page 157
March 7, 1994
Dear Mr. Buckley,
Thank you for your comments of March 2, 1994. While waiting for your answer against our letter of January 28, 1994, taking advantage of the aposiopesis, we went ahead and prepared our rebuttal, On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church, which adds to our troop the ideas of the Church Fathers. Enclosed is an extra copy for your bishop.
We seem to be getting closer together concerning your comments, to wit:
March 2, 1994
"Touching the Lord's robe was not a work; and the Lord specified that it was the woman's faith that had cured her. And St. Paul said, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of Christ." He also reminded people that they were baptized not in his name, but in Christ's. Maybe you have Paul confused with Martin Luther, who was a little rude about St. James."
(signed by Wm. F. Buckley Jr.)
We agree on Martin Luther. But evidence in the enclosed book shows that Martin Luther was rude because of orders passed through his [ancient] presbyters, traced to Paul.
Perhaps you will agree that the difference between the faith of the Woman with the Effusion and Martin Luther is a matter of degrees. Christ said, many shall say to me (in His Second Coming) I have done great works in thy name, etc., but I shall say I have not known thee ... This wrenches away your defense if our troop is right.
Perhaps you and your bishop will also agree that the conclusions of the enclosed might be closer to the faith which lured the woman with the effusion than what might be found in the Pauline Church today. Perhaps you might find some healing in it as well.
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There is a great degree of difference between the woman's faith and Luther's, and knowing that Luther was following orders from the Apostle Paul, we think it appropriate that Paul step up to the bar, as it were, and assume responsibility for the multitudes who were broken by his doctrine. If the fools who followed Luther's advise were condemned at Nürnberg, though their leaders, Hitler and Luther, were dead, are those who started the doctrine or continue it less culpable? Hoping you can shed more light here, I remain,
Sincerely yours,
M
Mr. Buckley's answer to our nineteenth appeal
April 7, 1994
It seems more probable that Luther was so bent out of shape about priests withholding deathbed absolution and other (apparently) arbitrary (apparent) abuses of the power of the keys, that he saw scotching Last Rites as a plain reform. He was foursquare for St. James' proposition that faith withut works was dead: he said our faith should drive us across the continent in performance of works. his denunciation of works as causing redemption wasn't very different from St. Paul's ("Put away dead works,") or Trent's.
Yours cordially,
Wm. F. Buckley Jr.
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April 12, 1994
Dear Mr. Buckley,
Because of the links I presented in On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church, of the causes of anti-Semitism: from Hitler to his prophet Luther, descending through the Catholic fathers to the Apostle Paul, we recognize your passion to defend Paul and how he would defend Martin Luther. This is a solemn day of remembrance, of the Holocaust, and it cannot forget what Martin Luther stood for [re: page 4 of Philistia Triumph Thou because of me ], to wit:
Martin Luther, tract 1543 A.D. What shall we Christians do with this damned, rejected race of Jews? ..Let me give you my honest advice:
1. To set fire to their synagogues of schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them...this is to be done in honor of our Lord.
2-7 I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed..
..that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews..all cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken from them..I recommend putting a flail, an ax, an hoe, a spade, a distaff, or a spindle into the hand of young, strong Jews and Jewesses ...
Hitler knew and was justified by this advise. This is enough to condemn Luther with those who followed his advise. All judgment ends here, as it follows out of his own mouth. Following this we move to Paul. Sirs, your king Paul is in check and positioning Luther will not save him either.
Not to be a nit-picker, but you did misquote St. James in your letter of April 7. St. James said faith without works is death not, as you put it, "faith without works was dead". There is a big difference here [James 2.26: as the body without the spirit is dead; ed. note].
We wonder which authority you would agree upon, as there are some commandments of Jesus your bishops questioned – not to mention your defense of Martin Luther on which Christ could never bargain – ; so to persuade you that your move will produce no good we set a few more troops upon Paul.
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We showed how the early Catholic fathers saw their mission, in teaching Christ's faith: to give men a good conscience; and here they concluded that not only the teachings are important but they must be followed by good works. Seeing all of the persecutions of millions of Jews and other heretics by the Catholic Church, it is apparent that a confession is in order, that the church itself has sinned against the will of God and Christ. Let St. Isaiah the Solitary (circa. 370-489 A.D.) guide you here:
St. Isaiah ,On Guarding the Intellect . 17 When a man severs himself from evil, he gains an exact understanding of all the sins he has committed against God; for he does not see his sins unless he severs himself from them with a feeling of revulsion.
I felt revulsion when I read the anti-Semitic tracts, Against the Jews, etc. which we listed in part in On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church . Note that we have not condemned the church but rather Martin Luther and the Apostle Paul, who stand guilt-laden for the current world-wide revulsion over the Holocaust. For Luther transmitted Paul's Castigations into this era. Just as a bishop is given authority over his flock, so also does he assume responsibility for the errors of his flock. For what flock has ever there been who has strayed away and not because of themselves but because of the false shepherd over them? See Zechariah 11 on this.
The Catholic Church misled the flock, and it must now take account of itself. Whilst we appreciate the Pope joining some rabbis in a convocation on the Holocaust, the Pope has a far more serious responsibility than this. For he must confess the anti-Semitic teachings of the Church and get back to pastoring the true way, avoiding the malicious. Hear again St. Isaiah, who asks, be attentive to your heart and:
St. Isaiah, ibid. 21..watch your enemies, for they are cunning in their malice. In your heart be persuaded on this: it is impossible for a man to achieve good through evil means. That is why our Saviour told us to be watchful, saying: Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there are that find it [Matt. 7.14].
It is impossible for a man to achieve good through evil means. The anti-Semitic doctrine and its consequences are evil. A tree is known for the fruit which it bears. This vision is right.
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There was never any good to come from condemning the Law of Moses or the Jews. Thus, I was curious as to what rock you reside upon; though you answered in part, St. Isaiah says it all:
St. Isaiah, ibid. 27..Say to your soul: if you are afraid of sinners like yourself seeing your sins, how much more should you be afraid of God who notes everything? As a result of this warning the fear of God will be revealed in your soul, and if you cleave to Him you will not be shaken by the passions; for it is written: They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion; he that dwells in Jerusalem shall never be shaken [cf. Psalm 125.1] Whatever you are doing, remember that God sees all your thoughts, and then you will never sin..
Do you assume that God cannot see what I have listed? or do you believe that He, who sits on his Throne of Judgment, can't do anything about it? In our works we drew a line over Jerusalem, showing how God has Judged this: that he shall make the Law honorable and restore his Temple, among other things. We complained that the Church teaches against this Judgment; and we argued in On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church et al. that this judgment can mitigate much suffering and lead to peace. In the early Church Mind there was no distinction between doing the will of the Father and being men of peace. You must agree that he, the first who invented the anti-Semitic doctrine, and he, the last to implement it, did not lead to peace but to the carnage of multitudes. This must be confessed and labelled so those who still hear Paul will at least know the bite of his particular passion. St. Evagrios the Solitary (345-399 A.D.) can help you here:
Evagrios, On Asceticism and Stillness ...Avoid associating with crafty or aggressive people, and do not live with anyone of that kind but shun their evil purposes; for they do not dwell close to God or abide with Him. Let your friends be men of peace, spiritual brethren, holy fathers. It is of such that the Lord speaks when he says, My mother and brethren and fathers are those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven [cf. Matt. 12:49-50].
So we should not confuse Martin Luther and his kind as being among the Peacemakers, who are one with Christ. Now I did not make this judgment. Yet it should be feared no less than the judgment of a king. Evagrios reminds us of the consequences of this:
Evagrios, ibid...When someone approaches an earthly king, he entreats him with fear, trembling and attention; so much the more, then, should we stand and pray in this manner before God the Father, the Master of all, and before Christ the King of Kings. For it is He whom the whole spiritual host and the choir of angels serve with fear and glorify with trembling...
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Fear for the Church because of the sins accounted to it and the obstinacy of its pastors and leaders who will not confess them so mentioned. Confession is not difficult. Your bishops know [re; page 8 of On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church etc.] that:
Job. 33.27 He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not;
33.28 he will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light...
