I watched this fantastic interview by Kate Wand with Robert Spencer about how the Roman Empire continued in the east (Constantinople/Byzantium) for 700 years after it was defeated in the west (Rome) and that its great unifying strength was Christianity. Spencer posits that the Empire was ultimately defeated by a Muslim insurgency followed by an invasion, and he thinks the same is happening to the West now. Spencer quotes the Koran to show how Islam is fundamentally a violent creed which has always supported the death of apostates and the use of deception and violence to sustain its spread. He quotes a section in the Koran which exhorts followers not to ask too many questions as it might cause them to doubt their faith in Islam, and he contrasts this with the pursuit of light and truth exemplified by the teachings of Jesus (he quotes the bible but I can’t remember which section). He acknowledges the atrocities committed in the name of all the great religions, including Christianity, but says that is not the true Christian faith. He has a very interesting take on the Crusades that I hadn’t heard before. Anyway, the interview takes a few minutes to get going but is then absolutely fascinating! https://youtu.be/0EPIB-1XJcE
The "Protestant worldview" is fully capable of articulating principles of human nature and community that builds upon the image of God with wisdom. It's the question of building anything larger than a local community that can unify people who reject basic underlying principles of biology and reality that has people like Keller stymied. Anyone can say we need a revival, and many do, but ultimately the wind will blow wherever it wills.
Even the early church, though it suffered so much, had the advantage on us in that they didn't have to convince people that their chromosomes matter.
Exactly! The Christian conception of freedom, in philosophical terms, is that the ability to achieve any positive effects in this world only comes from obeying God in one's actions and intent - for Christ is the vine and we are but the branches. The ability to obey God itself only comes from God through the gifts of the sacraments and the Holy Spirit. In other words, in the absence of God there is no morality, there is no community ("church") of believers, there is no order upon which to build, and all human actions are ultimately chaotic and meaningless. What Mark is describing as Libertarianism is an example of that chaotic, individualistic, search for meaning and context that will never be satisfied.
I do believe this is the belief about morality held by many of the founding fathers when they stated that the form of government they proposed could only succeed for a "moral and religious people." I don't think they properly anticipated the potential clash between the idea of Christian freedom and the mistaken idea that individuals might have regarding themselves as being "free" to do whatever they want (essentially Libertinism).
Thank you for this.
Richard C. Cook
https://www.claritypress.com/product/our-country-then-and-now/
https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/category/agi/
https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2024/02/netanyahu-and-biden-priests-of-satan/
I watched this fantastic interview by Kate Wand with Robert Spencer about how the Roman Empire continued in the east (Constantinople/Byzantium) for 700 years after it was defeated in the west (Rome) and that its great unifying strength was Christianity. Spencer posits that the Empire was ultimately defeated by a Muslim insurgency followed by an invasion, and he thinks the same is happening to the West now. Spencer quotes the Koran to show how Islam is fundamentally a violent creed which has always supported the death of apostates and the use of deception and violence to sustain its spread. He quotes a section in the Koran which exhorts followers not to ask too many questions as it might cause them to doubt their faith in Islam, and he contrasts this with the pursuit of light and truth exemplified by the teachings of Jesus (he quotes the bible but I can’t remember which section). He acknowledges the atrocities committed in the name of all the great religions, including Christianity, but says that is not the true Christian faith. He has a very interesting take on the Crusades that I hadn’t heard before. Anyway, the interview takes a few minutes to get going but is then absolutely fascinating! https://youtu.be/0EPIB-1XJcE
The "Protestant worldview" is fully capable of articulating principles of human nature and community that builds upon the image of God with wisdom. It's the question of building anything larger than a local community that can unify people who reject basic underlying principles of biology and reality that has people like Keller stymied. Anyone can say we need a revival, and many do, but ultimately the wind will blow wherever it wills.
Even the early church, though it suffered so much, had the advantage on us in that they didn't have to convince people that their chromosomes matter.
Exactly! The Christian conception of freedom, in philosophical terms, is that the ability to achieve any positive effects in this world only comes from obeying God in one's actions and intent - for Christ is the vine and we are but the branches. The ability to obey God itself only comes from God through the gifts of the sacraments and the Holy Spirit. In other words, in the absence of God there is no morality, there is no community ("church") of believers, there is no order upon which to build, and all human actions are ultimately chaotic and meaningless. What Mark is describing as Libertarianism is an example of that chaotic, individualistic, search for meaning and context that will never be satisfied.
I do believe this is the belief about morality held by many of the founding fathers when they stated that the form of government they proposed could only succeed for a "moral and religious people." I don't think they properly anticipated the potential clash between the idea of Christian freedom and the mistaken idea that individuals might have regarding themselves as being "free" to do whatever they want (essentially Libertinism).