0:08 - Jesus' Last Words
8:13 - The Power of Family
13:37 - Family: Virtue Over Blood
26:12 - The Role of Parents
33:02 - Loving Virtue vs. Loving Power
In this lecture, Stefan Molyneux presents a thought-provoking exposition on the significance of family as rooted in virtue rather than mere biological connections. He dissects a pivotal moment in the Gospel of John, Chapter 19, where Jesus, while on the cross, addresses his mother and the disciple John, making profound declarations about familial relationships. This moment represents not only a final testament to his care for his loved ones but also a redefinition of what constitutes family.
Molyneux emphasizes the gravity of Jesus' words, “Woman, behold thy son; behold thy mother,” arguing that they illustrate a transformative view of family where love, virtue, and nurturing take precedence over blood relations. The implication is clear: family ties founded on virtue emerge as more authentic and meaningful than those based solely on genetics. This reflection encourages a reevaluation of how society perceives and values familial bonds. He asserts that family is not defined by inherited traits or lineage but by shared values and moral character.
The lecture further delves into the cultural narrative surrounding family and how societal constructs have often conflated respect and authority with mere biological relationships. Molyneux critiques the notion that individuals should automatically receive reverence based on their familial ties, regardless of their actions or virtues. He draws parallels to contemporary phenomena, where people leverage their titles or societal roles to assert dominance or demand respect, often disregarding moral accountability.
Molyneux also examines the inherent power dynamics within familial relationships, particularly between parents and children. He asserts that parents hold immense power over their children, and thus, this power brings with it a moral obligation. He argues that corruption or dysfunction within parental roles necessitates a higher level of scrutiny and accountability, making moral character essential in understanding familial dynamics. The lecture challenges listeners to consider not just traditional definitions of motherhood and sonship but to recognize that true connections are forged and maintained through virtuous behavior and love.
Moreover, Molyneux draws upon philosophical traditions to anchor his argument, referencing Socratic ideals about morality and virtue. He encourages an exploration of whether respect should stem from an individual's character rather than their title or role—whether as a parent, authority figure, or otherwise. Through this lens, he positions familial bonds as opportunities for virtue, fostering relationships built on care, wisdom, and nurture.
In conclusion, the lecture invites a transformative perspective on family, urging an understanding that transcends conventional categorizations. By prioritizing virtue over biology, Molyneux advocates for a reimagining of familial love and obligation, championing a vision where genuine relationships thrive on ethical foundations and mutual respect. This call to action challenges listeners to assess their own familial connections, demanding a deeper commitment to the principles of love and virtue.
[0:00] This is Bible verses from Stefan Molyneux at Freedomain, John 19, 26.
[0:08] So, this is when Jesus, dying on the cross, sees his mother and a disciple he loved standing nearby. And Jesus says to his mother, as he's dying, Woman, here is your son. And to the disciple, here is your mother.
[0:29] And the disciple took her into his home. Now, when he says, woman, here is your son, it's sort of like lady, honored lady. This is not anything negative. It's a very powerful statement. I'm going to read this again, and then I'll tell you why I think it's so powerful. When Jesus saw his mother there while he was dying on the cross, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, woman, here is your son, and to the disciple, here is your mother. From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. Truly an amazing statement. Now, let's read it in context as a whole, and again, I'm partial to the King James. Myself, there is some belief that even Shakespeare might have worked on this. So this is John 19. Then Pylate therefore took Jesus and scourged him, and the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews, and they smote him with their hands.
[1:40] Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man. When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him, for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid, and went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
[2:30] Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldst have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above. Therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
[2:54] Then from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend, whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.
[3:07] And Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour, and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your king. But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him away. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha, where they, crucified him, and two other with him on either side, one, and Jesus in the midst. And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross, and the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. This title then read many of the Jews, for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city, and it was written in Hebrew and Greek and Latin.
[4:24] Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, write not the king of the Jews, but that he said, I am king of the Jews. Pilate answered, what I have written, I have written.
