The fall of universalism and the religion of secularism's rise

• Author: GOL KALEV
• Published date: 07 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

A narrative of exceptionalism emerged in America – a society of risk-takers who dared to think big, take action and immigrate. A counter-narrative developed in Europe: When the going got tough, the weak ones left for America and the resolute ones stayed in Europe. Those two narratives are inevitably on a collision course: stay/let time pass/be passive/accept/linger vs. move/ immigrate/be active/fight/ascent ("Lech Lecha").

This was the same collision course between the prevailing narrative in Babel and that of Abraham's "Lech Lecha" (Go!), which as discussed in a previous article – "The exodus from Babel continues" – was possibly in reference to the departure from Babel (for example, Abraham was from Ur Kasdim. Babel is later referred to as Kasdim).

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Babel offered a template of utopian universalism: "And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech." Today, the advocates of universalism argue that if we would have "no country and no religion," then – as the John Lennon song goes – we can "imagine all the people living life in peace."

Babel's universalism was intertwined with anti-theism, attempting to build a tower "with its top in heaven, and let us make us a name." Hence God acts against Babel, saving humanity from itself.

The story repeats itself some 5,000 years later: in one of history's astonishing reversals, after 18 centuries of monotheism, Europeans abandoned their faith in God, and adopted a new religion in its place: secularism (interestingly, this coincided with Europe's stunning fall from grace).

The European "secular religion" is missionary, aggressive and exclusive, e.g. "mono-atheistic," adapting the concept of the exclusive jealous Lord (El Kanay) to European secularism. Universalism is a cornerstone of this new European religion.

The only problem is that it does not work.

Failure of universalism – then and now

From the little we know about life in Babel, it seems far from the utopic universalist model. Classes emerged. Babel's apparent founders, the sons of Noah had a hierarchy: Shem was elevated and Canaan – "a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren." Similarly, Nimrod was deemed the "mighty one."

In addition, being an island of humans surrounded by animals made the idea of Babel unsustainable (we later learn about the danger of such a constellation, when God explains that he will...