"Declining Western culture is restoring the gods of
The worship of sex, drugs, Mammon, and power is the cult of the ancient gods who are waking up and returning to us.
And these ancient gods have one thing in common: they are devoid of pity.
They know neither forgiveness nor mercy.
They do not recognize the rights and privileges of past actions or of promises for the future.
The modern, well-formed young woman can easily be a priestess of Ashtoreth so long as her body is suited for the role.
How desperately she endeavors to prolong her period of service and become immortal—but inevitably there is no mercy, and the useless body is cast onto the rubbish heap.
And there is just as little mercy on the part of Mammon.
Whoever loses his money is deprived not only of wealth, but of life itself, for man now belongs to his money.
So it is with all these new gods of the world, who, like the ancient Aztec gods in their relentless demand for more sacrifices, ultimately require the human sacrifice."
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
From On Being Free by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz