Peace On Earth…

Posted on by Sarah A. Hoyt

Will never happen, obviously. Well, barring divine intervention, which is what the song refers to, obviously. Because peace on Earth, on the whole Earth depends on “If only everybody” and never in the history of ever has everybody done anything including “don’t drop anvils on your foot on purpose” or anything else blindingly obvious.

So we’ll pray for peace on Earth, but let’s concentrate on the other half of that verse “good will to men.”

Look, it’s not very clear if it’s good will to men from men or good will to men from G-d.

Given in the earliest myths of mankind various goddlings extinguished mankind because it made too much noise, it is perfectly possible that our subconscious considers goodwill to men from G-d almost at the level of miracle of Peace on Earth.

But the truth is even good will to men from men is very hard.

Because you start out with the best of intentions and then the other person takes advantage and you’ll never have good will again because what if those so and sos take advantage of us? Particularly if they already have? And they have….

So, you know….

That’s where we are, and I don’t blame anyone for not trusting the so and sos. I don’t trust them either. They’ve gone past shenanigans against us and embraced full blown evil sometime ago. No, I haven’t forgotten the no so subtle push for cannibalism the last few years of the auto pen.

As long as the left continues committed to evil, to the point they’d take poison if we said poison is bad, we can’t extend good will. Extending good will is asking to be destroyed.

However–

There’s always an however, isn’t there? There are people waking up on that side. More and more every day it seems like.

Are they with us? Well, no they aren’t. Their mental model is still entirely Marxist and some of them will go very, very wrong. BUT when they first start changing, when they first back away from full psychosis, go ahead, extend good will.

Half the time it won’t be worth it. The other half? it will be glorious. Let’s not forget that the most effective people on the right were once on the left, including Thomas Sowell and Ronald Reagan (And Trump. I mean, for these days he’s on the right. Or at least he’s the flag of the right.) Arguably even me, since I was raised European and you don’t get more left than that.

Give the hatchlings a chance. Half of them will turn into scorpions, but the other half are eagles in waiting. (Who is running around with the My Little Genetics Kit again?)

In that sense good will is not only possible, but it’s the sanest, most rational, most self-interested thing you can do.

Extend the hand of welcome and watch carefully. It takes time to extripate Marxism from mind and heart, even if you’re trying. it is, after all, acculturation, which means it’s like dying and being reborn.

With wisdom and gentleness, maybe we can snatch some brands from the fire.

Be not afraid.

And now, go bake cookies!

69 thoughts on “Peace On Earth…”

  2. I think someone left the My Little Genetics kit in No Mans Land. Tell me I’m wrong. Merry Christmas.

    As too your point, I read a wonderful blog about not trusting the left from a self identified ‘former liberal’. Which proves your point entirely.

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  5. My favorite version of Our Lord’s birth (Revelation 12):

    And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

    Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

    And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

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  6. in this the occasion of my 66th birthday I can say miracles do occur, so expect them.

    the younger brother I haven’t spoken to in… 5 years? just called to wish me a happy birthday.

    The best is yet to come!

    Thank you for the post, Sarah and Merry Christmas!

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  7. The negative approach might be the best we can hope for. That is, instead of doing good will to others, perhaps a simpler start would be to not doing bad will to others. Kind of like the Hippocratic oath (first do no harm), or the negative Golden Rule (predates Jesus by 100 years or so) – don’t do anything to others you don’t want done to you. And actually, it’s can be difficult to figure out how to do something good for someone else. Oh, not at the extremes – give a hungry child food, etc. But in most of the middle, help is often not obvious or can actually be hurtful. It seems easier to not hurt others, and that alone would be an amazing improvement in this world.

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  8. I’ve sort of inclined to the KJV version of Luke. “And on earth, peace to men with whom He is well pleased.” The ambiguity in the English of peace to all men, or peace to those with whom He is happy?

