And Western culture is now expanding geographically. Until only a few decades ago, Eastern Europe was a different cultural unit. Today, Russia and Ukraine, although not as advanced technologically as other countries, are a part of the West — in terms of what people wear, what they read and write, the music they listen to and produce. Israel, too, is now identified with Western culture. Israeli culture, although connected to Jewish culture, is not identical with it. Israelis, too, behave, dress and think like Westerners. They even speak like them, albeit using a slightly different language. But then again, Western culture never had one language. 

The expansion of Western culture has both historical meaning and cultural significance. The Eurovision Song Contest is not a tremendously high-level cultural event, but it is one of Western culture's manifestations and every year more countries participate in it. It also becomes shallower.

But most importantly, the influence and power of Christianity — which had been extremely strong in Europe and the regions connected with it — are disappearing. To be more precise, they have already disappeared. Indeed, it has been noted that the Western world is now living in the void that Christianity has left behind. I think this is a very good definition of contemporary Western culture. Does this mean that there are no Christians any more or that there is no Pope in Rome? No. There is also an Archbishop in Canterbury, but what power or influence does he have over England? Christianity as an essence — as a power, as a meaningful factor — is disappearing. The number of churchgoers is dwindling, and the Church is selling property in order to survive.

Good or bad, this is a fact, a part of contemporary life. Christianity has left behind lots of memories, ways of expression and numerous superstitions, which tend to remain long after faith has disappeared. Someone once said that people still hate the Jews for having killed a God they do not believe in. We are now living in a world that is empty of Christianity or Judeo-Christianity. And this void is now being filled with something else and that something else is paganism.

Yes, contemporary Western culture is a pagan culture. It is ruled by the gods of olden time, only with new names and different images. The first is the god of power — formerly known as Baal (literally, "owner") — who sometimes appears in a slightly different form as Mammon, the god of money. Another such god is Ashtoreth (Astarte or Ishtar), the goddess of sex and fertility. In our time, though, it is no longer the goddess of fertility but only of pure sex.