Dystopia (A Christian Essay on Huxley’s, ‘Brave New World’)

By Richie Cooley

Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World' (not in all public domain lists) has been called a terrific piece of literature ever since its publication in 1932. The lessons that it teaches are even more relevant today. This is a brief review of some of its pertinent themes from a fundamental Christian perspective. The issue of contemporary racism (against Ethiopian Jews in Israel) is also briefly explored.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richie Cooley
• Release date: Dec 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310990113

Richie Cooley

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Dystopia

(A Christian Essay on Huxley’s, ‘Brave New World’)

by Richie Cooley

Licensed by:

Richie Cooley (2015); [edited: (2018); (2020)]

Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International

Email: [e-mail]

Table of Contents

I. Introduction: The Ethiopian Exodus

II. Quirky Counterparts

III. Root Problems

IV. Conclusion: God’s Throne

V. Citations

Before getting started, let’s review a few notes…

*This booklet mostly uses British spelling, except for the quoted material, which sometimes employs U.S. spelling.

*Unless otherwise noted, New Testament Scripture is taken from the Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament: Third Edition (ALT3). Copyright © 2007 by Gary F. Zeolla of Darkness to Light ministry. Previously copyrighted © 1999, 2001, 2005 by Gary Zeolla.

*The ALT3 distinguishes between singular and plural second-person pronouns by means of an asterisk (*).

*The terms LORD, GOD, and Hashem are all ways to describe the personal name of God, often rendered as Yahweh or Jehovah.

*Divine pronouns are normally not capitalized, unless they appear that way in Bible versions or other quotes.

*As a general rule, words that appear in brackets within quotes are not found in the original texts, and were added by the translators or are my personal comments, etc.

*Brave New World is in the public domain in some countries, but not in others. Long quotes should be shared with caution.

I. Introduction: The Ethiopian Exodus

For the last thirty years there have been no conservatives; there have only been nationalistic radicals of the right and nationalistic radicals of the left. -- Aldous Huxley (1946)

I know exactly how he felt (sans the nationalistic left; the radical however surely applies). It’s questionable if humankind has really learned a whole lot since the last world war. I suppose we have learned lessons, yet we have the same sin in our hearts as before; and in the heart, truth will often yield to sinful passions. Ergo, the problem is not that lessons were withheld or misunderstood, it’s rather that lessons are largely wasted on us all.

With that said, I’m saddened by the horrible treatment the Ethiopian Jews have received inside the land of Israel. Some brave and noble Jews (such as David Alliance) worked hard and received the blessing of God to help evacuate these people from Ethiopia/Sudan a few decades ago; yet for what? To be treated like second-class citizens?

Wow, this all sounds familiar.

As people of African descent were treated coarsely in the U.S. (and still often are), so they are being treated coarsely in Israel. The interesting difference however is the extreme modernity of the Ethiopian bigotry. You see, when it comes to race relations in the U.S., some people say disparaging things about blacks, and the length of time can make reality fuzzy. For example, a popular gangrenous sentiment among racists in the U.S. goes: Ah, these blacks have been free people for such a long time and they are still filling the unemployment lines and the prisons. What’s wrong with them? They must be stupid! They are a drain! They are holding everyone back!

Yet look at Israel. The same sentiments are being asserted and they haven’t had freedom in that culture for generations.

So why are they having problems at integration? Well, they are not really being allowed to participate on equal footing. And since they are not truly welcome, what do you think is going to happen to them? If they can’t be treated fairly and valued, crime rates might rise; whatever hole they’re stuck in might turn into a ghetto or a project; yet whose fault is it?

Racism (there are actually no such things as races) is never owing to inferiority, for all ethnic groups are truly created equal, being the recent offspring of Noah. Therefore what’s happening with Ethiopian immigrants simply amounts to petty bigotry, and ethnic bigotry is the fault of prideful selfishness, and prideful selfishness is the fault of sinful hearts.