Speaking of mass enthusiasm and/or collective hysteria, Sydney is soon to experience such an orchestrated happening via the so called world youth circus event---an event which PT Barnum would have been proud of.

All of those suckers waiting to be fleeced and sold fairy floss "religion"

Which by the way isnt a "world youth" day at all.
The title is a propagandistic lie.
It is an event for catholic youth. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the overwheliming majority of the worlds youth who are NOT catholic.

The "star" attraction will be there in his colourful clown suit and all of his usual manipulative lies.
Look at me, look at me. Be enthusiastic about me---papa pope.
And his "magisterium" delusions.

Plus the "faithful" who are really suckers will even get to be mystified by the bones of some pious sucker who died 80 years ago.
And even get to see a theatrical re-enactment of the cruci-FICTION.

The cult of the dead.

Similar enthusiasms occur around the Dalai Llama.

And used to occur when Billy Graham came to town with his show-biz mass hysteria hucksterism, direct from the USA---the nation of salesmen.

But isnt the iconic figure of "jesus" itself the centre of a NOW (and 2000 year old) world-wide cult of enthusiasm?

In this day and age isnt "jesus" just another consumer product with which the usual dreadfully sane every-person can glamorize or console themselves.

The internet is flooded with websites and blogs full of (fake) enthusiasm for "jesus".
The "emergent" jesus.
The left-behind jesus, and the anticipated "rapture".
Jesus and (or via) the "victory" of reason.

Christianity became a world dominant cult via the point of a sword, and the barrel of a gun---even via cruise missiles.

Its "success" had nothing whatsoever to do with the great calling of Saint Jesus of Galilee to practice self-transcending love in all relationships.
What has self-transcending love got to do with the world-conquering politics of Empire? Then or now.

Denton is a bad example here. He's pretty much what you've described. He hides behind passive/aggressive agenda laden leading questions couched in his cheesy self-angrandising humour. Enuff rope is pretty much merely a device for showcasing the 'talents' of Denton. He always does it at his guests expense. Will never forget his racist jibes at an indigenous actor at the logies one year. What a dick.

Kennett, being a politician, obviously knows how to read people and understands an interviwers ruse when he's in the middle of one. Obviously denton met his ego match where kennett wouldnt lay down whilst denton did his 'look-at-me-its-all-about-me' thing, whilst trying to come off all interesting, probing and expansive.

Dentons thing is all about trapping people thru leading questions and distorting the answer so as to make it look like the guest has hung themselves. Soooooo denton that. He always has an agenda, namely... denton.

Personally, when socialising, l do the opposite of what the author describes, preferring to eschew the company of people who steer their agendas thru apparent discussion, question and answer. l much prefer straight talkers, who make direct statements, dont hide behind question markes and say what they mean and mean what they say.

Its truely uncommon to find this sort of thing as we're all pretty much just awash in our own egotistical self-validation. Few people know how to disagree intelligently, or better still have a discourse that develops ideas without asserting a point, proving oneself right, argueing or whatever.

So when the likes of kennett (who can invoke a masterfully arrogant facade when in the company of a microphone/camera/tv studio laden spectator) upstages the media's talking heads, who pretty much do nothing and say a lot (denton)... its quite amusing to watch such stark irony.

Peter -

Don't you consider perhaps that with this article you run the risk of being accused of conflating the etymology and common usage of a word in a rather confusing manner?

While the derivation of words is a subject about which I am, personally, extremely "enthusiastic" I doubt one person in ten would thereby assume I was filled with the rapture of the Holy Spirit. In fact no-one who knew me personally would consider the thought at all.

Yes, I agree word histories are fascinating but, by the same token, one could entitle an article "Beware of nice people" and only a handful of persons would have any idea of why on earth they should be.

Just as fascinating, I consider, is the emergence of new words or the changing of word meaning within our own lifetimes. In this particular case, I think that a study of the word "hype" would get the point across in a manner that would be inclusive to all.

Personally, I encourage enthusiasm - in the commonly accepted meaning of the word - as an antidote to the increasing apathy that holds so many in thrall. It would indeed protect the apathetic from falling victim to the kind of hype which you are discussing, don't you think?

pETER
yOU ARE AN ICONIC FIGURE IN wESTERN aUSTRALIA'S cHRISTIAN COMMUNITY.
How are we to distinguish between the snake oil salesman and the purveyor of spiritual values and direction?

Jeremaids delivered in the most forlorn manner no matter how important the messages will drive people to despair...whatever the truths.

A certain liveliness of manner invites hope and confidence. Imagine trying to sell the latest model Commodore in a way that suggests that it may not be all that is being spruiked.How long do you reckon the salesman will keep his job?

socratease

Ho Hum

Although I could not care about World Youth day I am sure it is far better for our society that when every deviant gathers for the Mardi Gras. The spread of disease and degradation is matched by nothing else.

Romany
Of course you are right about “conflating the etymology and common usage of a word in a rather confusing manner?” is just what I have done. That might be why I had so much trouble writing the article and my dissatisfaction with the result. I seem to remember James Barr writing something about the mistake of taking old meanings of words and transferring them to present day usage. Given this criticism I do find it useful at times to make these comparisons (I did it twice in the one article) because some light is shed on how far we have come. I think that is why the gravestone is so interesting. Enthusiasm used to be a pejorative but now it is the reverse.

I have been reminded through reading Charles Taylor’s new book “As secular age” that most philosophies through the ages had a dim view of the passions, seeing them as illusory, over against the cold light of reason. But then you have the danger of that cold light that has led us into horrors. The history of the West has been, to some extent, getting the balance right, a rationality that is balanced with compassion. But I still see the late modern obsession with passion or enthusiasm a bit of a worry.