ing spiritual support. Maybe the time has come to search forrnother paradigms? Perhaps the moment is ripe, as Alain dernBenoist would argue, to envision another cultural and spiritualrnrevolution—a revolution that might well embody our pre-rnChristian European pagan heritage?rn—Tomislav SunkrnNietzsche well understood the meaning of “Athens againstrnJerusalem.” Referring to ancient paganism, which herncalled “the greatest utility of polytheism,” he wrote in The JoyfulrnWisdom:rnThere was then only one norm, the man and every peoplernbelieved that it had this one and ultimate norm. But,rnabove himself, and outside of himself, in a distant overworldrna person could see a multitude of norms: the onernGod was not the denial or blasphemy of the other Godsl Itrnwas here that the right of individuals was first respected.rnThe inventing of Gods, heroes, and supermen of allrnkinds, as well as co-ordinate men and undermen—rndwarfs, fairies, centaurs, satyrs, demons, devils—was therninestimable preliminary to the justification of the selfishnessrnand sovereignty of the individual; the freedomrnwhich was granted to one God in respect to other Gods,rnwas at last given to the individual himself in respect tornlaws, customs, and neighbors. Monotheism, on the contrary,rnthe rigid consequence of one normal human beingrn—consequently, the belief in a normal God, besidernwhom there are only false spurious Gods—has perhapsrnbeen the greatest danger of mankind in the past.rnJehovah is not only a “jealous” god, but he can also show hatred:rn”Yet, I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau” (Malachi 1:3). Hernrecommends hatred to all those who call out his name: “Do notrnI hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved withrnthose that rise up against thee? 1 hate them with perfect hatred:rnI count them mine enemies” (Psalm 139: 21-22). “Surelyrnthou wilt slay the wicked, O God” (Psalm 139:19). Jeremiahrncries out: “Render unto them a recompense, O Lord, accordingrnto the work of their hands. . . . Persecute and destroy them inrnanger from under the heavens of the Lord” (Lamentationsrn5:64-66). The book of Jeremiah is a long series of maledictionsrnand curses buried against peoples and nations. His contemplationrnof future punishments fills him with gloomy delight. “Letrnthem be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded:rn… bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy themrnwith double destruction” (Lam. 17:18). “Therefore deliver uprntheir children to the famine, and pour out their blood by thernforce of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children,rnand be widows; and let their men be put to death” (Lam.rn18:21).rnFurther, Jehoah promises the Hebrews that he will supportrnthem in their war efforts: “When the Lord thy God shall cut offrnthe nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possessrnthem, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land”rn(Deuteronomy 12:29). “But of the cities of these people, whichrnthe Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shaltrnsave alive nothing that breatheth” (Deut. 20:16). Jehovah himselfrngave an example of a genocide by provoking the Delugernagainst the humanity that sinned against him. While he residedrnwith the Philistine King Achish, David also practiced genocidern(1 Samuel 27:9). Moses organized the extermination ofrnthe Midian people (Numbers 31:7). Joshua massacred the inhabitantsrnof Hazor and Anakim. “And Joshua at that timernturned back, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof withrnthe sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms.rnAnd they smote all the souls that were therein with thernedge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not anyrnleft to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire” (Joshua 11:10-11,rn20-21). The messianic king extolled by Solomon was alsornknown for his reign of terror: “May he purify Jerusalem for allrngentiles who trample on it miserably, may he exterminate byrnhis wisdom, justice the sinners of this country. . . . May herndestroy the impious nations with the words from his mouth.”rnHatred against pagans is also visible in the books of Esther,rnJudith, etc.rn”No ancient religion, except that of the Hebrew people hasrnknown such a degree of intolerance,” says Emile Gillabert inrnMoise et le phenomene judeo-chretien (1976). Renan had writtenrnin similar terms: “The intolerance of the Semitic peoples isrnthe inevitable consequence of their monotheism. The Indo-rnEuropean peoples, before they converted to Semitic ideas, hadrnnever considered their religion an absolute truth. Rather, theyrnconceived of it as a heritage of the family, or the caste, and inrnthis way they remained foreign to intolerance and proselytism.rnThis is why we find among these peoples the liberty of thought,rnthe spirit of inquiry and individual research.” Of course, onernshould not look at this problem in a black and white manner, orrnfor instance compare and contrast one platitude to anotherrnplatitude. There have always been, at all times, and everywhere,rnmassacres and exterminations. But it would be difficultrnto find in the pagan texts, be they of sacred or profane nature,rnthe equivalent of what one so frequently encounters in thernBible: the idea that these massacres could be morally justified,rnthat they could be deliberately authorized and ordained by onerngod, “as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded” (Joshuarn11:12). Thus, for the perpetrators of these crimes, good consciousnessrncontinues to rule, not despite these massacres, butrnentirely for the sake of the massacres.rnA lot of ink has been spilled over this tradition of intolerance.rnParticularly contentious are the words of Jesus as recorded byrnLuke: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, andrnmother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea,rnand his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).rnSome claim to perceive in the word “hate” a certain form ofrnHebraism; apparently, these words suggest that Jesus had to bernabsolutely preferred to all other human beings. Some claim tornsee in it traces of Gnostic contamination that suggest renouncement,rndespoliation of goods, and the refusal of procreation.rnIn this context, the obligation to “hate” one’s parents isrnto be viewed as a corollary of not wishing to have children.rnThese interpretations remain pure conjecture. What is certainrnis that Christian intolerance began to manifest itself veryrnearly. In the course of history this intolerance was directedrnagainst “infidels” as well as against pagans, Jews, and heretics. Itrnaccompanied the extermination of all aspects of ancient culturern—the murder of Julius of Hypati, the interdiction of paganrncults, the destruction of temples and statues, the suppression ofrnthe Olympic Games, and the arson, at the instigation of therntown’s Bishop Theophilus of Sarapeum, of Alexandria in A.D.rn389, whose immense library of 700,000 volumes had been collectedrnby the Ptolomeys. Then came the forced conversions,rnthe extinction of positive science, persecution, and pyres. AmmianusrnMarcellinus said: “The wild beasts are less hostile tornAPRIL 1996/21rnrnrn