Last one in, pull up the ladder!

 Here is part of an interesting missive from Mark Steyn's mailbox (scroll down to the letter entitled, "Prodigal Sons and Daughters"):

"...I personally feel such desperation to ally myself with some kind of homogeneous Western bulwark against Islamic values that I am considering joining the Roman Catholic Church. It may be in the end, after all, the only legitimate universal fortress of Western values left standing after Islam has re-populated most of Europe. And as for embracing Catholic dogma or doctrine... it's not necessary."

 That last sentence is a doozy. I wish L.G. Eaglesham would explain how one can, in any meaningful sense, "join" the Catholic Church without embracing its dogmas or doctrines. Do we really need MORE people who claim to be Catholic while ignoring what Catholicism teaches (except for the bits that happen to make them feel better)? That will save civilization for sure!

  I agree that the Church may well be the last light shining when all the others have gone out, but apparently some also regard it as a giant tree house we can all scuttle into when the radical Islamo-bullies take over the neighborhood. And never mind the silly tree house club rules - you just have to mumble the password because you are only returning "socially".

  In order to make a stand against militant Islam, or any other harmful ideology, we need to start by acknowledging the truths which form the basis of our "Western values". Otherwise, we are building on sand. If there are no absolute truths which one is obliged to embrace, by what logic can we argue that our civilization is even worth standing for?