Sir, the Greek Orthodox fathers will bear us out on this, that you are judged by your works. Since bad ideas (or doctrines) lead to evil works, it follows that the key to anyone's salvation is to point out those doctrines which lead to evil and avoid them. Now the Law of Moses intended to bring forth a Good Work of God; yet Paul condemned that Work of God, leading you to believe that your works have no effect on Salvation. From this did you derive that Luther is justified by faith regardless of his works? Does not the passion to defend Luther, leading to Paul, choke the Catholic body in a cover-up of sin?
Evagrios, On Discrimination, 5...The divine word can bear no fruit, being choked by our cares. Let us, then, renounce these cares, and throw them down before the Lord..
St. Evagrios argued this cause on behalf of the monastic life, as did St. Jerome, but it nevertheless applies to us in any case. In judgment Truth – evidence at hand – is not obsequious to the cares of the body. Your bishop must detach the church from those passions which continue Paul's anti-Semitic doctrine (unfortunately Paul's epistles suffocate from them). Until freed from them the fruit of life will be spoiled, and Cain's Law (sic. it is every man for himself) will prevail.
St. Evagrios, and other early Church fathers following him, saw the conflict between the cares of this world and the needs of God in terms of fending off demons. They offer applicable advise here:
Evagrios, On Discrimination 10. Now what am I to say about the demon who makes the soul obtuse? For I am afraid to write about him: how, at his approach, the soul departs from its own proper state and strips itself of reverence and the fear of God, no longer regarding sin as sin, or wickedness as wickedness; it looks on judgment and the eternal punishment of hell as mere words; it laughs at the fire which causes the earth to tremble; and, while supposedly confessing it has no understanding of His commandments. You may beat your breast as such a soul draws near to sin, but it takes no notice. You recite from the Scripture, yet it is wholly indifferent and will not hear. You point out its shame and disgrace among men, and it ignores you, like a pig that closes its eyes and charges through a fence. This demon gets into the soul by way of long-continuing thoughts of self-esteem; and unless those days are shortened, no flesh will be saved [Matt. 24.22].
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We leave you with two poets:
Sappho of Mytiléne (circa 600 B.C.)
Some there are who say that the
Fairest thing on the black earth
Is an array of horsemen;
Some, men marching;
Some would say ships;
But I say she whom one loves best..
With regard to the above you are either with God or touching on another:
(Anonymous circa. 500 B.C.)
Underneath every stone there lies
Hidden a scorpion, dear friend.
Take care, or he will sting you
– all concealment is treachery.
Knowing that God's Beauty is the revelation of the Truth, we await your views on this, how it can be seen, and remain,
Sincerely yours,
M
Mr. Buckley's answer to our twentieth appeal
April 25, 1994
I'm not Cardinal Bernardin, either, with the "passion for defending Luther" that turns out to be a symptom of Catholic self-hatred. It's only that Luther wasn't wrong about everything, and St. Paul is perfectly good Christian doctrine. Of course the Lord judges people according to their works, dividing the sheep from the goats; but it wasn't the works that saved the former.
Yours cordially,
Wm. F. Buckley Jr.
page 164
April 26, 1994
Dear Mr. Buckley,
Our conversation began, as reflected in Against Leviathan, with specific details on the revelation of Truth, keeping in mind on my side of the table that the revelation of Truth feeds life. We selected several circumstances where your knowledge of listed truths could save a multitude of lives (as in a sinking ship). We reflected our argument from the holy scriptures, a Great Troop of their prophets, sages and historians; and we set them against your king Paul and put him in check.
Whereas you may not be willing to admit it, others looking over our shoulders should attest that the verse on page four of my April 12 letter, having to do with who makes the soul obtuse, sets against your bishop here. He must honor our self-evident truth in On the Breakageof the Holy Catholic Church , etc.: that Paul lied to king Agrippa and went to great lengths to denounce the Circumcised Church of Saints Peter and James, and the eleven apostles in Jerusalem. Paul's castigations were a model which later Christian Bishops, such as those cited in the above book, used to justify the further condemnation of the Jews. You said, while Luther wasn't wrong about everything, St. Paul was perfectly good Christian doctrine. Everyone who looks at our dialogue will plainly see that the only objection I took with Luther was that same objection I took with Paul and the other bishops who continued Paul's anti-Semitic teachings. You cannot separate Luther from Paul in the exegeses we applied.
We agree that Luther had some good points and some bad points. Even Herod or Hitler can plead such a defense. We confessed the same point of view with Paul: there is in his teachings some good and some evil. But from the standpoint of the pits, and the bones which have been crying out from them, recently, Paul's (and by imputation Luther's) bad points far outweigh their good points. This, we argued, must be Christ's judgment as well, for we know that there is no way you can implicate Christ in agreeing with the [continuing] teachings which presume Christ's condemnation of the Jews and their Law. To pretend that Paul had nothing to do with the doctrine which led to anti-Semitism is irrational. We are not certain you agree--because of your defense of Paul--that anti-Semitism, as a doctrine, is evil; and works justified by the doctrine are also evil and, therefore, a sin against God--your clarification is probably needed here. Your defense of Paul reflects upon Christ and through Christ upon God; and here we interpret your argument to agree with Luther, cited in our last letter, that the Holocaust is done in honor of our Lord [Jesus]. My troop affirms that the malice directed towards the Jews and their Law did not come from Christ; to wit: Jesus forgave the Jews upon the Cross. Had He not forgiven the Jews He would have been in contempt of Isaiah 53.10:
Isaiah 53.10 Yet, it pleased the LORD to bruise him..
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One can plainly see, from the troops we placed before you, Paul had no right to condemn the Jews, their Law, the Circumcised Church in Christ, and others who honor the Law.
Judgment does follow after the manner of dividing the sheep from the goats: goats destroy everything in their path if untended; sheep are gentler on the land and more obedient. This leads to Revelation 11.18, who desolate the earth, [sic. as goats]. To discern the sheep and goats [in men] we balance souls (in whom Christ's word is blurred) on this:
Enoch 44.3 [re: Hidden Pavilions p. 162; Psalm 12] Blessed is the man who does not direct his heart with malice against any man, and helps the injured and condemned, and raises the broken down, and shall do charity to the needy, because on the day of the great judgment every makeweight will be as in the market, that is to say they are hung on scales and stand in the market, and every one shall learn his own measure, and according to his measure shall take his reward.
As for our makeweight, it is Truth, and we mean to say here that which is plainly seen as truthful; sic. that Paul and Luther, with respect to the cause of the Holocaust, sit together on one scale. We did not condemn the Catholic Church: just the first and the last stewards of malice-- of anti-Semitism.
We compared the Greek Orthodox fathers to the Catholic fathers, in tracing the malice, and discerned that those on the Catholic side were far more goat-like in their faith than the more sheepish Greek Orthodox fathers. The Greek Orthodox fathers – focusing on asceticism – revered the teachings of Jesus, in poverty and solitude with Him; and essentially maintaining the Way of the Therapeutae of whom Philo Judaeus, in his book, On a Contemplative Life, speaks. Eusebius, in The History of the Church Book 2.17, having summarized Philo's account of the Therapeutae, affirms our Jewish [Petrine] roots in his Church:
Eusebius 2.17..When he describes the life of our ascetics with the greatest precision, it is plain enough that he not only knew but welcomed with whole-hearted approval the apostolic men of his day, who it seems were of Hebrew stock and therefore, in the Jewish manner, still retained most of their ancient customs...All this is described, in precise accordance with the practice observed by us and us alone to this day, in Philo's own writings.. anyone can see that when he wrote it he had in mind the first preachers of the gospel teaching and the customs handed down by the apostles from the beginning.
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As you spelunk faith you will find that what your bishops today justify is chastised by the early church. How, then, could Christ change his point of view here – as from light to darkness?
Your claim, in the parable of the goats and the sheep, that the sheep were not saved because of their works is incorrect, for the reasons stated on desolation [Rev. 11.18] and perverting that which is right [Job. 33.27] and to the extent that you focus on unreal objects rather than spiritual. Howbeit in St. Neilos the Ascetic we discern:
St. Neilos [died 430 A.D.]..we should learn to detect the attack of deceitful thoughts from premonitory signs and to watch their first beginnings which they contrive to make attractive in appearance so as to attain their end; then we can expose the wickedness of these thoughts by comparing their first beginnings with the final results.