[4:37] And the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts, to every soldier a part, and also his coat. Now the coat was without seam woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it. Whose it shall be, that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciples standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son. Then saith he to the disciple, behold thy mother. And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished.
[5:45] That the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon his sop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus, therefore, had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. The Jews, therefore, because it was the preparation that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, for that Sabbath day was a high day, besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and broke the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they broke not his legs. But one of the soldiers with the spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it, bear record, and his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled, a bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
[7:06] After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him leave. He came, therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus, therefore because of the Jews' preparation day, for the sepulchre was nigh at hand. Those of us, of course, and I'm sure I share this with you, who have been attacked and pilloried and scorned and harmed by society, can't read any of this, of course, with an unmoved heart.
[8:13] But what is so powerful about this is that we look at almost the last words of Jesus.
[8:24] What does Jesus say, winding back from his death? He said, it is finished. So he says, I thirst, and they put a sponge full of vinegar into his mouth. He says, it is finished. It is almost as if he died from the vinegar, but he died from the cruelty in many ways. It is finished, he said. That is his last phrase, which is a commentary on his own ending. Now, before that, he said, I'm thirsty, and they gave him vinegar. But before that is his last statement that is not inward or historical looking. Jesus' last statement regarding the world is regarding family. Check chapters 26 and 27. Listen to this. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son. Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother.
[9:40] And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. So what does this mean? So powerful to me. It means that the family is virtue, not blood.
[9:58] Behold thy son. This is a man she's not related to. He says to the man, behold thy mother. He's not related to. And they are then family. Now, it's funny, of course, because people talk about family as if it is blood, but that's not true at all.
[10:18] Family is not blood because I have a family, but my wife and I are not related. I'm actually in a multicultural marriage because my wife is Greek and I'm Irish-German. We are really from the opposite ends of Europe. So the foundation of family is love between the husband and the wife who are not related. And the love can only occur because of the virtue.
[10:48] Love is our involuntary response to virtue, if we're virtuous. The foundation of the family, the union, the one flesh of the husband and the wife, is virtue, not blood. My wife and I are, we almost couldn't be further apart in terms of blood, but we are united in our virtues. The foundation of the family is virtue, not blood. And this is what Jesus is saying. What a mother is, is a virtuous, nurturing caregiver. What a son is, is a younger person who loves his caregivers. He didn't say, love each other. He didn't say, take care of each other. He said, woman, behold thy son. And then he saith to the disciple, Behold thy mother, that the foundation of the family is virtue, not blood.
[11:58] Then Jesus says, a mother is a virtuous, nurturing, loving woman. And then in the Ten Commandments, we are commanded, honor thy mother. Jesus is clearly saying this is his last statement about the world. Do you see how foundational and powerful this is? This is his last statement about the world. This is his last moral commandment. love virtue, not blood.
[12:32] Automatic, genetic compatibility and proximity is not the foundation of the family. The foundation of the family is virtue. My mother, when I die, is not like your mother, is not to be treated like your mother. She is your mother and you are her son because you are united in virtue, virtue of the emergent Christianity. So when Jesus sorcery, when the Bible commands, honor thy mother and thy father, and Jesus says, a mother is a virtuous, nurturing caregiver, the Bible is not saying, honor thy mother and thy father, because they gave birth to you. Mother means, Jesus is very clear about this, it's not ambiguous, it's not an analogy, it's not a metaphor, it is a direct statement. This wonderful, beautiful woman, caring, virtuous, and nurturing, is your mother. And you, who love virtue, are her son.
[13:37] And they live together, this older woman and younger man, they live together as family moving forward. what is a family?
[13:50] Well, I'm on the side of Jesus. A family is a collection of virtuous people. Now, I, of course, understand that the child is related to the parents, genetically, biologically, but the parents are not related to each other, at least in Christianity, which forbids cousin marriage. And this is really the battle between tribalism and universalism, between the Old and the New Testament, between the clan and the virtues. This is Jesus' last statement about the world. Other than expressing thirst, which is an inner state, and other than saying it is finished, which is in a state of conformity to prophecy. This is his last statement, his last commandment, his last exhortation to the world. Family is virtue. Family is not blood. Now, one of the fundamental demonologies of the world is.
