch historic programm at School, like WWII, and mainly the Shoah u_u
At TV, vou’ll never see an pro palestinian point of view, it’s totally impossible. Before you could see that in Ardisson’s emissions, but he was “punished” and today it’s impossible.
To came around the main subject, Nordic culture et cetera, today in France, we have ZERO possibility to inquire about pre christian culture u_u NO WAY. IMPOSSIBLE. No book, even at the University of Paris, Sorbonne, History of Art, here i am. Only latin/greek past is possible. You can see all what you want in life of Ceasars… Roman… the galloroman art et cetera. But nothing on Gallic past, Merovingian Art, Carolingian Empire… Nothing.
Real nordic culture of Sweden, Norway??? It’s worse ! Only one traductor in France : Régis Boyer. Very good traductor : THe Eddas, The Heimskringla, the sagas of Snorri. But this is all. You’ll never see this proposed at school… That make that in France, if you are interested of this, this is because you’re nationalist, and you’re interested of pre christian past of France, and his link with Septentrional Culture, Paneuropean, Hyperborean, Indoeuropean. And you listen NSBM : National Socialist Black Metal. Exemple :
“Sombre Chemin est une entité dédiée à la mémoire de nos Ancêtres et au culte du Sang, à la lutte contre le système actuel et au renouveau Païen sur nos terres d’Europe. Nous ne soutenons pas les vieux « nationalismes » décadents qui n’ont bénéficié qu’aux enemis des Hyperboréens en nous poussant sans cesse à nous entretuer. Notre vision est celle des Patries Charnelles au sein d’une Europe libre de toutes les influences du désert. ”
Texte edited by the NSBM french band : “Sombre Chemin”
Sorry for this too long writing, thank for your site and the photos 😉