..We rightly spoke of such a soul as 'sitting on idols' [re: Gen. 31:35 -- Rachel sat on her idols; ed. note]. For when the soul becomes firmly attached to these unreal objects, it is enslaved to habit instead of serving truth, and through habit is defiling the real nature of things..
...If, because of envy or worldly attachment they seek to discredit the way of holiness, they are defaming with deluded blasphemies the life honored by God and the angels. At the time of judgment those who have lived rightly will be rewarded with eternal blessings, not on the basis of human opinion, but in accordance with the true nature of their life.
How true! Your judgment is in accordance with the true nature of your life! This follows the idea Jesus expounded (which seems to have flourished everywhere counted in our work, The Tapestry of One): which urges one to know thyself.
This brings us back to the idea of the good shepherd who comes to lead the sheep that ye may know [i.e., Ez. 15.7, 22.22; Zech. 4.9]. Following this is judgment, whether the sheep obey the good shepherd or not. Paul falls exceedingly short here, as easily judged from The Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church. To ignore this is to rob God of honor. Now St. Anselm [1033-1109 A.D.], in Cur Deus Homo, had a few good ideas on this point. To avoid confusing our readers with his wordy notion on being one with God we confess we must limit his time at this podium and quote in part:
St. Anselm, Cur Deus Homo, Book 1.11..every one who sins ought to pay back the honor of which he has robbed God; and this is the satisfaction which every sinner owes to God [re: Isaiah 61.8 For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery, etc.; ed. note].
1.12 ..It is, therefore, not proper for God thus to pass over sin unpunished...There is also another thing which follows if sin be passed by unpunished, viz., that with God there will be no difference between the guilty and the not guilty; and this is unbecoming to God.
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How, Sir, does it seem to you, to separate sheep from goats, except by truth?
St. Anselm attempted to answer this but got bogged down in trying to reason with the sceptics and sophists that God exists, following the idea that reason alone will prove that He exists. This led to a number of treatises in answer to his works concerning being and nonbeing from Descartes to Spinoza, to Lock, Leibnitz, and Kant, Hegel, Dorner, Flint, Loetze, and finally, to name a few, John Paul Sartre on the one hand and Hamlet's quote of Anselm's to be or not to be on the other. We, of course, avoided this bog and took the Holy Scriptures at their word: God prophesied that he exists through his prophets and claims through his prophets that the things he says will in the Latter Days be seen to have been done; and all men will then bow down to Him [Isa. 45.23] and understand Him perfectly [Jer. 23.20]; for then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord to serve Him with one consent [Zeph. 3.9; see also Hidden Pavilions p. 342-350]. Here we can again mention the Angel of the Lord of Moses [Ex. 23.20]: beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: because My Name is in him. God cannot be bribed (or robbed) is affirmed here.
To check those who think they could bribe God, we become Faith Seeking Understanding [St. Anselm, Proslogium , preface]. Where does this lead? If ye seek ye shall find; knock and it shall be given unto you , etc.
It was my first desire to complement a perception you made, in my introduction here, but I realized the complement is best reserved here, where reality comes in: Nixon's funeral illustrates our position. I confess, seeing it, I wished that you (rather than the uninspired Governor) had given the Eulogy to Nixon; nevertheless President Clinton read your mind: that in judgment we must consider all of a man's works, so part of the message got through. Since our correspondence has to do with judgment [sic. the epiphany of Truth], the comment Clinton made for Nixon and what was upon your spirit applies to all--which says all are judged by all their works.
Nixon, confessing his error, worked to great effort to redeem himself. Thus, we saw judges there who perhaps for the first time in twenty years shed tears! If they'd but shed some tears over our people!
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When a body rendezvous with its tomb all truth comes out. As for the Church's due, we have no doubts that after a good confession – freed from Paul's sin – it will flourish again. Until then the wind shall reign over the reeds and the fruit of life will be spoiled.
Sir, in further confirmation, we, without malice, leave your king Paul in check and, awaiting your move, in truth, remain,
Sincerely yours,
M
Mr. Buckley's answer to our twenty-first appeal
May 16, 1994
I never agreed that St. Paul taught any evil. After the dream of the unclean animals, the apostles agreed that circumcision was irrelevant. St. Paul didn't force the doctrine.
The sheep will be separated from the goats according to their faith, of which their works are evidence.
Yours cordially,
Wm. F. Buckley Jr.
May 23, 1996
Dear Mr. Buckley,
Your letter of May 16, 1994 has a substantial error in it regarding the commission the apostles granted to Paul. He requested, and they granted, an apostleship to the Gentile. They condemned him, in fact, for violating this pact, as seen in particular on page 17 of the enclosed. The other miscellany in the enclosed has to do with examples of those who made great sacrifices on behalf of truth, which is what your bishop should consider more closely.
Sincerely yours,
M
page 169
Mr. Buckley's answer to our twenty-second appeal
May 27, 1995
There's always someone around to get doctrine wrong, and there's no reason to suppose that all the Jews who became Christians were immune; moreover, St. Paul lost his temper about non-Jews' errors of faith and morals, too. That you happen to prefer your Scripture temperate doesn't chuck St. Paul out of the canon--any more than Luther's not liking Last Rites chucked St. James (except, of course, for Lutherans).
Yours cordially,
Wm. F. Buckley Jr.
June 17, 1994
Dear Mr. Buckley,
Thank you for your letter of June 13, 1994. Your assumption that Paul acceded to our Council of eleven apostles in Jerusalem, after he was charged with "anti-Semitic" teachings, is not supported by his last epistle, to Titus, A.D. 65, where he continues to harangue against the Circumcised Church and their Law, to wit:
Titus 1.10 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:
1.11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.
1.12 One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. [Perhaps referring to Barnabas' disciples; ed. note]
1.13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.
1.14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
1.15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
1.16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
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St. Peter took this somewhat hard. Witness his reply in two parts:
1 Peter 3.8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
3.9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
3.15 ..But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
3.16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
3.17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
II Peter 1.15 Moreover I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.
1.16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
1.17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
1.18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
1.19 We have a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.
1.20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
1.21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
2. 9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
2.10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
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2.13..sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
2.14..beguiling unstable souls..
2.15 ..which have forsaken the right way..
2.19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
2.20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
2.21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2.22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
3.1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
3.2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior;
3.13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
3.14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
3.15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
3.16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
3.17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness.
While we have quoted these conversations before, it seems worthy to repeat them with reference to your comment, as you must keep in mind that Paul, until his last breath, had been separating the church unto himself; and the apostles in Jerusalem called him to the carpet to dissuade him from preaching against the Circumcised Church and their government which is wholly founded upon the full Commandments of Christ and the Law of Moses. Paul continued preaching "freedom from the Law," which conversation is reviewed in more detail in the enclosed book which we have prepared in response to your presumption that Paul and St. Peter were of one mind or that Paul's two-faced dogma was cleansed of its anti-Semitism. Here we have followed your suggestion. Let's look at the Pauline dogma and see whether it be in whole or part either good or evil. Since Luther commented in detail on the dogma and carried the same double spirited image, we believe here would be a good forum for discussion, as better shown in the enclosed.
Sincerely yours,
M
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Mr. Buckley's answer to our twenty-third appeal
June 13, 1994
Well, some Jews were murderers and adulterers. So were some Christians, and St. Paul reproved them, too.
The plain sense of Acts 21 is that the other Apostles judged that Jews should still be bound by the Law even after baptism. St. Paul evidently acceded to their decision. Technically you can't call his having said the opposite a sin, because a dogma has to be defined before you can sin by getting it wrong.
Yours cordially,
Wm. F. Buckley Jr.
June 29, 1994
Dear Mr. Buckley,
I just received your disturbing letter of June 27, 1993* and cannot help but to rush our reply: Shame on you for implicating Christ in Paul's and now your bishop's fraud! To think that Jesus would condone your bishop's failure to answer the Apostles' charge, to wit:
Acts 21.24..purify thyself ..that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
– is appalling! You very well know the charge the Apostles levied against Paul, and this judgment--of preaching anti-Semitic things, against the Jews and the Law – must be answered!