[14:58] Who create a category they did not earn and demand that you provide respect and obedience and allegiance to the category rather than the actions of the individual.
[15:15] This is an abstract way of saying, of course, you've heard this in a million call-in shows, but I'm your mother, but I'm your father. I just got all the amnes in there for a moment. I'm your father. But the category, mother and father, people demand respect because of the category rather than the actions of the individuals. I am your king. Well, the king was born into it and did not earn it, usually, demands obedience to a category, not the actions of the individual. You must obey me because I am in charge. You must respect me because I am a parent. So people create a skin suit of a category and demand you treat that skin suit as their actual virtuous actions. We saw this, of course, throughout the pandemic and with the vaccine. I am in a white coat. I have a degree. You must obey me. we will create a category called safe and effective and you must treat this mystery juice as if it is automatically in that category and inherits the virtues of that category because that is what it is called it is called safe and effective.
[16:37] As Dr. Fauci said, to question me is to question science itself. I am science. Follow the science. Obey the science. Well, of course, all of my discussions about genetics and IQ and things like that in the past inoculated everyone who wanted to be inoculated against the mystery white coat religion cult called science and how it's practiced with crazy incentives and state control and funding.
[17:08] Anybody who saw the rebellion against the science of IQ was inoculated against the follow the science stuff around COVID. Follow the science, six foot will keep you safe. And the number came out of nowhere. It's even admitted now, the number came out of nowhere. It's not science at all. So people create categories, imbue those categories with virtue, and then insert themselves into those categories and claim that you must treat them as if the category virtue is their own personal virtue. And they do it the other way too, right? So then they will create these categories that are toxic and negative, racist, homophobic, and so on, right? And they will create these categories, and then they will stuff people into these categories as a way of dismissing them from the public square. People create categories. They insert themselves into the virtuous categories, and then they insert their enemies into the toxic, evil, or negative categories and consider themselves as having argued anything, won anything, or achieved anything other than narcissistic, grandiose, megalomaniacal self-praise, and outright libel, slander, gossip, and reputational destruction.
[18:27] Jesus says, a mother is a virtuous woman who nurtures. A son is a man who loves the virtues of his nurturer.
[18:39] These two people who are not related, he says, doesn't say treat each other as if you are mother and son, have the same allegiance as if you are, he says you are her son, she is your mother, because they are both virtuous, loyal, wonderful, caring people. This should be going off like a deep bell in your gut, in your innards. This is base of the spine level of powerful thought.
[19:12] You owe me respect. I'm your father. You have to see me. I'm your mother. This is specifically repudiated by Jesus, by UPB. UPB does not bend around the family. Virtue does not bend around the family. Vice and evil do not bend around the family. It's not a different dimension. It's not X dimension in the spider-verse. It is normal, simple, factual, empirical human behavior. And if you look around you, people are constantly creating these categories, imbuing them with virtue or vice, and putting themselves and their friends in the category of virtue, and putting their enemies in the category of vice. Once you see it, it's everywhere, and it is repudiated by universalism. To say, I love my abusive mother, is saying, morally, the equivalent of, my abusive mother is immune to gravity and the need for food and air.
[20:14] Gravity does not bend around the family. Human beings don't gain immunity for the need for food and air. When they become parents, they are subject to the same physical, rational, empirical laws, and they are subject to the same empirical, universal, moral laws. There is no escape from UPB. There are no asterisks that say, to your family. In fact, it is quite the reverse. This is what I'm saying. It's quite the reverse. If you have corrupt, dysfunctional, immoral parents, they are subject to the greatest moral condemnation because of the power disparity and the helplessness you had as a child.