    The older I get, the more I wonder if the second is closer, since those of ill will never seem contented or at peace with themselves and the world.

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    1. My understanding is that “peace to men of good will” is a more accurate translation. Only those with good will can know peace, those with evil will cannot by the very nature of peace.

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    2. Yes! The peace of God is for those who believe – not some universal all men are brothers kind of clap. God give you every opportunity to join us but in the end those who choose evil also turn their backs on God’s peace. I think the days of getting along with evil are coming to an end and people of good will have to choose to either give in to the evil or actively fight it. I pray I have the strength when my time comes!

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  9. Amen, Sarah – we can and must have good will toward others but never lose sight of the fact they might not (probably won’t) reciprocate. As the great Ronaldus Magnus said, “Trust but verify.”

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    1. Eudokia and eirene both are coming from God in this divine royal proclamation. Heck, in almost every Biblical usage, eudokia is divine favor and delight.

      It is an interesting word, because it seems to have been coined specifically by the Septuagint translators.

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  12. Perhaps the best translation (from the Vulgate and what are considered the best Greek manuscripts) is “Glory to God in the highest: and on earth, peace to men of good will.”

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  13. Perhaps the best translation (from the Vulgate and what are considered the best Greek manuscripts) is “Glory to God in the highest: and on earth, peace to men of good will.”

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  14. I finally followed the recipe for a sort of lebkuchen that Neo and Neo Neocon has been posting every Christmas off and on for years – and it was so splendid that I have made three batches, the last for home consumption. It makes a kind of soft bar cookie, with dates, raisins and walnuts embedded in it, with an almond-extract flavored white icing, and now it is added to the coconut-pecan-lemon-glaze bar cookie from Joy of Cooking as a seasonal favorite…

    Merry Christmas, to all the Hoyts and the contributors to this blog!

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    1. The allergist insists I’m celiac. My older son says not enough evidence. OTOH I do have the gene and a lot of the symptoms, though discovering it at 63 is…. interesting? Anyway, staying away from gluten until sure. (Except for communion. NO ONE WANTS UNCOMMUNIONED (totally a word) Sarah. Trust me on this. 2020 was enough.)

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      1. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity is also a thing. Often comes with onion and/or garlic sensitivity.

        I’m definitely sensitive to onions, but it’s hard to tell if I have gluten sensitivity when I have a very serious wheat allergy. *Wry G*

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      2. My gluten issues started sporadically at age 35, and slowly but steadily got worse. Flour in a sauce that used to use cornstarch made for an interesting road trip last year, and the next one featured the same reaction after a dish that had more soy sauce than normal. Mexican and Chinese dishes are off the menu unless we cook them ourselves. It took 38 years to go that far. Last communion (shifts eyes), I asked for a blessing rather than a wafer. Skipped the wine for medical reasons.

        $SPOUSE’s family has celiacs, and she’s apparently allergic to gluten. Bette Hagman cookbooks are a lifesaver. Ther’e’s 6 books all told, but this gets the ball rolling:

        amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Gourmet-Living-without-Revised/dp/0805064842

        (The original version had a better pizza dough, but this one looks adequate. We sent the revised version to $NIECE, and did not update our copy. YMMV)

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        1. Catholic Communion wafers for people with gluten problems are “very low gluten” rather than gluten-free, because taking out the gluten takes away the sign of finest wheat, being bread, etc. (The same reason you can never use rice or other grains, even in areas where wheat is exotic.)

          Part of the rite involves a host being mingled with the chalice, so some people cannot receive either.

          So people with gluten problems have to think very seriously about whether tiny amounts of gluten will wreak havoc. Offering up an inability to receive kinda stinks, but it is a heck of an offering.

          OTOH, most parishes have the very low gluten options, and you just give them a heads up and receive your specific Host or (from your specific chalice).

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      4. Also note there’s suggestions that using European flours triggers fewer reactions; partly because European wheat comes from “softer,” varieties of wheat and the alleged effects of spraying Roundup on the wheat fields to make harvest more “efficient,” in this country.