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We did not overlook the fact that though Paul was reprimanded, and he represented he would change his conduct, the record shows that he didn't. In the books he's a liar and a cheat.
The record shows that in fundamental issues Paul didn't agree with the Apostolic Church. An honest man, true to his own convictions [though wrong], would have openly denounced the Apostolic Doctrine, in the face of the Apostles, and gone on about his own business, separating himself and his deluded disciples from Christ's Body [as did Mani]. But Paul was not that honorable, and rather than settling the matter in front of the Apostolic Court, in the first place, and then before King Agrippa on the second occasion, Paul slithered around the charge against him – which is what his disciples since and including your own bishop are still doing – ; and as all pretenders to the throne tend to do, replaced Christ's and the Apostolic guidance of the Church with his own.
I am temperate in that I am in no hurry to throttle Paul's Confession out of him and his sneaky disciples. We can allow time to feast on them for awhile.
When we wrote On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church, we suspected no one in the church would be willing to remedy Paul's fraud. Once a liar, always a liar, we say. One not ashamed of lying is also one who is not ashamed of being lied to. Remember how Satan answered Adam? to wit:
Book of Adam & Eve, 47.5 Then Satan said unto Adam, thinkest thou, that when I have spoken to one about anything, I shall ever bring it to him or fulfill my word? Not so. For I myself have never even thought of obtaining what I asked.
Pity the pastor who heaps another man's crimes on his own head. Ah! We should shame them! But I do believe that not all men are liars at heart, (as with Satan, who never expected to be treated honestly nor expected that anyone would think he would treat them honestly). Such was Paul.
Paul died a liar – being justified not in faith but rather in lying to King Agrippa; alas! because he did not take the opportunity to redeem himself, as the record shows, we are horrified there is no man willing to correct the record.
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But this is again explained in the nature of certain hearts, led by Satan, who are so used to being lied to they see no shame and sweep under the rug any lie which is revealed – even though it would accrue to their account that they had not only shamefully accepted a lie but continued to cover it up. But judgment feasts on such people, and though the Apostolic Court waits, eventually the truth will be known. We say this because of the severe nature of the fraud: that Paul's disciples continue to preach their antiSemitic doctrines from Pulpits as high as the Vatican to those of "mendicant" holy rollers who drag their gold laden purses from one unsuspecting tent to another. Whilst they are picking the public's pockets under the guise of preaching Jesus, they whisper into naive ears the blood-soaked dogma of frying people for Jesus!
A few days ago a controversy came on the news over a new bronze statue which would be placed in the city square of San Jose, CA in honor of the Mexican-American community. The statue is of Quetzalcottel, the feathered Serpent (who H. Cortes was believed to be). Pious Christian pastors of all sorts are trying to stop the repulsive erection, of the statue, because of the many victims who had their hearts ripped out, sacrificed to the god Quetzalcottel. If the criteria for not raising an art form is due to the blood which has been sacrificed under its image, then San Jose should also pull down every church and image of Paul. Even more so, I say, should this apply to the disciples of Paul, since under his antiChristian doctrine so many millions upon millions of people were murdered. Though Luther, Torquemada, and many others following Paul (how could Paul separate himself from these villains?) justified murdering for Jesus, we know that Jesus would never have cooperated with such bloodshed. We also know that Saints Peter and James would never have cooperated with such bloodshed; and, for the record, neither would I. So this leaves the bloody glove in your bishop's hands – until, of course, the pulpit explains, as required by Acts 21 above, that Paul was in error in leading the people to believe that the Law is old or obsolete and that the Jews are condemned of God. These points we listed, re: On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church, as being taught in continuum since Paul invented his hate-laden gospel. Sir, reform is in order here, for Paul has sinned against the Apostolic Council, and his disciples continue to carry out the sin.
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No, Sir, we cannot allow this fraud to continue. The so-called Christian blood-letting doctors – who even now revel around you – are exposed. Just as dogs turn back to their own vomit, so we find our saintly leaders of all kinds, those who have no shame in lying:
My writings have been quite clear, that the venomous part of Paul's Gospel should be exposed. Rather than chuck Paul out of the canon, in fact, I have argued that his voice should be left in the Bible but with those parts of his scripture which are anti-Semitic marked and identified with a Warning! Label.
I quite agree that I have been a bit too temperate and should call for the consensus that Paul be spewed out of the Bible altogether. Quite frankly – and I know I speak for my entire troop – we have done quite well in representing the desire of the Scripture (which we identified as the Will of God [sic. Jesus included] without having to quote Paul (except to condemn him). If Paul's affected rhetoric dies too one hundred years from now who will miss him?
Those who read us will muse on your comment, that I prefer my Scripture temperate. Au contraire, Sir, agreeing with Thomas Jefferson I asked whether it is necessary to teach any other Gospel than the Gospel Jesus himself taught. If your bishop were to teach what Jesus said, what he did, and what he still is, my issue would be resolved. What Paul has to do with this gospe – except to confuse and misguide people-- you have yet to explain!!
For my part, I don't know how anyone could get Jesus' doctrine wrong, for it seems to be one of the few doctrines which have come into this world that can be understood with little pastoring. His doctrine is sufficient in itself to pastor mankind. More so, Jesus' Gospel itself is a sufficient basis upon which one may judge which of the sheep go on the left hand and which on the right.
You are as good a judge of character as I, and should be far better because of the age difference between us. Let us begin judgment where it belongs, in the Christian Church, as Saint Peter said. I know that Jesus built his church upon the rock of Saint Peter; therefore, there is no reason why Saint Peter and His Church should be listed anywhere but to his right. Because Paul surreptitiously slithered into the Church, undermining Jesus' foundations, I put Paul and his devious kind on the left. How could one do otherwise? lest one think I'm so temperate I'd let a liar into Christ's midst??
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As for the application of Last Rites, to be truthful, I should think [for the moment] that we can get off of Luther (and the mob blessed under his name who thrive no doubt under Luther's Christian motto of killing Jews for the honor of Jesus) and inquire whether one should be giving Last Rites to this butchered nation. We still are pursuing Leviathan, whom I sighted in the trail of Paul's carnage, and once he is seen with a spear chucked in his eye many will come to feast on him.
Because you are so close to his mind's eye, as it were, rubbing shoulders with so many leaders of this nation--religious and political – you should know exactly where and how to hit Leviathan, so to stop the damage that he has been inflicting upon us. My argument began with this observation: a people tend to be like their leaders, or, as Ibn Khaldûn put it (The Muquaddimah), leaders set an example for their people. We complained that our leaders have no knowledge; our nation perishes for the lack of knowledge. It's the same as saying, we perish for the lack of leaders.
All of the troop in me agree (re: even Khaldûn: on how to revive nations) that the first place to find a just leader is where truth is upheld over all other things, a thesis which we poked in many places in our writings. If you love Truth, we are confident you will separate yourself from those who prefer to hide it and cling more to those who wish to put it where everyone can see it. Let me give you a non nonsectarian example how to change.December 1993 Senator Moynahan [prepared to sing!] brought the Nixon budget to your Firing Line program and began to explain why the health program today is like the one Nixon's Administration considered. The difference between the two proposals is that in Nixon's day "money" was not an issue; today it is not the health proposal so much at issue but rather the fact that we have no money to fund health (because of our strangling debt). You muffled Senator Moynahan when he began to broach the subject (explored in depth it would show how corrosive our National Debt is); as offered in my last letter, it is time to release those reins which restrain the truth, be they against our survival as a state or our faith!
I wrote you – that you should know – and, seeing your bishop still in check but still awaiting the light, I remain,
Sincerely yours,
M
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July 1, 1994
Dear Mr. Buckley,
My letter of June 29, 1994 had a typo, referring to your letter as May 27, 1994, when it was June 27, 1994. So I have enclosed a corrected copy which I hope is now typo free. No man has been plagued by typos, I think, more than I, and you have been a wonderful sport in passing over them; and I thank you for this. Because of the holiday both this and the latter letter should arrive together.