[20:55] If one woman hates a man and keeps it to herself, the hatred may not be great for her, but at least she's not doing any external harm. If a woman hates a man and then starts spreading lies about him, then she is acting in a destructive manner, assuming that's spreading lies, right? If she then goes to the police and falsely accuses him of a crime, rape or sexual assault or something like that, then she is escalating. If she is a judge and a case involving the man comes before her and she is corrupt and throws him in jail by manipulating the proceedings and so on, right? Then as she gains power and action, so she also accrues moral condemnation, right? The corrupt female judge who throws a man in jail by corrupting the legal process is worse than the woman who says, that guy's a real jerk to a friend, right? So as the power, because some average woman doesn't have the power to throw the man in jail, right?
[22:07] Grows, the moral condemnation grows. As the power grows, the capacity to be corrupt and therefore the moral responsibility for that corruption grows. And there's no greater power disparity in this or any other universe than that between parent and child. There's no greater power disparity. And so parents who are corrupt will create this moral category called respect parents and they'll crawl into that category and say, you must respect me. I'm in this category. You have to respect me. I don't have to be good. I'm in the category. The category demands respect. I'm in that category. You must respect me. And if you don't, I'll put you in the category of ungrateful, bastard, child, selfish, ungrateful, right? I will then put you in a category called, I mean, the actual category is disobeying my wishes, disobeying my tyranny, fighting back, resisting, trying to be independent, think for yourself, and God forbid, trying to negotiate with a narcissist. So the real category is disobedience. But they put that category, they create disobedience category and infuse it with selfish, dysfunctional, greedy, mean.
[23:20] Disrespectful attitude, like they'll create all of this negative stuff. And they put themselves in the category called virtue by virtue of giving birth and raising and then they put those who are disobedient in the category called, bad, wrong, negative, selfish. So corrupt parents are subject to the most condemnation which is why they have to create the category of infinite virtue move into that category and claim individual virtue based upon the category, virtue. I mean, teachers do the same thing in school. They say, I'm a teacher, when they are, in fact, indoctrinators, usually, or just people who want to get summers off and have job security and lots of benefits and early retirement and high pay. They're not teachers. They don't love to teach, and they don't find out what the children want to learn and facilitate learning on the part of the children. They just drone on about centrally plant corrupt curriculum and punish dissenters and questioners.
[24:30] And families inhabit two relative extremes of moral judgment, by definition, or by circumstance, by history, by biology, by evolution. So, families tend to be very good or very bad, very little in the middle.
[24:48] Now, the reason for that is simply that if you, I mean, we all have power over our children. It's really hard to really get how much power you have as a parent until you become a parent. I mean, we remember it, of course, as children, but seeing it from the parent's side is just amazing. I mean, when they're little, in particular, children are almost remote control by parental commandments. You say stop, they'll just stop. Usually. I mean, maybe different for boys, but from what I've experienced, there's so much power. Now, if you use that power well, and you use it for the benefit of your children, and we use that to teach them critical thinking, clear methodologies, virtues, then you are really in the category and on the side of the angels. In the same way that if you're a judge and you apply your rulings and judgments with scrupulous integrity, virtue and fairness, and you defy and oppose bad laws and promote and enforce moral laws, then you are in the category of and on the side of the angels.
[25:52] If a judge takes bribes and throws innocent people in jail and frees the evil and the criminals, then that judge is in the category of and on the sides of the devils. So the more the power, the more you do either great good or great wrong.
[26:13] And there's no greater power than that of parents over children, which means there's no greater opportunity for virtue or vice than being a parent. Thank you.
[26:23] Category of virtue, which bad parents crawl into and demand respect and obedience because of, is a massive subsidy to their wrongdoing. And by taking away this category and say, we judge parents according to virtue, not according to power, not according to power, not because they have power, not because they're bigger or stronger or have money or legal independence or economic independence, we judge parents according to their virtues, then we are saying family is virtue. In other words, the feelings and loyalties and connections that we feel regarding family, which is sort of automatic, we sort of bond with family automatically, inadvertently, for obvious evolutionary protection reasons. So, the bond that we feel, Jesus clearly says, must be based on virtue. A mother is a nurturer, a son is a man who loves an older nurturer, a virtuous woman. She is your mother, he is your son, though you are not related at all and you are not husband and wife.
