The New Babel and the New Pentecost

The building of the first Babel was an act of pride. (cf. Gen 11) Like Adam and Eve, the builders didn’t want to receive from God; they wanted to obtain things on their own. They sought to construct a tower “with its top in the heavens” and to make a name for themselves, lest they be “scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” They desired to raise themselves to God’s level – to be self-sufficient – and to establish unity on their own terms.

To frustrate their aims and punish their pride, God confused their language and scattered them. The lesson of Babel is clear: it is human pride that has produced confusion and division in the world.

We are witnessing the construction of a new Babel. Ours is a post-Christian society, an anti-culture that has rejected the Word of God. In our pride, we want on our own terms and by our own accomplishments what creatures can only receive from God. We have thrown off His reality – about gender, sex, life, etc. – and tried to construct our own.