This also affords the occasion to say what was really in my heart apart from the pitiful barrage which was exchanged between our June letters. For I had not wanted to get side-tracked into a field which would make canon fodder out of the Catholic Church. It has enough undermining its foundations. Nine Catholic Churches in the San Francisco Diocese are closed effective today. Internecine riff-raff have been attacking the church on all sides, including now the Pope's Chair. God forbid that I should be counted among those within and without the Catholic Church who are attempting to pull it down.
The truth of the matter, for my part, is clear, as I illustrated in The String of Pearls (p.178), that I have come only to pull the weeds. Pointing fingers at this unrighteous Jew or that unrighteous Gentile (as if it would make either of us feel better) will get us nowhere, whether in the past or now. What should direct us is a motive to clear the weeds which have been entangling the church in things with which it ought not to have been identified. Often it takes a confession to clear them.
The troop which is now in me, which can be seen as Many, existed long before me; and among them, perhaps closest to my soul and voice, is that teacher in the Hymns of the Dead Sea Scrolls seen also in The String of Pearls. This is where my heart is...
Mr. Buckley, we have to look after the weeds if the Church is to survive. Paul will come out alright – a little loss of pride won't hurt either him or Luther. Rather than this last barrage I had hoped to weave some humor from Juvenal and maybe address some related issues from Khaldûn which are just as important to the salvation of this nation and the Church as the other principles now represented in my troop. The greater the gathering of this Many the more important in the future they ought to be, we believe. Many great sages yet await being engaged in our communion.
Before these books emerged, beginning with Hidden Pavilions, one of the first words I was introduced to by my Old Man who guides me is the concept, Many. The word kept appearing, unrelentingly, as I wrote, often even as a typo. Finally the day came when the kinship I bore with the Many I discovered in the teacher among the Dead Sea Scrolls, who also used the term as I had come to know it; and when I saw him I saw someone who shared our common voice.
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The voice is not without humor, though the seriousness of our situation calls for men to shave their heads. I watched Carl Sagan's Cosmos last evening, "On Venus," and he again sobered me up – no doubt having some responsibility for this letter.
Although our communion may exchange humor from time to time, never should we get side-tracked from the business at hand, to leave a legacy, God willing, for future readers to take to heart. I lamented "On Venus," Mr. Sagan's soul-searching plea, grasping for some common base upon which we could all cling, to do a good work. I wished he had known that same plea made in Revelation 11.18 et al. long ago. There is a binder which is between us he could use.
The Old Man of the Sea, commenting on my June 29 letter, thought it a bit too hard but said, "Send it," then, being somewhat sceptical, brought up the parable of angels singing and dancing on the head of a pin. I replied that YHVH had a good idea in mind for our future and good criteria how to achieve it. We call men to believe in it for the Work's sake. If men latch onto the idea and follow the criteria, then God's Will is done; and this being so, counting angels, as in the parable, is irrelevant. Let's first get men to sing and dance to the cords of Angels. And through this, if we focus on Elohim's Desire, a wonderful army shall be seen who already agrees with Him. Being agreed, of a common bond, as mine with the Many, of course, is half the battle to the making of a Holy Communion and a marriage. This will lead us away from Venus's hellish inferno, I think.
Sincerely yours,
M
Mr. Buckley's answer to our twenty-fifth appeal
July 18, 1994
Bishop Egan has dragged his feet about permitting the old Mass, but I have a feeling that's not what you mean. Fact is, St. Paul is part of the Catholic canon, and neither of us can make him go away. St. Peter affirmed his authority, and nobody's likely to come along with the authority to revoke what he said.
We can argue for the rest of our lives, to the criminal neglect of our responsibilities, or we can agree with St. James that faith without works is dead, and leave the rest for a day of greater illumination.
Yours cordially,
Wm. F. Buckley Jr.
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July 22, 1995
Dear Mr. Buckley,
Thank you for your letter of July 18, 1994. It is not my desire to change anything in the Catholic Mass except for one small recension: that when Paul's epistles are taught the people are told the truth, that they contain antiSemitic doctrine which is not only directed against the Jews and the Law of Moses, but Christ and God Himself. We showed in On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church that Paul plainly lied before King Agrippa and before that misrepresented himself to the eleven apostles seated in Jerusalem, whereupon they admonished him to purify himself for his sins against the church. Paul's stand against God and, thus, Christ--that His Holy Scriptures [sic. Old Testament] are old and passed away--indicts Paul and the Church. Is there Virtue among Christ's pastors to correct this? I asked.
You and your bishop should agree with me and my troop, among whom is Jesus, that liars do not belong among the prophets of God and lies have no place in the Word of God.
For my part, referring to the old mass, we draw from the Didaché, to wit:
Didaché, Part 1.1 ..where is the merit in loving only those who return your love?
1.3..Tell no lies, my son, for lying leads to theft, etc.
1.4 ..share all your possessions with your brother, and do not claim that anything is your own..
See that you do not neglect the commandments of the Lord, but keep them just as you received them, without any additions or subtractions of your own.
In church, make confession of your faults, and do not come to your prayers with a bad conscience. That is the Way of Life.
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1.5 The Way of Death is this..those who persecuted good men, hold truth in abhorrence, and love falsehood; who do not know of the rewards of righteousness, nor adhere to what is good, nor to just judgment; who lie awake planning wickedness rather than well-doing...
Knowledge of their Creator is not in them; they make away with their infants and deface God's image; they turn away the needy and oppress the afflicted; they aid and abet the rich but arbitrarily condemn the poor; they are utterly and altogether sunk in iniquity.
1.6 ..If you can shoulder the Lord's yoke in its entirety, then you will be perfect; but if that is too much for you, do as much as you can.
2.9, "of the Eucharist"..Then over the particles of bread: We give thanks to thee, our Father, for the life and knowledge thou hast made known to us through thy servant Jesus.
Glory be to thee, world without end.
As this broken bread, once dispersed over the hills, was brought together and became one loaf, so may the Church be brought together from the ends of the earth into thy kingdom...
2.11, "Of Missioners and Charismatists", If anyone comes and instructs you on the foregoing lines, make him welcome...If it aims at promoting righteousness and knowledge of the Lord, though, welcome him as you would the Lord...If he asks for money, he is not a genuine missioner..
2.15..Reprove one another, but peaceably and not in hot blood, as you are told in the Gospel...
I believe your bishop will agree that when the fathers spoke of the knowledge brought by Jesus they spoke of it as Christ's gift to men [re: John 3.15], and it was their full intention that through that knowledge a new people should be born in whom the Kingdom of God would become manifest on earth [re: Isaiah 53.11..by his knowledge He shall justify many; ed. note].
Prayer and the criteria mentioned by David and Isaiah, listed in Philistia Triumph thou because of me, form the foundation of this Kingdom.
As for the "old mass" it is clear that Christians today could not be enticed to give up their fortunes to follow Christ, or to share all things in common, (except their wives) [Tertulian Apol. 39.2]. It is also clear that to get Christians to love the Lord with all thy heart and all thy mind, as per the commandment, seems infeasible among modern Christians. There is a connection between loving with all thy heart and a good conscience and knowledge and loving with thy mind. We, of course, are exploring to what extent you love God with your mind.
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Without knowledge there can be no life, says another formative message of the church, called The Epistle to Diognetus. The end of all knowledge of God is to promote life. My reason for writing you was clearly established, having that end in view. Your desire to postpone the revelation of truth conflicts with that desire.
We spoke in terms of assuming the point of view of Christ, reciting him enough (the Epistle to Diognetus said that the Word made His disclosures [to the apostles] in the plainest of language) to support our judgment that the things Paul taught, which we listed, were against Christ's teachings and resulted in the death of millions of people. These hateful teachings from church pulpits every Sunday continue to plant the seeds of death. This is no small matter.
The Epistle to Diognetus gives us more sure words of advise on the early canon:
Epistle to Diognetus, "Practical Conclusions". If you love Him, you will become an imitator of His goodness, since God has willed it so. But happiness is not to be found in dominating one's fellows, or in wanting to have more than his weaker brethren, or in possessing riches and riding rough-shod over his inferiors. No one can become an imitator of God like that, for such things are wholly alien to His greatness. But if a man will shoulder his neighbor's burden; if he be ready to supply another's need from his own abundance; if, by sharing the blessings he has received from God with those who are in want..such a man is indeed an imitator of God..Then, too, you will see through the deceitfulness and error of this world..