[27:46] Virtue. And this is what I talked about this before, what Jesus means when he says, I think what he means, obviously with great humility, I think what he means when he says, I've come to set family member against family member. He's saying that when I bring virtue into the family, family discord will increase because the automatic categories of virtue based upon biology will no longer be relevant, that you are measured by virtue, not by power. And this is going back to an old Socratic argument, right, where Socrates says, do we love the gods because they're virtuous, or do we love the gods because they're powerful? Now, if we love the gods because they're virtuous, then there must be some external standard of virtue that they're conforming to, and we love their manifestation of that external standard of virtue. We don't love the gods because they're gods. We love the gods because they're virtuous. And what that really means is we love virtue as it manifests in the gods. So, do we love our parents because they're our parents? Do we respect our parents because they're our parents? Or do we love and respect our parents because they manifest virtues independent of their power? Or, to put it another way, they use their almost infinite power in the manifestation of and pursuit of virtue. you.
[29:06] Do we love a judge because the judge is moral? Or do we love the judge because the judge has power? Right? So one of the things I mentioned on the show many years ago was you almost never see a corrupt judge in a TV show or a movie or anything like that. Almost never see a corrupt judge. The judges are always super honest and super fair and super objective and super DEI, right? So you never, almost never see corrupt judges. You might see a corrupt lawyer, corrupt cop, but you never see a corrupt judge. And the reason for that, of course, is that people.
[29:43] Using the court systems all the time, right? They sue each other a lot, they copyright and so on, right? Intellectual property, theft, and so on. And so if there's a movie that hits it big with a corrupt judge, then the next time that movie studio or the actor or really anyone involved in the movie goes up in the court system, they're concerned that the judge will view them negatively because they portrayed a judge negatively. So this is why judges are always, I mean, it's part to do with propaganda, but this is why judges are always portrayed as virtuous. It's just a form of appeasement, and it's a recognition that the judges are corrupt, that they won't portray corrupt judges, because the judges are so touchy and upset that they'll respond negatively to a negative portrayal of a judge, even in fiction. So, do we love a cop because he is virtuous, or do we love a cop because he is powerful? And cops have a higher requirement for virtue than the average citizen, because the cops can do far more damage, right? Can plant evidence, can lie on the stand, can do all kinds of terrible stuff, right?
[30:44] So, with your parents, do you love them because they have power over you? Which is really just a form of fear. Or do you love them because they're virtuous? To mother someone is not a biological term only, right? Someone's mother can refer to a biological relationship, like a sperm donor is technically the biological father, right? It's not, it doesn't father, it doesn't parent, right? To parent is not a noun, an identification of a static classification, it is a description of action, a process of parenting, which is why I keep asking people in my call-in shows, what advice did your parents give you that you still find a value and use to this day? It's partly how I parent, is to make sure that I do provide these things for my daughter. Or to mother someone is to nurture and take care of them.
[31:37] Jesus says, the mother is not the biology, the mother is not the giving birth, the mother is the caring, the nurturing, the virtue. And since the mother precedes the son, and he says, woman, this is your son, that you are now the mother to this disciple. He's saying that love and virtue, nurturing, care, and wisdom is to mother. And if you kind of grind this spice into your soul, you emerge a different person, no longer subject to the manipulations of manufactured skin suit categories of virtue. But look at the individual. Look at the actions of the individual and judge them according to moral standards and that your judgment must be harsher and more objective, the more power the person has. And nobody has more power than parents.
[32:36] Do we love our parents because of their virtues? Or do we love our parents because of their power? Loving power is a slave fetish, a cult of personality, and a subjugation to cultish threats and love bomb mechanics. Loving power is the default position of the enslaved.
[33:03] Loving virtue is the independent thought of the free soul who is not cowed and bowed by power and does not love the sex doll platonic ghosts of abstract categories, but rather the actions of every individual human choosing soul.
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