Francis Berger
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Only Religion (Christianity) Can Save The West

10/25/2019

17 Comments

 
Most readers of this blog undoubtedly read Bruce Charlton's Notions. As such, they have likely read the important post Dr. Charlton published on his blog yesterday and will find the link I share here superfluous and redundant. Nevertheless, I have decided to share Dr. Charlton's post from yesterday in the off chance that some readers of this blog have not read it. It is my sincere hope that those on the secular right encounter Dr. Charlton's post, and that it makes them pause and re-evaluate their own assumptions about the decline of the West and what it will take to save it. 

Look, many blogs and bloggers, particularly on the secular right, are passionately dedicated to saving the West, but the vast majority of these blogs and bloggers fail to understand that religion, more specifically Christianity, is the only thing that can save the West. This is the crucial point Dr. Charlton makes in his post - a crucial point many simply refuse to recognize.

Without Christianity, the West is doomed. End of story.

No change in government, no return to tradition, no nationalism, no pursuit of ethnic cohesion, and no rehabilitation of conventional morals can or will save the West unless it is firmly rooted in Christianity first.

Simply put - anyone who believes the West can be saved without Christianity is deluded. 

I first came to this realization after reading Solzhenitsyn, but Dr. Charlton's observations on the subject strike me as more pertinent because they focus specifically on the West - here and now. Sadly, the West here and now is even less interested in religion than it was when Solzhenitsyn issued his prophetic warnings regarding the dissolution of the West - prophetic warnings that have since evolved into tangible and palpable realities.  

I have included a few excerpts from Dr. Charlton's post below, but I urge those who have not read the entire text to so by clicking here.

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The West is crumbling towards death.

There is nowadays a strong assumption against positive purposiveness. The modern mind wants to explain everything in terms of negative causes such as accident, randomness, incompetence, selfishness.

And this is partly true - this is 'natural' - and a consequence of the failure of cohesion. This is due to the loss of religion - specifically Christianity. Nothing has ever been found to replace religion as a cohesive motivation for any length of time. Without religion it is rational to live in a selfish and short-termist way because - why not? 

Without religion people are crazy, psychotic, insane - that is they have lost their basic instincts for survival and (overall) seek their own death and also are actively seeking that which is false and which harms them.

It is the loss of religion, the denial of the spiritual, the denial that this is a created world with purpose and meaning, that has made Men seek their own annihilation, and consequently institutional annihilation, national annihilation.

That is the root of it all - that is the primary cause - and if it is not cured, then we will die with absolute certainty; we will die (en masse) physically but also (more importantly) spiritually - both by neglect of that which is needed to survive and by death being an expression of what people most deeply want.
17 Comments
Bookslinger
10/25/2019 20:12:20

Here is the link to Solzhenitsyn's "Templeton Address", which is what I think you are referring to. He blames the Russian Revolution and the horrors of the Soviet state on "Men Have Forgotten God."

http://orthochristian.com/47643.html

Alternate link:
https://orthodoxnet.com/blog/2011/07/men-have-forgotten-god-alexander-solzhenitsyn/

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Centurion_Cornelius
10/27/2019 11:27:16

Great read--and a simple basic plan--DOABLE!

Start now!

"GO, YOU ARE SENT!"

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wha?
10/27/2019 13:04:30

No, christianity will not and cannot "save" anything. It's a failed and proven lie made up in it's entirety to herd the gullible into conforming to yet another cult like dogma. True freedom and Liberty can be and will be the ONLY thing that saves the west.

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Francis Berger
10/27/2019 14:32:10

@ wha?

@ I cannot convince you Christianity is Truth, nor do I want to - that is a conclusion each individual must come to on his or her own, of his or her own free will. It is an active choice - a true act of freedom, if you will. Therefore, I accept your rejection of Christianity because you are ultimately free to choose or reject Christianity.

I am not sure what you mean by True liberty and freedom, but any belief system that rejects the existence of the divine is locked purely into materialism. Hence, the True liberty and freedom you subscribe is nothing more than some form of materialist thinking, which puts it on the same level with mainstream or radical Leftism (which, I imagine, you are probably vehemently against).

True freedom and liberty can only exist if the divine is acknowledged. Absolute truths - this includes freedom and liberty if you believe them to be absolute truths - cannot exist without the primacy of the divine.

Without the divine, concepts like freedom and liberty quickly degenerate into relativism - in other words, each of us is free to do, think, act , and be whatever we want to be at any given time. Dostoevsky said it best, "If God does not exist, everything is permitted."

And if everything is permitted, how do you arrange a meaningful society? Here's something to think about. What are the boundaries of your True liberty and freedom? Where do they begin and where do they draw the line? Assuming they do establish limits or boundaries of some kind, what forms the bases of those limits and boundaries?

