The religion of feelings

In the increasingly hedonist West, individuals are encouraged to act according to their feelings. If it feels, good do it; as the pursuit of pleasure is the main goal of life. Whoever puts up a boundary, especially within the field of ethics, is instantly labeled a moralist, illiberal, intolerant, old-fashioned and so on. He is perceived to be "against freedom." In such an environment, it becomes impossible to distinguish between good and evil. Since values are considered to be relative, and right and wrong determined by how "you feel," justice itself becomes undefinable.

The modern nihilist denial of evil makes any disciplinary measure problematic, since "evil does not exist." It was the post-war, neo-Marxist philosophy that finalized the break-off from Christian thinking. The Frankfurt School's neo-Marxist rebellion against traditional authority eventually led to the 1960s student revolution. It was a rebellion against Western traditions, the traditional pillars in society and any form of Christian faith. The point was not for the individual to take personal responsibility for his mistakes, but to liberalize and reform society. The omission of guilt and a "bad conscience" was a focal point in Friedrich Nietzsche's nihilist thinking.

We have ended up with a society that emphasizes sympathy for criminal offenders, rapists, illegal immigrants and others who deliberately break the law. Law-abiding citizens, on the other hand, are required to "feel sorry for" the offenders. The neo-Marxist idea is that offenders should not be punished for breaking the law, as punishment itself is regarded a cruelty that will lead to more offenses. This paves the way for anarchy and civil unrest.

Sociologist Peter Berger calls Western relativism and lack of morality a recipe for cultural self-annihilation. Some say this was the very point of the neo-Marxists movement: to weaken the very core of Western strength.

As the Orthodox monk Elder Paisios of Mount Athos puts it in "Spiritual Awakening": "It is not freedom when we say to people that everything is permitted. That is slavery. Freedom is good when the person can use it appropriately. Otherwise, it is a disaster. To improve one must have difficulties. Let's take an example, a child. We limit his freedom from the beginning. When he is first conceived, the poor thing is limited in his mother's womb and remains there nine whole months. Later he is born, and immediately they swaddle him in a blanket, they tie him up, as soon as he begins to grow they set a railing. All of this is necessary for him to grow. It appears to take away freedom, but without these protective measures, the child will die."

Western hedonism's greatest flaw rests on its failure to recognize that compassion for others is a fundamental component of civil solidarity and genuine happiness. Without empathy society will crumble.

Feelings and psychology are destroying our culture, says Chuck Crismier, an American attorney and syndicated radio host. In a recent YouTube Herland Report interview, he points out that in the 1960s, psychology began to be infused into every aspect of Western culture. The foundation of the nation used to be on faith. It has been shifted to feelings that gradually replaced faith. At the universities, the whole training of teachers went upside down.

Crismier says: "I was a teacher for nine years in Southern California before I practiced law. They began to train us in what was called the encounter movement. You were to no longer talk about facts and so on. Everything had to be rephrased as 'I feel.'" He points out that if you take the lordship of feelings and implement it over a period of decades, it dramatically affects the life of a country. Feelings have become Lord.

"The media agenda is to promote a godless version of life in the Western world. Anything else is deemed to be hateful. The media is only interested in free speech for themselves and those of their particular godless like. They are interested in accomplishing just the opposite of a society that believes in the Ten Commandments."

The modern sense of "instant happiness" stands in stark contrast to the old Greeks and Aristotles whose moral philosophy defined happiness as a state of mind that develops over time. It was regarded as the result of attitudes and virtues acquired in a lifelong search for wisdom. They did not believe that "instant bliss" had much to do with the state of happiness. It is high time to return to the Christian virtues to rekindle the pillars of faith in the decaying West.

Watch the interview with Dr. Chuck Crismier: