Holier Than Thou/Quotes
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“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ ... I tell you that [the penitent tax collector], rather than [the Pharisee] went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
—Jesus, Luke 18:10-12, 14 (NIV)
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The fourth explanation is also related to [James A. Donald's] thinking. It relies on the model of leftism as Phariseeism. He uses the word Pharisee to mean a person who reckons that since he is holier than you, you should obey him. If this is an effective strategy you will see competitions among them to be holier than each other. He proposes this holier than thou spiral as a rough fit for what we know about how American Progressivism evolved from American Protestantism. The carriers of Puritan descended memeplexes where becoming holier and holier until they became holier than Jesus. This requires either claiming the same title for yourself or demoting him from the position of Son of God. They chose the latter, giving him the new title of Chief Community Organizer and having done so were free to demonstrate holiness by advocating violently freeing slaves, outlawing alcohol and rebuking St. Paul’s advice on marriage. After a short trip along this branch, the only way to escalate is a smooth transition from being Unitarian to being holier than that fictional god person in general. Welcome to liberal secular humanism. —Conquest’s Second Law (repost on thefutureprimaeval.net)
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