The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

You Disagree With @Instapundit At Your Peril, But I’m Going With Nicolaitanism Over Oikophobia

Posted on | May 5, 2013 | 17 Comments

by Smitty

Pondering why we can’t talk about guns, Insty quotes Barry Snell

. . .we can’t have a rational gun debate is because the anti-gun side pre-supposes that their pro-gun opponents must first accept that guns are bad in order to have a discussion about guns in the first place. . .

and concludes:

As with most lefty causes, the key driver is a craving for moral superiority, usually driven by oikophobia.

Now, I’ve only been pondering modern political evil for a few years, but I’ll opt for Nicolaitanism as an explanation:

Nico-, combinatory form of n?k?, “victory” in Greek, and laos means people, or more specifically, the laity; hence, the word may be taken to mean “lay conquerors” or “conquerors of the lay people”. However, “Nicolaitan” is the name ostensibly given to followers of the heretic Nicolas —the name itself meaning “victorious over people,” or “victory of the people,” which he would have been given at birth.

An informal definition of Nicolaitanism could be: “Bossy little power-monger”. That is, somebody who’s life’s quest is to acquire and exert as much authority over others as possible. Impediments to amassing power, such as freedom of speech and the right self-defense, must be obliterated.

The exact meaning of Nicolaitanism in the Revelation isn’t known. But it’s always been a mind-blower that Christianity, which was born in an atmosphere of heavy Roman/Pharisaic oppression, replicates that oppressiveness in so many instances.

So it’s not clear to what degree our modern, elite, liberal, lefty, Socialist, Postmodern, Politically Correct, Godless, Commie, blue state, critical theorist, Democrat, Alinskyite, union, baby boomer, polysexual, abortion-on-demand, #Occupy-loving, group-thinking, anti-Enlightenment, crypto-Marxist overlords conform to the original Nicolaitan heresy. Probably not much at all.

Nevertheless, I submit that recreational overlording has more explanatory power than a simple fear-based label.

Category: Instapundit

Comments

17 Responses to “You Disagree With @Instapundit At Your Peril, But I’m Going With Nicolaitanism Over Oikophobia”

  1. Quartermaster
    May 5th, 2013 @ 6:19 pm

    No which meaning you apply to Nicolaitanism, I’d say God hates either one. Whether you’re talking about sexual immorality, or monarchical Bishops and hierarchy (Ephesians 4:11-12 speaks against this), either clashes with the teachings of scripture from Genesis to Revelation.

    OTOH, I’d have to say that oikophobia also applies. Feminazis have provided us with a target rich environment, although I’d prefer much less of such because of what that would mean.

  2. Finrod Felagund
    May 5th, 2013 @ 6:51 pm

    I think you’re both right, really.

  3. Adjoran
    May 5th, 2013 @ 7:28 pm

    However heretical, at least Nicolatitanism and antinomianism acknowledge faith. The left has “faith” of a sort in their godless ideology, but they won’t even admit that much.

    The left contends, instead, that their belief system is entirely rational. Augustine knocked any intellectual foundation to which that belief pretended out from under them in the 4th Century.

    Which leaves the left as pretty much just a bunch of wanton pagans, no matter how they see themselves in their imaginary mirrors.

  4. A Goy
    May 5th, 2013 @ 8:33 pm

    -“…somebody who’s life’s quest is to acquire and exert as much authority over others as possible.”

    Kind of like a (normatively) narcissistic adolescent, confronted with the limits of their importance and control, huh.

    You guys are all way over-thinking this. People don’t choose an ideology and then behave a certain way as a result. It’s just the opposite.

    The phenomenon that explains why some individuals are attracted to socially-suicidal, leftist ideology and tactics was clinically identified years ago. The “key driver” is simple, and quite clear: some people mature, morally; some don’t.

    If we don’t come to terms with that as conservatives, and don’t take steps to cease our own unforced errors when dealing with the left, there will be no future for the Republic as we knew it.

    http://bit.ly/DmoX7

  5. A Matter Of Trust…There Isn’t Any On #GunControl | That Mr. G Guy's Blog
    May 5th, 2013 @ 8:43 pm

    […] H/T to Smitty of TOM […]

  6. Mike G.
    May 5th, 2013 @ 10:18 pm

    Yes they call it blog whoring, but what’s a blogger to do? Linked http://thatmrgguy.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/a-matter-of-trust-there-isnt-any-on-guncontrol/

  7. K-Bob
    May 5th, 2013 @ 10:47 pm

    I suspect someone left out an ‘i’ when coming up with the term Nicolaitanism.

    It don’t scan rite.

  8. K-Bob
    May 5th, 2013 @ 10:50 pm

    Sorry, but that’s overly complex. I’ll go with Sowell’s more obvious: The Vision of The Anointed.