With this is Clement's message:
Clement, Seek ye the company of the holy, for they who seek their company shall themselves be made holy. And it says somewhere else, With the innocent you shall be innocent, with the chosen you shall be chosen, with the wayward you shall be wayward..
We are reasoning for the sake of a multitude of lives. Without rehashing the background already established on Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, I wonder if you can appreciate that Jesus himself is solidly entrenched in the Host which comprises my side of the argument? When you suggested deferring the rest of the argument for a day of greater illumination (which I presume you mean in terms of the Holy Spirit), you lost me. For those who are devoted to truth and defend it each day are illuminating; and who are more brilliant than those in my troop? I can hardly imagine any of them being of the mind to hide a truth once it is revealed, as you and your bishop propose. All of my sources agree that justice delayed is justice denied. Reason confirms this.
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Truthfulness is the foundation of justice, among the faithful, and in laying down evidence of truth we have even Jesus' example with the Pharisees, of reciting his scriptural authority, to support the Gospel He represented. We continued the same practice with you.
One's propensity for truthfulness is directly related to the amount of faith he has in God. There can be no dignity in deferring an examination of the Truth when lives hang in the balance waiting for a wise man's action.
I bear witness to the truth, and the revelation of any truth now makes the day of greater illumination now. We listed many things in On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church, Philistia Triumph thou because of me, and Against Leviathan which would be enlightening – nay shocking – to the public at large were they to hear of them. At the moment their minds are preoccupied [see Quest for Human Dignity ], but we feel fortunate to have found a man who has shown a willingness to examine our list. I have not done this for my benefit but for multitudes suffering at the gate – I speak of the Heirs.
To lighten things up we composed Quest for Human Dignity, enclosed. It builds on the thesis, to whom much is given much is required. We lament that those blessed with the most these days oppress the most. In early Christian life it was the other way around.
Referring again to the Epistle to Diognetus, we know that out of Christ came a people whose behavior is more like that of transients [from which comes the word, parish ]:
Epistle to Diognetus...they take their full part as citizens, but they also submit to anything and everything as if they were aliens...they obey the prescribed laws, but in their own private lives they transcend the laws...the world similarly hates the Christians without provocation because they are opposed to its pleasures..
In Quest for Human Dignity we explore this world among which there are many who claim to be Christians but bear little resemblance to what Jesus taught or the sketch of the early church traced above. The Quest is an indictment to which Christians and their bishops in particular will one day answer. The propositions I have put to you are simple and far less of an imposition on you than what Jesus might demand. We ask for justice: stand up, account for your knowledge [re: Didaché 1.6 above].
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We sense doubts in you and your bishop, that Jesus can't judge what you know, or that there is any relationship between what you know and what is a responsibility. Christians are not given a shopping list of responsibilities but rather commandments. At the top of these is Truthfulness. Those who are given knowledge [truth] and yet avoid it are of a different body than Christ, so for the lack of knowledge the people perish..
Your framework seems to be sourced in image and power: i.e.: who has the power to revoke what St. Peter said . St. Peter never gave Paul the authority to deride the Jews or the Law. What Paul took upon himself cannot be justified using St. Peter. By the same token, your quote of St. James, that faith without works is dead, neglects the context in which St. James expressed the matter, as said before. For such a people – whose faith carries no obligations – we call, Oh ye of little faith, we prepared an indictment: Quest for Human Dignity. In this work we show how they will surely die. Your bishop's wait and see attitude is not what Jesus taught. Again wondering how you might find Christ in these times, I remain,
Sincerely yours,
M
September 10, 1994
Dear Mr. Buckley,
Our cast, of late in Quest for Human Dignity, lodging in your [and your bishop's] jaw, though uncomfortable, should not have clipped your lips, nor left you in the cold. I fear hobbling – with your back to the wall as it were – by Dante's giant, Nimrod, where the cold grips Cocytus at the foot of purgatory, may have numbed your soul. Have you guys down there succumbed or are you just resting?
See our light? Come up hither to our Golden Gate, where all are bathed by the fullness of the sun and the view is untainted. Each step into the light gets easier! Hoping, as always, to see your ascending reply, I remain,
Sincerely yours,
M
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Mr. Buckley's answer to our twenty-seventh appeal*
October 26, 1994
It's only later on that the sun won't be our light by day, nor the moon give us brightness: later on, when they don't go down any more. Meanwhile Babel's awfully instructive on the subject of people who try to make it to the gates by their own efforts. (Pentecost, of course, is the opposite of Babel.)
Yours cordially,
Wm. F. Buckley Jr.
* At the time this letter was received – referring to the events of Luke 21 – there was a splendid eclipse of the sun being studied by scientists in South America; ed. note.
November 1, 1994
Dear Mr. Buckley,
The sight of your letter of October 26, 1994, lifted me, as it pricks at the central issue of the enclosed work, The Mehl Commentary, in two parts, which I recently sent in answer to my brother.
What you described, that the sun won't be our light by day, nor the moon give us brightness, is a moment and feature of the Last Day: Judgment Day. Of course a Day to the LORD is as a thousand years. Maybe two thousand. The Apocalypse you listed is oleaginous and not without its New Year Chorus (see enclosure). A new day is born. Songs of Wisdom can mitigate its birth pains.
By the criteria shown in the enclosed, that day has arrived. The principal gauge here is the fact that Israel has been restored from its two thousand year aeon of exile; and the prophets are clear in their vision that they could not see the restored Israel without the LORD Himself being returned to Jerusalem with mercies and having engaged the nations with Judgment (see page 40,41 Part 2 of The Mehl Commentary, in particular). That day, the Day of the Watchman, comes sooner than you may have perceived.
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We are agreed, of course, on the issue of Babel. I trust that you have ascertained in my work, by measure of the troop that is within me, that I would never have passed either way through the Gates of Righteousness alone. While God only knows what was said at Pentecost among the disciples mourning Christ's crucifixion, the first Day of Pentecost was truly a day opposite to Babel. For that is the day when the Torah and its Tabernacle were delivered and covenanted with the Children of Israel. According to the scripture, all of the Covenant offered by YHVH was agreed to by the Children of Israel at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Note that they understood Him perfectly.
We believe that covenant is as clear today as then. To wit: the Jews agreed to be separate unto the LORD and obey His Commandments. Christ honored this, as can be seen in His Teachings [sic. had ye known Moses ye would have known me, for he wrote of me, etc.; ed note] and also how Saint Peter and Saint James understood them: that all Jews should obey the Law.
The LORD's Day is, of course, as a day when God Himself is as the sun in our lives [re: Psalm 19.4; Isaiah 30.26; Rev. 22.5]. Everyone will understand Him perfectly [re: Zeph. 3.9].
I think you said it yourself some time ago, how on that day the Righteous shall shine forth as the sun. This is a day of the Kingdom of God when all nations embrace Him in marriage. Since His day is a day of the knowledge of Him, as the waters that fill the sea, the righteous joined to Him are bathed in that knowledge; and with Him, being as the Sun in a Dark and Cloudy Day, it follows that the righteous joined to Him are as the Sun in the Dark and Cloudy Day [re: Dan. 12.3].
Were it not for His preconceived plan of putting watchmen upon the walls, who would see eye to eye with Him in that Dark and Cloudy Day, all flesh would be lost.
I must apologize to you, as I wrote in the enclosed as if you were finished, seeing neither in you nor your bishop any movement; and I am elated that we have not lost you!
Of course – and I know I speak for our entire troop – we would never abandon one to climb the stairs of righteousness alone. One is always with you--as it is said:
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Micah 7.8 ..when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me [re: John 12.13, 14.18];
7.9..He will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold His righteousness [ re: 1 John 2.29];
Isaiah. 26.2 Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in [re: 1 Kings 8.56-57; 1 John 3.18; John 3.21, 17.17].
I was dismayed yesterday when I went into a bookstore and saw the Pope's book as number two on the best seller's list, with the O. J. Simpson book being number one. A numbing situation it was for me; but being attracted to light I browsed through Pope John-Paul's book, and saw perhaps that it would be a good thing if he could yet write another, addressing the righteous nation who keepeth the truth mentioned above.
A nation showing us by example how to keep the truth would be a great light and lead those who would otherwise be condemned away from the inferno, I think.
Truth shines as the light of the sun. Those who come to the light are never alone [re: Psalm 119.105], but here is where we differ: Each must come to the light on his own effort (see Ezek. 14.14, p. 47 of Part 2). For example, if you open yourself to the Truth about something, not I nor others are able to accept the truth for you. Likewise, one is called to make an effort to support Truth once he has seen it.
As long as one pursues righteousness Truth prevails and the towers of Babel are thrown down. At issue in the Tower of Babel (reflected in my Quest ) is the idea that Nimrod's attempt to build a tower reaching to heaven left God with the realization that now nothing would be restrained from them. So He leveled the tower, confused their tongues, and scattered the people. In the Quest we noted how the prophets anticipated a Dark and Cloudy Day where not just one city and its tower had been set up equal to God but many. We compared America to that tower of Nimrod mentioned in Dante's Inferno. You, being a high person in that tower, reached down to me and I answered, that I think I found a righteous man (which should stay True in spite of some doubts).
Of Jacob's Ladder there is a vision of people going up and down it. And these are the righteous whose passing through the Gates of Righteousness is continuous for your sake. I gathered from your letter that you do not think you can climb those stairs by your own effort. I think we can clarify the view to make it a bit easier for you here: the stairs of the tower of Babel were hewn by man and had a speedy fall, because of those drunk with pride who built it; in contrast Jacob's Ladder is hewn by the LORD GOD, is well lit, and eternal.
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To join with the eternal takes a small effort, to begin a walk with Truth up the stairs of righteousness. To this end the prophet asked,
Amos 3.3 Can two walk together except they be agreed?
Now agreeing with the Word of God is seen as walking with God. The Word of God has been sent down from Heaven in the form of a Great Troop with Christ at their head. When you walk with God you are, therefore, in the company of this Great Troop. They, of course, are not only with you but light the way. Thus, it is said:
Psalm 112.4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
I can't think of anyone having risen to Jacob's Ladder who doesn't meet this criteria. Nor are there any who would attempt it with the lie Paul hung around his neck, as described in On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church et al.
I saw Paul's lie is a stumbling block in the way of my people [p. 33 of Part 2] and hindering the route of knowledge. We need to talk about that stumbling block and remove it so the righteous may enter. I say, we, because only Sisyphus is fool enough to bear that burden alone.
Being against that stumbling block to truth which is keeping closed the Gate of Righteousness; and trusting you can channel more of my prolix to help flood away the refuge of lies, I remain,
Sincerely yours,
M
Mr. Buckley's answer to our twenty-eighth appeal
November 14, 1994
Christ and especially the resurrection are going to remain a stumbling block and a scandal no matter what you and I think, but I find your comparison of the tower of Babel and Jacob's Ladder edifying. If Christians had a bit more sense, moreover, they would observe Simchas Torah (a useful corrective to the prideful notion that our redemption is our own doing) as well as the Christian Pentecost (St. Peter's first sermon, understood by men of many tongues).
Yours cordially,
Wm. F. Buckley Jr.
November 19, 1994
Dear Mr. Buckley,
Loved your letter of November 14, 1994, seeing that our view is one upon which we can build; but we have some comments on the Spirit which engaged St. Peter's sermon, which we discerned you didn't note, as per the enclosed.
Sincerely yours,
M
Mr. Buckley's answer to our twenty-ninth appeal
December 1, 1994
Homer nods and I'm not Homer, but I cannot have said works were irrelevant to salvation. They're always symptoms of it and we both know what St. James said about faith without them.
And the destruction of the temple was no doubt dreadful, but as far as I know the other signs St. Luke mentions were missing: we still have those to look forward to.
Yours cordially,
Wm. F. Buckley Jr.
page 188
December 7, 1994
Dear Mr. Buckley,
You missed the restoration of Israel, with its implications, which are preparatory to the Cloud of Glory mentioned in Luke 21, which we trust you will find wraps around our argument enclosed: of opening some doors you assumed are closed. Wondering whether you will recognize Beulah, for instance, I remain, as always,
Sincerely yours,
M
Mr. Buckley's answer to our thirtieth appeal
December 28, 1994
Jesus said even He didn't know the day; only the Father: a puzzling arrangement given the other things He said about their relations, but an instructive one for mortals who also don't know.
Yours cordially,
Wm. F. Buckley Jr.
page 189
December 31, 1994
Dear Mr. Buckley,
Thank you for your letter of December 28, 1994 which says a lot, to wit:
Jesus said even He didn't know the day; only the Father: a puzzling arrangement given the other things He said about their relations, but an instructive one for mortals who also don't know.
At the time He said this He quoted Daniel with regard to the Second Coming [see Enoch 32.2; Hidden Pavilions p. 164) and the Abomination of Desolation (Daniel 11.31) which assumes that He also knew the other distinct passage of Daniel (12.7) which we called into remembrance on page 5 of Duty and Profit. He also knew Luke 21 (since it came from Him, which relates to the time when the time of the Gentile shall be fulfilled), which we called into remembrance specifically on page 3 of Duty and Profit ]. With these facts known we also know that Christ complained that the Sadduccees and the Pharisees could not tell the time of day of His Visitation [sic. Immanuel, Isaiah 7.14], to wit:
Mattthew 16.2 He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say it will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
16.3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky but can ye not discern the sign of the times?..[see also line 850-853 of our Synoptic Matrix].
This tells us that Christ knew the hour of His Visitation but others didn't recognize it until Saint Peter answered before going to the Mount of the Transfiguration [re: Matt. 16.18]; but even then until the end there were always those in dispute as to who Jesus was. Except for the paradox involving his discussion whether or not He ought to have been going into the streets (Matthew 12.16), and the paradox you noted above, Jesus after the transfiguration knew precisely who He was and what He was to do and say. Light on these paradoxes is given in the Psalms which have to do with how Christ is quickened, such as:
Psalm 119.93 LAMED I will never forget thy precepts:
for with them thou hast quickened me.
page 190
The scriptures are Christ's Light. How this works can be seen through the Books of Adam and Eve and Enoch, as shown in Hidden Pavilions pp. 155-167, where the Word is shown not only what He is to do but also:
Adam and Eve 47.8 ..[Satan speaking to Adam] as we do not know the day agreed upon with thee by thy God, nor the hour in which thou shalt be delivered for that reason will we multiply war and murder upon thee and thy seed after thee.
As noted in our other works, Jesus' Sacrifice was guided by these books; and the Gospels themselves recalled prophesies being fulfilled from the Books of Adam and Eve and Enoch which are not sourced elsewhere (a real curiosity). Knowing this, with the Many Mansions, Blood and Water flowing from His Wound, the offerings of the Three Shepherds, etc., we can better appreciate the spirit manifesting Himself in Christ through the scriptures. He didn't speak out of the blue as it were.
Now the Second Coming has its paradox too, where the Christ is awakened through the scriptures to do what He must do, recognizing that as before He is one who calls and no one answers. See Isaiah 56. 10,11 and:
Isaiah 63.1 Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
63.2 Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?
63.3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.
63.4 For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.
63.5 And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me...
page 191
Jesus echoed Isaiah 63.4 in Luke 21.22, which was made in the context of His Visitation. Isaiah 63.4 applies to the day which Daniel also described (verse 12.7), when Israel is restored from its diaspora. We have explored in Hidden Pavilions how the rabbis midrashed the comment on Edom above to apply to Rome and its successor which is Christianity. Doth the Christ come out of Christianity with his robes stained red full of wrath? He cannot be well pleased if He calls and no one answers. Maybe the rabbis'll recognize Him.
There is one provision upon which Christ [returned] relies, however, and that has to do with Christ's comment: that wheresoever I am ye shall be also, that my sheep will know my voice, that the Good Shepherd enters through the sheepgate, etc. We, of course, have been inquiring into that voice and His gate.The epiphany which we have been drawing out finally comes down to the parable of the Watchman and the Brides. Come, inquire, He says to His Watchmen [re: On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church ]:
Luke 12.36 And ye yourselves [be] like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
We know that the restoration of Israel involves a wedding. The paradox here is that He told His disciples to be like men waiting for Him to return from the wedding.
