The Second Reformation. One aspect of the post-60s 'revolution' that gets little attention even from conservatives is that it saw a retreat, across the Western world, from the Christian conception of the individual as an intrinsically flawed being – prone to sin and prone to error. Now maximal 'self esteem' is valorised right across the poltical spectrum. People drunk on their own virtuous self esteem don't like to give 'free speech' to anyone who might challenge them.
A culture that acknowledges that most people are ineluctably less than perfect will be less susceptible to the sanctification of particular sub-sets as ‘victims’. And those designated as such would be less likely to feel it as a reason for abrogating any personal responsibility for the condition of their lives.
Yes indeed. I have no faith in God either but I often wish I did. Also (at risk of over-complicating your excellent speech) there are those (as you pobably know) who make a somewhat plausible case that Wokeness is in some ways more a corruption of Christianity than a total rejection of it....as in 'the last shall be first' taken to absurd lengths.
I agree on the Christian elements of wokeness, although I think they’re fading fast because the new ideology doesn’t have the internal coherence to resist paganism (or indeed stronger religions like Islam, Aikenhead was executed for preferring Muhammad to Christ, but I wonder if the reverse will be happening in Europe a century from now....)
In early Christianity, rabbits symbolized rebirth and resurrection. In pagan traditions, they symbolized intuition, luck, and transformation. In animist traditions, they were a sign of cleverness.
So, I think we’ll need all the symbolic attributes of the rabbit (and much, much more) to get ourselves out of the increasingly Orwellian nightmare that continues to roll out day after day after day...one can only hope (and speak out, and vote, and -- if worst comes to worst -- fight for what we believe in).
"The thirty-odd years since the Reagan-Thatcher 1980s have not been a happy time for right-of-centre administrations in the Western world. This is despite having been allotted plenty of years ‘in power’ by voters wanting them to fight their traditional corner. They certainly did not vote for the cultural dismemberment that actually happened in those years but most tend nevertheless to accept all the ‘woke’ nonsense around them with a shrug, a bit like they accept the weather. But a new, fiercer wind is blowing in conservative journalism – particularly in America........"
Louise, your reply was reminiscent of Jordan Peterson’s response when asked if he believed in God. After quite pause, he said something like “ I don’t know, but I choose to live my life as if there is”
It probably underlies our issue with mental health too. When your own self image is so unrealistic, you are bound to be disappointed when you find you are not perfect.
Liked this bit: "To look a person straight in the whites of their eyes and tell them that water isn’t wet, and to see them give way to your position without demur, is to demonstrate your power over them."
It's amazing what people will go along with in order to demonstrate allegiance to powerful people and conformity to the currently fashionable ideas.
Christian missionaries have noted that all cultures fall into 3 categories: guilt/innocence (Judeo Christian), honor/shame (most cultures), and fear/power (tribal/polytheistic). The guilt innocence culture is the only one in which truth is co-equal with power (and love). This is a trinity of attributes of the Holy Trinity. In the others, truth will give way to power and pride. There are many existentialists (atheists and agnostics) that want to live a life that comports with Christian values - they see the benefits. But what we are seeing is a rise of the other end of the existentialist spectrum that throws away the mask of value and simply goes ahead and implements the nihilism that has been hiding behind that mask.
If you would like to read more about the 3 cultures then I recommend "The 3D Gospel", by Jason Georges. Please keep in mind that the purpose of this book is to help Christians relate to other cultures. It does not go in a philosophical direction. I have taken his observations and written a paper that is more philosophical. That paper is entitled "Explaining the Present western Cultural Decline by Borrowing an Observation from Protestant Missionaries." This is unpublished. If you want to send me your email address to russelldodds@msn.com I would be happy to send you a copy. If you want to read a long book about this subject then I recommend "The Book That Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization", by Vishal Mangalwadi. If you want to read more about Existentialism then you might like "The Universe Next Door", by James Sire.
I realized recently that I should also recommend the book, "Delighting in the Trinity", by Michael Reeves. One of my favorites. His observations of what it means to believe in the triune God of the Bible are amazing.
I appreciate the pushback that you and other courageous people are providing in these crazy times. I think of other great minds that have contributed over the past decades: Frederick Hayek, Neil Postman, Thomas Sowell, Daniel Hannah (Inventing Freedom), George Will. As far as I can tell, none of them were (or are) Christians. They defend truth for the sake of the temporal benefit of maximizing human flourishing within the constraints of human fallibility. An even stronger defense comes from those who believe in the eternal benefit of the truth along with a God who calls Himself the Light of the World. He calls us to be light and to speak the truth. For those agnostics on our side who see the battle lines solidifying in the Western world, the case for the truth of Christianity deserves another look. I mentioned on a previous post the value of "Three Theories of Everything" by Ellis Potter, and "Believing is Seeing" by Michael Guillen. I also recommend "The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert", by Rosario Butterfield. I recommend you interview Ms. Butterfield. You would find it quite interesting.
Just yesterday I had lunch with an old friend who is a tech entrepreneur and a big giant moose of a progressive man. Every once in awhile in our conversation his tone indicated a growing Awakening in his mind that some of his compatriots were less than honorable and more than just juvenile in there insidiousness. Fascinating to watch the good-hearted people of the left begin to realize how evil the heart of man can be. It's not just pedophiles that offer candy before they victimized.
Love love love this article but I confess I am very sad that there is no audio 😢 we all really enjoy listening to your articles in your own words/voice. You are a fantastic orator
The Second Reformation. One aspect of the post-60s 'revolution' that gets little attention even from conservatives is that it saw a retreat, across the Western world, from the Christian conception of the individual as an intrinsically flawed being – prone to sin and prone to error. Now maximal 'self esteem' is valorised right across the poltical spectrum. People drunk on their own virtuous self esteem don't like to give 'free speech' to anyone who might challenge them.
A culture that acknowledges that most people are ineluctably less than perfect will be less susceptible to the sanctification of particular sub-sets as ‘victims’. And those designated as such would be less likely to feel it as a reason for abrogating any personal responsibility for the condition of their lives.
https://grahamcunningham.substack.com/p/invasion-of-the-virtue-signallers
Christopher Lasch saw it all coming in the 70s with his book 'The Culture of Narcissism'.
Well said. I don’t know if I believe in God, but the concept of original sin seems to me to be obviously true.
Yes indeed. I have no faith in God either but I often wish I did. Also (at risk of over-complicating your excellent speech) there are those (as you pobably know) who make a somewhat plausible case that Wokeness is in some ways more a corruption of Christianity than a total rejection of it....as in 'the last shall be first' taken to absurd lengths.
I agree on the Christian elements of wokeness, although I think they’re fading fast because the new ideology doesn’t have the internal coherence to resist paganism (or indeed stronger religions like Islam, Aikenhead was executed for preferring Muhammad to Christ, but I wonder if the reverse will be happening in Europe a century from now....)
Oh I Thank God I won't be around to witness that...unless things go even more pear-shaped than now really fast.
What does stronger religion mean?
Isn’t original sin (in this context) just a variation on the the concept of humility? And, of course, narcissism and hubris are “of a piece”.
just my curiosity....Why are you his (ie George's) rabbit?
In early Christianity, rabbits symbolized rebirth and resurrection. In pagan traditions, they symbolized intuition, luck, and transformation. In animist traditions, they were a sign of cleverness.
So, I think we’ll need all the symbolic attributes of the rabbit (and much, much more) to get ourselves out of the increasingly Orwellian nightmare that continues to roll out day after day after day...one can only hope (and speak out, and vote, and -- if worst comes to worst -- fight for what we believe in).
Thanks for all that...."not a lot of people know that!" as Michael Caine famously said.
On a more serious note, our Orwellian nightmare is a subject I write apon regularly....such as: https://grahamcunningham.substack.com/p/mrs-thatcher-and-the-good-life
"The thirty-odd years since the Reagan-Thatcher 1980s have not been a happy time for right-of-centre administrations in the Western world. This is despite having been allotted plenty of years ‘in power’ by voters wanting them to fight their traditional corner. They certainly did not vote for the cultural dismemberment that actually happened in those years but most tend nevertheless to accept all the ‘woke’ nonsense around them with a shrug, a bit like they accept the weather. But a new, fiercer wind is blowing in conservative journalism – particularly in America........"
