There
is one constant, which radiates throughout abrahamic thought. A single
philosophical tendency, which permeates both theistic and non-theistic manifestations.
An inherent distaste for ethnic consciousness. Conceived as a kind of
‘idolatry’ in theistic abrahamism. It is viewed by non-theistic abrahamists as
a malignant tumor on Humanity.
Abrahamism,
at its essence, is the unnatural suppression of ethnic identity with an imposed
false consciousness, to mislead and exploit the masses. Whether one looks at a
Judeo-Christian Theocracy, an Islamic Caliphate, a Communist Paradise, Liberal
Democracy, or a Corporatocracy. There is an undeniable pattern interwoven
throughout each abrahamic entities’ society. An ideological consequence, which
strips mankind of its ancestral lineage and cultural uniqueness.
For the devoted abrahamist, their connection to
their divine ethnic consciousness is replaced with a new allegiance to a
spiritual or ideological ‘ethnos’. As a result, you are no longer an ethnic
Greek, but a Christian or Muslim. A worker or a consumer. Whether voluntarily
or forcefully, your native culture, language, and identity are lost to an ever
growing abrahamic world.
The
Biblical origins of anti-Ethnismos
The origins of the abrahamic distaste for the
sacred ethnos has its roots in the biblical story of Cain and Abel. A myth,
which can be found in every interpretation of theistic abrahamism. Contrary to
Hellenic tradition, in which myths are not interpreted as verbatim, but as
allegories for finding a Higher Truth and Knowledge [1].
The abrahamic approach understands the words of a myth as literal.
As such, the story of Cain and Abel is understood by abrahamists to be a message of jealousy and anger [2]. In which, humankind witnesses its first murder, with the death of Abel at the hands of his brother Cain. An event, which makes Abel the first martyr [3] of theistic abrahamism, and Cain the ancestor of evil [4]. However, if one looks deeper at the metaphorical meaning of this story, a much profound message emerges, one of a struggle between two different existences, the farmer and the nomadic shepherd [5].
Through Hellenic eyes, the actual message of the
narrative is deeper and more complexed. It is the collective abrahamic memory
of the development of civilization during the Neolithic Revolution [6]. When
agricultural societies replaced the traditional hunter-gatherer society [7]. This
Hellenic approach to the biblical story is proven by a close examination of the
etymologies of the mythical’ characters. In their original Hebrew renderings,
they are Qayin and Hevel. Qayin, which means ‘lance’ [8]
and is a cognate of qyn, meaning
“metalsmith” [9], while Hevel is derived from the term for
“herdsman”.
When read as metaphor, the real meaning appears.
It is not ‘Abel’ that is ‘murdered’, but the nomadic desert tradition. Thus, the
abrahamic perspective began in the mindset of those loyal hunter-gatherers as a
response to their inability to cope with the rise of an agricultural society.
That is why the abrahamic interpretation demonizes ‘Cain’ because his lifestyle
represents man’s new found attachment to the soil, and setting down roots, to
create distinct cities, patriotism, and civilization itself [5].
As a result, ethnic consciousness is viewed as the offspring of the first
‘sin’.
The abrahamic
response to Ethnismos
The Neolithic Revolution, and the birth of the
Ethne forced those loyal to the desert traditions of the past to develop their opposing
concept of the Ethnos. A model, which wasn’t based on a place of origin, but a
spiritual contract. In place of a motherland, abrahamism developed the
spiritual “promised land”, Eretz-Israel, a ‘gift’ from Yahweh [21].
It is from this spiritual contract that the
ancient Israelite ethnos, and consequently the abrahamic approach to the idea
of an ethnos was born. With this act, the Israelites became the alternative
version of an Ethnos. A collection of twelve tribes, of different origins,
which were bound together by a spiritual contract. For generations, this agreement
would be passed down through their ancestral line, until the Hebrew tradition
spilt into Christianity, and eventually Islam. It is with the birth of Christianity
and Islam that the abrahamic concept of an ethnos transformed into a kind of
anti-Ethnos, which spread to the Ethne and began promoting a type of false
consciousness.
This can be attested to by the 2nd-century
Greek philosopher Celsus, who described Christianity as a ‘third race’ of men,
which sever their identity’s continuity with the past and traditional bonds [10]. Christians
created an entirely new consciousness, which stood in the opposite of the very
philosophical notion of an Ethnos. For them, Jesus is King, and his ‘country’
is a heavenly one [11]. Therefore,
any ideals that emphasize an earthly home, rather than the spiritual kingdom of
Jesus are looked down upon [12].
This spiritual effort to break the bonds of the
Ethnos is also found in Islamic tradition. For the Muslim, there is only one
Ummah (nation), the Islamic Ummah. Therefore, there is no room for ethnic
identity, as the Hadith says, ‘Leave it, it is Rotten’ [13].
The Quran rejects language, culture, and race, as criteria for unity. The only
criteria are belief and virtue, a common worldview that acts as the basis of
the unity of the Islamic Ummah [14].
Anti-Ethnismos
in today’s non-theistic abrahamic world
Just as with theistic abrahamism, an undeniable
and disturbing pattern is found throughout non-theistic abrahamism. From Marxism
[15] to
Capitalism [22],
each abrahamic socio-political ideology has a tradition of anti-Ethnismos. A
result, of being conceived within an abrahamic ‘point of view,’ each in their
own way works towards the elimination of humanity’s natural and inherent sense
of identity. Therefore, the same fundamental outcome awaits humankind at each
final ideological triumph, whether “Left-wing” or “Right-wing”. The disappearance
of the nation-state, ethnic culture, and the deprival of any identity-sourced
empowerment.
Today, Capitalism and the global consumer society,
best personify this abrahamic trait. For it is because of Capitalism that
traditional cultures are destroyed [22],
and replace by a consumer-obsessed culture of corporate homogeny. In this
secular abrahamic world, ethnic consciousness is either a racist throwback to a
less advanced time or an outdated concept, which is seen as a barrier to
progress and a roadblock towards free enterprise and global trade. In the end,
the individual is no longer a citizen of a nation, with a long heritage and
tradition. Instead, they are merely a symbol in a social equation. They are
just workers or consumers fed half-truths and false needs.
Conclusion
For the true abrahamist, the ethnos is not a pure and
natural part of life. It is a social construct, which prevents abrahamism from
reaching its ideological triumph. Whether theistic or non-theistic, the
inherent abrahamic thought pattern is to suppress or co-opt ethnic
consciousness in the hopes of creating a homogenous utopian society.
In Greece, this thought pattern can be traced from
early Christianity’s demonization of the Hellenic peoples own ethnoreligious
beliefs and very own ethnonym. To the Greek Orthodox Church’s attempts to
strangle the reappearance of ethnic Greek consciousness [16]
[17],
as well as their denunciation of the 1821 ethnic Revolution [18]
[19],
and excommunication of Revolutionary heroes [20].
It is this thought pattern, which thrives within today’s socio-political ideologies
of Greece that produce national nihilism, practice historical revisionism, and denies
national tragedies such as the Ottoman Greek Genocide.
< Previous: A Hellenic Awakening Part I Next: A Hellenic Awakening Part III >
< Previous: A Hellenic Awakening Part I Next: A Hellenic Awakening Part III >