  9. K-Bob
    May 5th, 2013 @ 10:51 pm

    That helps explain their complex scenarios for “healing the planet” and many other strange behaviors they exhibit.

  10. K-Bob
    May 5th, 2013 @ 10:51 pm

    Floor wax, or dessert topping?

  11. maybetoday777
    May 5th, 2013 @ 11:12 pm

    The meaning of Nicolaitanism isn’t known in Revelation? Like hell it isn’t. The Book is a self-intepreting Book, the author of it, the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21) is the interpreter. Furthermore, God hates whatever the deeds of the Nicolaitans are, therefore, we MUST know exactly what those deeds are.
    Yes, the word means to conquer the common lay person. But how? I am guessing you are Roman Catholic which explains why you say this meaning is NOT known, when it is very well known by BIBLE BELIEVERS and not Bible Critics from Alexandria, Egypt.
    It means the doctrine of how to conquer the common people. This doctrine, in Scripture, is set whereby the CLERGY becomes a special priesthood in a special position, RULING the average oridinary Christian. Which is exactly what ALL Greek Scholars have done, and the Roman Catholic whore that lives in on the seven mountains. In the Book, there is no special classes of Christians, this is a heresy and a pagan perversion of the Christian Bible.
    In the word of God, every Christian is in the Body of Christ; every Christian is ANOINTED. God is no respector of persons and the only difference between the “clergy” and “laity” in the word of God is that the ordinary, common, everyday Christian has not, perhaps, been set apart for a full-time official position as a LEADER. However, every Christian in the Body of Christ has been called to preach, called to witness, and called to work for the Lord Jesus Christ. God knows nothing about a “ruling class” of people who the rule the “common people”.
    Nicolaitans doesn’t mean to rule spiritually; it means to conquer. You are NOT supposed to conquer the common people and get the upper hand and “lord it over them” (1 Peter 5:1-4). You are supposed to lead them, guide them, and direct them. Your SPIRITUAL power as a bishop, deacon, elder or minister is spiritual only.
    In a nutshell, the deeds of the Nicolaitanes is a certain class of Christians conquering another class of Christians. It is a DOCTRINE that God hates! The way this has been done in the past is easy. You turn away from a personal love for Jesus Christ and PUTTING THE CHURCH AHEAD OF HIM, and then putting a clergy-laity class as the final authority instead of the Holy Scriptures. We know WHO did this in past “church history”. Pssst, they are the Roman CAtholic whore that stems from Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, Origen, Constantine, etc… and the Roman Catholic Popes (i.e. Apostolic succession). They especially do this via “supersitition of their TRADITIONS” instead of Scripture so they can be FINAL AUHTORITY over Scripture, or by adding the Apochrypha into the Book when it is NOT inspired (Matt 24, Luke 23).
    Again, the reason you don’t know this is because you must be Roman Catholic. In the Book, Light rejected is LIGHTNING!
    When I go witnessing on the streets, I ask people, has anyone ever explained the gospel of Jesus Christ to you, how Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose again the third day, and if you take Him, He will take you! Do you know what most people say to me today? They say, “well, I go to the Catholic CHURCH, or the Presbyterian or the Methodist CHURCH.” I didn’t ask them about their church or their church BUILDING. I asked them about Jesus Christ! They change the subject to their church. Your stupid church or church building couldn’t save a dead duck! Salvation is NOT in things; it is in a PERSON! The deeds of the Nicolaitanes which I HATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  12. Bob Belvedere
    May 6th, 2013 @ 9:04 am

    Gnostics.

  13. Bob Belvedere
    May 6th, 2013 @ 9:06 am

    I’m proud to call you my friend!

  14. Bob Belvedere
    May 6th, 2013 @ 9:09 am

    Oh…you whacky Protestant nut-balls!

    BTW: Stacy ain’t no Catholic…yet.

  15. Rob Crawford
    May 6th, 2013 @ 5:30 pm

    Oh, look, a bigot.

  16. Jack Howard
    May 6th, 2013 @ 11:40 pm

    I have challenged the good professor Reynolds about Oikophobia as well. The proper (well…more accurate) term should be (warning…Dictionary level Latin being spoken here) Oiko-ominus The problem with leftists is not that they fear the familiar. It’s that they hate the familiar. Ever since the days of the French Revolution that spawned the [so called] “Progressives”, the prime motivator of their movement is hatred.

  17. Quartermaster
    May 7th, 2013 @ 8:06 am

    I wouldn’t say he’s a wack job, but he does appear to have a reading comprehension problem.
    He is right about the church part, however. I’ve seen that repeatedly myself.