Louise, your reply was reminiscent of Jordan Peterson’s response when asked if he believed in God. After quite pause, he said something like “ I don’t know, but I choose to live my life as if there is”
There's an old Theodore Dalrymple line that's roughly as follows: "People don't need self-esteem; they need self-respect."
It probably underlies our issue with mental health too. When your own self image is so unrealistic, you are bound to be disappointed when you find you are not perfect.
A point that should be given more attention
Liked this bit: "To look a person straight in the whites of their eyes and tell them that water isn’t wet, and to see them give way to your position without demur, is to demonstrate your power over them."
It's amazing what people will go along with in order to demonstrate allegiance to powerful people and conformity to the currently fashionable ideas.
You're an awesome lady, Louise.
Thank you for an excellent article.
Christian missionaries have noted that all cultures fall into 3 categories: guilt/innocence (Judeo Christian), honor/shame (most cultures), and fear/power (tribal/polytheistic). The guilt innocence culture is the only one in which truth is co-equal with power (and love). This is a trinity of attributes of the Holy Trinity. In the others, truth will give way to power and pride. There are many existentialists (atheists and agnostics) that want to live a life that comports with Christian values - they see the benefits. But what we are seeing is a rise of the other end of the existentialist spectrum that throws away the mask of value and simply goes ahead and implements the nihilism that has been hiding behind that mask.
Whoaaaa... this comment blew my mind 🤯 can you point me to any articles or books where I can read more about this??
If you would like to read more about the 3 cultures then I recommend "The 3D Gospel", by Jason Georges. Please keep in mind that the purpose of this book is to help Christians relate to other cultures. It does not go in a philosophical direction. I have taken his observations and written a paper that is more philosophical. That paper is entitled "Explaining the Present western Cultural Decline by Borrowing an Observation from Protestant Missionaries." This is unpublished. If you want to send me your email address to russelldodds@msn.com I would be happy to send you a copy. If you want to read a long book about this subject then I recommend "The Book That Made Your World: How the Bible Created the Soul of Western Civilization", by Vishal Mangalwadi. If you want to read more about Existentialism then you might like "The Universe Next Door", by James Sire.
I realized recently that I should also recommend the book, "Delighting in the Trinity", by Michael Reeves. One of my favorites. His observations of what it means to believe in the triune God of the Bible are amazing.
Louise, this is glorious sarcasm: “How trivial this all is, they say, while they hurriedly jog backwards in the face of an advancing enemy.”
I appreciate the pushback that you and other courageous people are providing in these crazy times. I think of other great minds that have contributed over the past decades: Frederick Hayek, Neil Postman, Thomas Sowell, Daniel Hannah (Inventing Freedom), George Will. As far as I can tell, none of them were (or are) Christians. They defend truth for the sake of the temporal benefit of maximizing human flourishing within the constraints of human fallibility. An even stronger defense comes from those who believe in the eternal benefit of the truth along with a God who calls Himself the Light of the World. He calls us to be light and to speak the truth. For those agnostics on our side who see the battle lines solidifying in the Western world, the case for the truth of Christianity deserves another look. I mentioned on a previous post the value of "Three Theories of Everything" by Ellis Potter, and "Believing is Seeing" by Michael Guillen. I also recommend "The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert", by Rosario Butterfield. I recommend you interview Ms. Butterfield. You would find it quite interesting.
Just yesterday I had lunch with an old friend who is a tech entrepreneur and a big giant moose of a progressive man. Every once in awhile in our conversation his tone indicated a growing Awakening in his mind that some of his compatriots were less than honorable and more than just juvenile in there insidiousness. Fascinating to watch the good-hearted people of the left begin to realize how evil the heart of man can be. It's not just pedophiles that offer candy before they victimized.
You should know that the portrait is not of Thomas Aikenhead, as you say in the article, but of Denis Direrot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Diderot
oh whoops...
That's what I came here to say. It's the portrait by Louis-Michel van Loo.
ok let's take it as a symbolic (!) depiction
Love love love this article but I confess I am very sad that there is no audio 😢 we all really enjoy listening to your articles in your own words/voice. You are a fantastic orator
Oh I forgot! Will add today
recently came across Louise and her work. Excellent stuff. Thank you for sharing your voice.
Yes, we need to see the truth that it is a lie.