Before cobbling together the first of several failed republics, French revolutionaries slaughtered Christian clerics, looted churches, banned Catholicism, and embarked on a campaign to altogether de-Christianize the country.

Some revolutionaries went so far as to attempt to replace the longstanding state religion with the atheistic Cult of Reason. To this end, cultists swapped out the remaining religious statues in Notre Dame Cathedral for secular busts, engaged in rituals mocking those once practiced on the altar, and paraded around hyper-sexualized women, including an actress meant to portray the goddess of reason.

In a similar spirit, the French kicked off the 2024 Olympics with anti-Christian mockery and substitution — although this time, they opted for men pretending to be hyper-sexualized women.

The ceremony's designer, Thomas Jolly, staged a scene for broadcast clearly intended to resemble Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper." However, instead of faithfully depicting Christ and his apostles, Jolly had a cast of transvestites strike iconic poses on either side of a morbidly obese individual wearing a crown-like halo.

'They attempt, in fact, to obdurate the very principle of the divine.'

Later, a virtually naked man painted blue — who was apparently supposed to be Dionysus, the Greek god of wine-making and ritual madness — who was set upon the table on a plate in front of the mock apostolate proceeded to sing.

In a recent op-ed for Blaze News, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) noted:

In European history, conquerors often commemorated and widely publicized their victories by replacing the sacred religious symbols of the conquered with their own. In some cases, the conquerors obliterated the sacred landmarks and symbols, building new ones on top of those built and maintained by their predecessors. In other cases, the conquerors would commandeer pre-existing religious symbols and structures, making significant modifications to reflect the values and goals of the conquering authority.

Newly baptized actor and podcast host Russell Brand recently pondered precisely what symbols these would-be conquerors are attempting to advance as well as what is ultimately at the heart of the French's latest cultish display.

"I wonder when it became explicit that what we are engaged in is a type of spiritual warfare; that secularism, rationalism, and materialism themselves are kind of godless, not even pantheistic or pagan faiths," said Brand. "They attempt, in fact, to obdurate the very principle of the divine."

Brand noted further that he was struck by the "deliberate evocation of Christian imagery in order to what? Deride it? In order to what? Attack it? Undermine it? What are the values that are being proposed here? Is it hedonism? Is it decadence? Is it individualism? Is it that the self — your own personal set of decrees, desires and edicts are the apex and supreme hierarchy of ideologies? That there is nothing superior and supreme to which we have to surrender?"

Brand concluded that what is behind this propaganda is in line with the project of the Paris' 18th century cultists of reason: to "derail the sacred and engender a kind of state of nihilism where everything might be regarded as a truth."

While the podcast host later indicated he was not altogether convinced that the coloration of the Dionysus character in a corpse-like color and his presentation as a meal was intended to be a direct mockery of the Eucharist, he said the display was at the very least oriented toward "nihilism, unbelief, celebration of selfishness."

On the basis of Brand's comments in a video posted Wednesday to his X account, it appears he regards this nihilistic project as a trap for the soul.

"There are times when I've told you that I felt far for Christ," said Brand. "This is a verse that brought me back into connection with our Lord. It's from Isaiah. 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine.'"

"My feelings of faith have altered lately because I've had the sense that through fear I might take back my self will, that I might, through fear, think I have to be in control of the situation," continued Brand. "If you feel that you are being attacked, if you are under threat, it seems obvious, rational, sensible, to take back control."

"But the sensation of faith — allowing Christ in His sub-molecular potency, right down to the granule, right out into the cosmological, to order all things, for we are dealing with the king of eternity," added Brand.

Brand noted that surrender to Christ means liberation from "the cubic reality afforded to you by materialism and rationalism, and into a transcendent realm where you are given grace — where once I have accepted sin and surrendered, and allowed Him to carry me, I am granted a new freedom. ... I don't belong to myself anymore and that is true freedom."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!