In a phone conversation with a friend from the Golden State, he mentioned a remark from an acquaintance justifying the COVID restrictions. According to him, his interlocutor quoted a line from Jesus (Matt. 22:21): “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” I responded by saying, “When you engage in the battle of the verses, you’d better make sure that the arrows in your quiver are more numerous than the number in the other person’s.” And there are other arrows to be found in her opponent’s quiver. In fact, many, many, many of them.
I suspect that the arrows dealing with idolatry alone would be sufficient to overwhelm her fusillade. One source identifies 30 including the famous Exodus 20:4: “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.” It’s the main reason that Christians endured three centuries of persecution. They wouldn’t bend a knee to the altar of Caesar. For the ambitious Progressives of our time, government is the resurrected Cult of Caesar for which all must bend a knee. This is no longer simply “rendering unto Caesar” but bowing before the altar of a new set of god-kings, a new Cult of Caesar.
I look around and see the Cult of Caesar nearly everywhere. “Follow the science” is one of the mystic chants of the cult, even as they ignore the real thing. The priesthood of politicized “experts” is just one group of high initiates to guard the Cult’s Inner Sanctum. There are other sources for the Cult’s men of the cloth. Many cut their teeth on the Cult’s lefty politics in the bowels of the Democratic Party and rose to power in the Cult’s geographic strongholds: namely blue states and municipalities, and in DC with the ascension of a new High Priest in the Oval Office that now serves as the seat of the Vicar of the Cult.
Let’s not leave out the numerous seminaries, our colleges, who germinate the Cult’s zealots, the militant Jesuits (Antifa, BLM, etc.) whose duty is to proselytize the faith and do battle with the small pockets of unbelievers. These militia of the faithful were groomed in very comfortable surroundings and received elite training in elite institutions, which are now almost solely devoted to the key tenets of the Cult. They spread out as rampaging mobs (Minneapolis watch out), dominate the commanding heights of the culture, fill the ranks of the Cult’s chief evangelists in seats of power (Pelosi, Maxine Waters, The Squad, and true-believers in the Senate, and staffs), and into corporate boardrooms that have been remarkably receptive to the Cult’s ministrations.
Progressivism is the modern manifestation of the Cult of Caesar. One of its early prophets from the turn into the 20th century was Herbert Croly, not exactly a household name.
He went up to the proverbial Mt. Sinai of his mind and brought down his great epistle, The Promise of American Life (1909). It, and his voluminous other writings in the journal that he co-founded, The New Republic, were all into “give unto Caesar”. Why? Because Croly’s Caesar has two qualities of a true god: the powers of heaven and the concomitant power to make perfect. And I quote from him, “[T]he sincere democrat is obliged to assume the power of heaven.” And again, “Democracy must stand or fall on a platform of human perfectibility.” The quotes aren’t taken out of context. They form the core of his theology – or theology disguised as ideology.
It’s interesting that he intermingled the idea of the state “assum[ing] the power of heaven” with democracy. Croly like all Democrats profess a love for democracy, but only so long as it produces the right outcomes, their outcomes. If it doesn’t, democracy must be reengineered to fit the desired ends.
Thus, the Democrats’ demand for HR1, the omnibus bill that seeks to enshrine the electoral practices of Tammany Hall. Want unaccountable voting? Scatter ballots to the wind (i.e., mail), institute automatic registration when you have any interaction with the state (get a driver’s license, pay a fine, get a business license, make a lunch date with the clerk, etc.), eliminate election day by voting before and after “election day”, allow the zealots to sow and reap ballots, and forbid voter verification will do the trick.
The Cult’s high priesthood claim to expand democracy, but do it by destroying it. Why vote, knowing that your vote will be canceled by a mysterious downpour of ballots from the ether that nobody can or is willing to validate? Even the minimal qualification of consciousness can be ignored . . . since really nobody is checking. Breathing on a respirator while flatlining is no disqualifier.
I can’t think of a greater downer for voter turnout than this monstrosity. The whole contraption requires nothing of the disinterested voter. The ballot is delivered to you and will be picked up for return by somebody else. Nothing will be expected of the voter. The only thing missing is somebody to direct your hand as you vote – or maybe that is next. No hassles and no civic responsibility are the order of the day. Thus, for the voter with a brain, why vote? After all, the result may be preordained, and as honest as a mob-run casino.
The Cult’s newly installed High Priest recently gave a speech on one of the Cult’s chief challenges: the pandemic. The talk took the form of a papal bull and was replete with the assumed powers of heaven in the body of our latest Caesar. The Heavenly Leader’s proclamation was part plea to follow His injunctions – get vaccinated, wear masks, practice social distancing, etc. – and if we bow to His wishes, He offers a return of our normal lives by Independence Day. If we don’t, or nature throws us a curve ball, He will exercise the powers of heaven to smash our dreams and livelihoods. This isn’t a citizen republic. It’s a theocracy with a god-man/woman/it and a College of Cardinals in charge.
Watch out! They’re not done. The High Priesthood is looking to disarm the unbelievers. The Second Amendment is about to become as much of a dead letter as the Mosaic Dietary Laws in the Book of Leviticus. That’s next for the reigning Cult of Caesar.
I feel like Cicero – hopefully without the same end (execution) – who witnessed, and resisted, the rise of Julius Caesar and the end of the Roman Republic. The new imperium was established with the old institutions kept alive in empty form only. Rome achieved the revolution through civil war. We may have reached the same end by passive acquiescence to a new faith: the Progressive Cult of Caesar.
Hail Caesar!
RogerG