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  16. Gaudete! Gaudete! 
    Christus est natus ex Maria virgine, 
    Gaudete!

    Ergo nostra concio psallat iam in lustro;
    Benedicat Domino; salus Regi nostro.

    Merry Christmas everyone!

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      1. Don’t Surber had a really interesting column on that Christmas in 1776. I didn’t know James Monroe was there too, as an 18-year-old Lieutenant.

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  19. Merriest of Christmas times to all ye who see, listen, feel, and think. May there be joy in family, found or by blood. May there be food, because what these gatherings are for requires it (a Southern tradition that ought to infect everybody. Trust me on this one). May there be laughter, memories, togetherness, and the kind of lively peace that you never know you have, until you don’t.

    May there be reflections on the blessings we’ve had this past year. To be thankful and remember these things is good and right. To resolve to protect and conserve such is only what we must do in order to keep them around.

    May Himself bless and keep you all, great and tall, little and small, fuzzy, fishy, or feathered. May you have contentment in the quiet moments. May you find your people, and they you, in good health and cheer. May your travels be uneventful, or if not, be the kind of story you can tell with a smile in future years. May you meet the challenges that come your way with courage, grit, and wisdom. May your presence be a blessing unto those in your life.

    And may we remember all who serve far from hearth and home. In the dusty sands, in the green hell, over waters blue and green and stinky. In the dark of night, on sun blasted day, all the hours the clock has plus a few minutes the E4 mafia snuck in there somewhere. May our foes be near sighted, deaf, and incontinent, their privies infested with venomous vermin, and their vittles sour and maggoty. And may the PTB be Blessedly Absent when it’s necessary they be so, so the work can get done.

    Lastly, may the food coma be restful, the mess be easy to clean up, and may you all have all the stories you want and then some, some of which to tell next Christmas!

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      1. I greatly prefer The Little Drummer Boy to Do You Hear What I Hear. Bad theology, bad theology!

        My beloved gave me After Jesus, Before Christianity, a purported history of the first two centuries A.D. put forth by The Christianity Seminar (the same folks who brought us the Jesus Seminar). So far, it looks like they’re taking primary sources and discovering (through their modern, forward-thinking paradigm) the early Church, except they don’t believe in an early church as such, shared a lot of our modern, 21-century attitudes. What a surprise!

        Poor man. I’m reading it and talking to myself. And reminding myself I may yet be totally chagrined by some primary source that upends my own opinions.

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  21. I wanted to get him the latest Honorverse anthology, but when I got back to the bookstore the last copy was gone.

    Guess what he gave me for Christmas?

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  22. Here is where I plug William Albrecht and his YT channel Patristic Pillars, as well as his books. Some of the channel is early Christianity stuff and authors, but there is another half that is apologetics (in English and Spanish, since he’s married to a lady who speaks Spanish).

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  23. Anyway… There are good scholars and skulduggerous scholars. A shocking number of scholars will look right at a passage in Greek or whatever, and pretend it says something that it doesn’t. Or they will quote what other people have quoted, and never check the context.

    YouTubers, being hungry for content, will tend to do long series on particular early Christian writers, and this uncover some of these weird contradictions.

    The good news is that there is a lot of interesting research about Second Temple Judaism, that explains a lot about early Christianity.

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      1. So far, it looks like they read everything in terms of “resisting the Roman Empire,” and exploring things like gender-bending. And they seem to be weighing things like the story of Paul and Thecla as equally valid to the New Testament.

        I admit, when they announce that, “in the last 25 years,” scholars have recognized Jesus’ humorous advice in resisting the Roman Empire I think back to Jerry Koob, ex-Jesuit and Methodist minister, who talked about exactly that in a sermon some time before 1994, possibly before 1991, and get a little testy.

        At least they acknowledge slavery existed before America.

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