{"id":52303,"date":"2014-05-03T00:53:16","date_gmt":"2014-05-03T07:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?p=52303"},"modified":"2014-12-29T00:18:45","modified_gmt":"2014-12-29T07:18:45","slug":"joe-carter-is-more-optimistic-than-i-am","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2014\/05\/joe-carter-is-more-optimistic-than-i-am.html","title":{"rendered":"Joe Carter is More Optimistic Than I Am"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u2026about the lack of influence the satanic Enemy of God Ayn Rand has had on some very significant Catholics in the Public Square, but he is on the side of the angels in warning people away from this deeply evil woman and her work.<\/a><\/p>\n

For instance, this very public Catholic, lionized as a great hero and thinker by discernment-free conservatives, looks to Rand as *the* great moral inspiration for his life and work:<\/p>\n

<\/iframe><\/p>\nHere are some quotes from this man, which Catholics bent themselves into pretzels to deny, lie about, \u201ccontextualize\u201d and ignore during the 2012 election, an election that could have, if conservatives had had their way, put this worshipper of the Enemy of God Rand a heartbeat away from the presidency:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\u201c<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.google.com\/search?sourceid=ie7&q=I+give+out+Atlas+Shrugged+as+Christmas+presents%2C+and+I+make+all+my+interns+read+it&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7ACAW_enUS400\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\">I give out Atlas Shrugged as Christmas presents, and I make all my interns read it<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\nAnd:<\/p>\n\u201c<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.google.com\/search?sourceid=ie7&q=I+give+out+Atlas+Shrugged+as+Christmas+presents%2C+and+I+make+all+my+interns+read+it&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7ACAW_enUS400#hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us%3AIE-Address&rlz=1I7ACAW_enUS400&sclient=psy-ab&q=Ayn+Rand%2C+more+than+anybody+else%2C+did+a+fantastic+job+explaining+the+morality+of+capitalism%2C+the+morality+of+individualism%2C+and+that%2C+to+me%2C+is+what+matters+most&oq=Ayn+Rand%2C+more+than+anybody+else%2C+did+a+fantastic+job+explaining+the+morality+of+capitalism%2C+the+morality+of+individualism%2C+and+that%2C+to+me%2C+is+what+matters+most&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=serp.12...48403.48403.1.50682.1.1.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0.FJkFU0cVsqI&psj=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=465ea372558c726c&biw=1140&bih=503\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\">Ayn Rand, more than anybody else, did a fantastic job explaining the morality of capitalism, the morality of individualism, and that, to me, is what matters most<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\nAnd:<\/p>\n\u201c<a title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.google.com\/search?sourceid=ie7&q=I+give+out+Atlas+Shrugged+as+Christmas+presents%2C+and+I+make+all+my+interns+read+it&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7ACAW_enUS400#hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us%3AIE-Address&rlz=1I7ACAW_enUS400&sclient=psy-ab&q=The+reason+I+got+involved+in+public+service%2C+by+and+large%2C+if+I+had+to+credit+one+thinker%2C+one+person%2C+it+would+be+Ayn+Rand&oq=The+reason+I+got+involved+in+public+service%2C+by+and+large%2C+if+I+had+to+credit+one+thinker%2C+one+person%2C+it+would+be+Ayn+Rand&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=serp.12...61287.61287.2.63520.1.1.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0...0.0.k93TZuAB8uw&psj=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=465ea372558c726c&biw=1140&bih=503\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\">The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand<\/a>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\nOnce the heat got to him, Ryan compounded this egregious moral blindness, not by repenting it, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2012\/08\/uncomfortable-truth-dredged-from-the-memory-hole.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">but by lying that St. Thomas, not Rand, was his real guiding light, and by pretending the public record of his enthusiasm for Rand was an \u201curban legend\u201d.<\/a><\/p>\nAnd as he did so, the response of a huge number of Catholics was to float the absolutely ridiculous lie that Ayn Rand was Aristotle to Ryan\u2019s Aquinas: a brilliant diamond in the rough whom the brilliant philosopher politician was polishing into a great servant of Catholic political philosophy the way the Dumb Ox harnessed the Stagirite to the service of the gospel.<\/p>\nIf you believe that, I have a bridge I\u2019d like to sell you. Any Catholic who looks admiringly to Rand, or to a politician whose chief intellectual formative influence is this philosopher deeply admired and promoted by the author of the Satanic Bible?: That Catholic has a screw loose and is stone blind to common sense.<\/p>\nGlad to see Joe Carter warning people away from her toxic, misanthropic, God-hating junk.<\/p>\n<blockquote>There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old\u2019s life: The Lord of the Rings <\/em>and Atlas Shrugged<\/em>. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs. \u2014 John Rogers<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2026about the lack of influence the satanic Enemy of God Ayn Rand has had on some very significant Catholics in the Public Square, but he is on the side of the angels in warning people away from this deeply evil woman and her work. For instance, this very public Catholic, lionized as a great hero […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[212],"class_list":["post-52303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-the-cult-of-rand-is-dangerous"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>Joe Carter is More Optimistic Than I Am<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"...about the lack of influence the satanic Enemy of God Ayn Rand has had on some very significant Catholics in the Public Square, but he is on the side of\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2014\/05\/joe-carter-is-more-optimistic-than-i-am.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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