Our argument falls precisely into this arena, of love that is. Christ seeks them who know His Word and are betrothed to it; and this brings us back to the things we have been manifesting and other things. We believe that how Christ is quickened also applies to the Watchmen [sic. what He knows they must know]. Then there is the other matter of the trumpets of the wedding (May I put in a request? Could someone play the Brandenburg Concerto #2 in F Major?).
Wondering, paradoxically however, apart from the music, how your Bishop or the Bride might recognize Him when He comes, though the Watchmen have yet to see Him, I remain, as always--and wishing you and yours a happy New Year,
Sincerely yours,
M
page 192
January 29, 1995
Dear Mr. Buckley,
As noted in our argument, most people who call upon the name of Christ have no idea what is meant by His Light. The others don't care.
Maybe we could turn the argument to the fact that He is revealed as an awakening of God. Expecting your reply we went on ahead of you and prepared our argument from the Holy Scriptures, which we call, From Dust & Ashes to Joy. It is in Two Parts [Part II : Acceptable Day of the Lord].
Christ reveals Himself as a Groom coming to a Wedding. Without the Wedding, according to the terms of Christ, we argue, there is no revelation. Without that revelation the world will remain in darkness; thus far it is a truth that the darkness comprehended it not.
Let's talk about the Wedding and determine, using the Two Parts from our messenger, the Small Book : From Dust & Ashes to Joy, whether the Bride's Virgins are waiting at the Bridal Chamber with sufficient light to lighten the Groom's Way. Because He comes at night.
Sincerely yours,
M
page 193
March 18, 1995
Dear Mr. Buckley,
We haven't heard from you regarding the proposal in our January 29, 1995 letter: From Dust & Ashes to Joy, in two parts – of restoring the Tabernacle (our Wedding Canopy) to complete Isaiah 62.4, that is – and suspect that you and your Bishop may need more time to prepare an answer. In any event, we hope all is well with you and that an answer to our proposal is forthcoming.
Since our proposal also deals with the advent (the 9th of AV) prior to the Day of Atonement and, thus, relates to forgiveness of debts and goodwill to others, we thought it appropriate to separate our general complaint against the Pauline Church (listed in On the Breakage of the Holy Catholic Church et al.) into a document, called Who is of the Truth, so that matter can be more easily dispositioned by the mourners on the 9th of Av.* This document deals with a blatant lie in Crossing the Threshold of Hope which must be corrected by your Bishop, because it provoked over the ages, and continues to do so, much bloodshed: against the Jews first and then the Moslems (who are equally effected by the lie). Our conversation has always had its focus on the saving of lives, and, thus, because many are leaning on the lifelines of our ship, as it were, which we have shown to be terribly frayed, we have solicited (and to some degree received) your cooperation. We are thankful for your concern thus far.
Because From Dust & Ashes to Joy concerns a matter inscribed in the hearts of the Jews, we sent a copy of Part I of that work to Michael Lerner of TIKKUN Magazine. We asked for any contribution to the conversation he might wish to make. However, it has now been thirty days since we sent him that work, and we haven't heard from him. We believe he – who has advertised his touchstone on Judaism – should have been intelligent enough to assay our argument and respond to us. Perhaps, lacking an intelligent communion in the matter (we should have ten righteous men for the quorum), we are reaching the point in our argument where the prophesy:
Isaiah 41.26... there was no man: even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word..
– is fulfilled.
page 194
Whilst I was communicating with you, I also had attempted to make contact with my brother who is connected with a Charismatic Church. He called me the other day (as he has always had concern for my failure to obtain a steady job) and said that they believe that God's Wrath has come upon the earth and that my sorrows have come because God is punishing me for having [in his mind and relating to my daughter in Paris] committed adultery. My books address this argument, from the Jewish point of view, of course; and I answered that I saw my role – recruited to bear witness to the Truth – as an honorable occupation and a most exciting engagement. As with David my affliction put me in touch with the argument; sic:
Psalm 119.71 CHETH It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
That people fail to inquire into the LORD's Truth – so to expose deathly lies – is surely punishing to me; and that I have to repeat the complaint against persecution so much does sustain me continuously in sorrow; and that I have been afflicted by the desire of the Holy Scriptures also, I say, may appear punishing. But until my brother said I was being punished I had never contemplated this. But then he also said (having read our good conversation) that he was ashamed to discuss my desire with his pastors--which was something I had been encouraging him to do.
My brother is ashamed of me, I can't get any Christian to answer the Truth – my soul is literally flattened down. Ignorance, like the weight of sheaves, is pressing me down and my heart is melted like wax. I am but schmaltz! Perhaps this day this prophesy:
Habakkuk 2.4..Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him..
– is fulfilled.
I know you are busy, as usual; nevertheless we all know that the discussion we have been pressing is the most fruitful of all things occupying your mind. For we have been discussing the epiphany of Christ's Second Coming and have shown, even in From Dust and Ashes to Joy, that within it there is an expectation of some responsible, intelligent men seeing eye to eye with Him. Finding intelligent men seems – except for your participation – to be a futile and Sisyphutic effort.
I am sending a copy of Who is of the Truth to Mr. Lerner and hope that with his contribution to the conversation we can together focus our reason to the advantage of a speedy reparation on the Truths we listed [I never heard from Mr. Lerner; ed note]. Although we should put your Bishop in checkmate, your continuing conversation brings us great joy, moving us upward. Ascending, we may proclaim that God reigneth [Isaiah 52.7; meaning, according to the Dead Sea Scrolls, Melchizedek Texts, that God has claimed his Kingdom] as our Great Troop guards the threshold of hope, and, thankful for the opportunity, I remain, as always,
Sincerely yours,
M
Mr. Buckley's Answer to our thirty-third appeal
April 25, 1995
One of the problems with charismatics has always been the determination to see present woe as a sign of the impending terminus of the present dispensation--of the immanent second coming. Woe is just an ordinary part of the post-lapsarian human experience; sometimes it's consequent upon particular, personal sin and sometimes not. Neither suffering nor thirsting after truth and righteousness lets us off the hook as regards ordinary obligations, though; so I must beg your tolerance and forgiveness in the matter of further correspondence.
Yours cordially,
Wm. F. Buckley Jr.
April 29, 1995
Dear Mr. Buckley,
Thank you for your letter of April 25, 1995 in response to Who is of the Truth. In the thousand page catena we delivered these past 28 months our Great Troop argued the same case put before Abraham. Abraham considered it very carefully – not for his own sake but for the sake of us, the Heirs. He opened his Tent to us as a friend.
page 196
As noted in Who is of the Truth, the message delivered to Abraham and his seed carried Promises and [apocalyptic] threats. We also showed how the threats are consequences of man's pejorative behavior: i.e. the wicked are caught in the very same snares they set for others; ye reap what ye sow..
There should be no misunderstanding between us. The acrid attitude of this generation of leaders to us Heirs serves as fuel to set afire the wretched tinder weeping in the streets. Your generation has engendered disaffection and despair throughout our borders, and wise men, we have argued, could clear up much of this. For instance, our Great Troop has shown that providing for the poor and the dispossessed is the best means of mitigating apocalyptic consequences. Men arm themselves in fear, and we, following Abraham's guidance, have argued with the treasures of reason. Abraham was attentive to this message, setting an example for us all. Never did he defer to another a duty he himself could fulfill towards the wretched of the earth. As noted in Who is of the Truth he was a gracious host to friends and family, strangers and enemies alike. Moreover, he was a great leader, mediating always for the most just outcome; and this, incidentally – though he acted pre-eminitely – he saw as an ordinary part of his regular obligations. Now his obligations were higher than yours, for they were to not only his seed, but also to all the sons of men. Thus, Abraham, the least of all shepherds, who became the least of all tribes, accomplished something the greatest of men – particularly in our day – are incapable of envisioning.
We have not asked as much from you as was laid upon the shoulders of Abraham. We, the Heirs, have presented ourself to you as a Small Book (though somewhat swollen beyond our anticipated measure at this point). Our plea is set and is now history. You may throw us into the trash, with our hopes and dreams, or lift us up. Whatever you do – whether ordinary or extraordinary – remember us, The Poor of Jerusalem.
As always, I remain,
Sincerely yours,
M
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