You have to know this if you believe society cab be successfully arranged along the lines of True liberty and freedom.

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wha?
10/27/2019 14:56:52

" can only exist if the divine is acknowledged."

Please show your work that proves anything such.

You cannot.

It is pure belief in your cult- and it IS a cult.

Mark Powell
10/28/2019 15:35:54

Thank you! I often think about how I am going to speak to this person or that one about Jesus Christ. I have to go all the way back to establishing an affirmation that most of what exists is unknown to us, then that there is a transcendent world, αἰών, Universe, realm, or whatever you want to call it. In that world there are conscious, self-regarding beings. Some are constituted such that peace, rest, bliss, and love are their marrow and sinew. Others have the nature of chaos, yet they try to stand on their own in pride, which things are contradictory. Integrity and entropy cannot both be the "First Principle". The word "belief" is an unfortunate term that doesn't define much in modern English, and most people don't know what it is that they are called on to do when someone says they should "believe in Jesus". It must be explained that one needs to trust, lean on, embrace, and base one's thoughts and actions upon a faith that Jesus existed on Earth and continues to exist as the Logos of God in eternity. He said it Himself. He said that "...before Abraham was born, I AM", "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you", “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

So was Jesus Christ Himself a monstrous egotist and a lunatic? Some dare to say that He was, but most, even if they only confine their reading to Christ's own words, will be struck by the authenticity of His teaching. Add to that the testimony of hundreds of people who saw Him after the Resurrection.

I was once an agnostic. I could not honestly continue to resist the reality of Christ's existence, His resurrection, and His gracious offer of salvation to everyone.

tz
10/27/2019 23:02:03

You cannot have "true" freedom and liberty without first obtaining the truth. Not what you think it is or what someone else says it is. Jesus is the way, the TRUTH, and the life. The Logos.

Logos is a greek word from John 1 but it means more than "word". It means the orderly cosmos (v.s. chaos), reason, logic, consistency, and truth.

The divide is between Logos and anti-Logos. The French Revolution wanted liberty, equality, fraternity and ended in the reign of terror because it was anti-Logos. The American revolution was based on natural law which is on the side of Logos. Jesus is at the apex of Logos, so you don't have to go that far, but need to have truth based on reason and evidence - Logos - to have any liberty.

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Garry F. Owen, Trooper
10/28/2019 16:57:48

We have seen the differences between a movement with Christianity as a key element and one without. The American and French Revolutions were vastly different because of the Christian faith. Equality, Liberty and Fraternity will not be enough to rebuild the West apart from a firm foundation in the GOD of the Bible.

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Ron W
10/27/2019 13:30:16


"Without religion people are crazy, psychotic, insane - that is they have lost their basic instincts for survival and (overall) seek their own death and also are actively seeking that which is false and which harms them."

Yes, because they are then unwittingly under the control of "the god of this world", the Devil, of whom Jesus said "comes to steal, kill and destroy". The remedy is to receive "the faith of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 2:20)

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Francis Berger
10/27/2019 17:05:40

@ Ron - Yes, that's pretty much it, though I often wonder how many are truly 'unwitting' as they follow evil. Things have become so black-and-white, so easily discernible and obvious.

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DWEEZIL THE WEASEL
10/27/2019 15:22:03

Only Christianity can save the West. Qualify that. It was pointed out how main-stream "Christian" NGO's such as Lutheran World Relief, Catholic Charities, the Baptists out of Waco, Tx have taken Leviathan money(confiscated from me) to import criminals, Muslims, and disease vectors. That will not save the West. CHRISTIANS will save the West.
There is precedent for that. Look at the Polish cavalry turning the tide at the siege of Vienna. Reference Bible-believers such as Thomas Jonathan(Stonewall) Jackson during the War of Northern Aggression. All of you arm-chair philosophers mean well. I hope you can handle the tools of violent self-defense when the need arises. We are way past the point of discussion. Local, local, local means more than communicating your beliefs over a cup of coffee or a backyard fence. Ask yourself; what else do I need to do? Bleib ubrig.

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Francis Berger
10/27/2019 17:13:52

@DTW - Yes, I express more or less the same the post I wrote after this one, though I made no reference to violence or self-defense.

http://www.francisberger.com/bergers-blog/what-kind-of-christianity-could-save-the-west

But I did write a few posts about the 1956 Hungarian Uprising in which I argued in favor of the revolt, despite its failure.

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Fred
10/27/2019 20:16:04

Those you describe are not Christian. They are Zionists who impugn Christ with every evil act they undertake, falsely in His name. You've increased our knowledge of the heart of the problem. Thanks.

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Vlad Z.
10/27/2019 17:44:34

You offer no evidence in support of your claim, but merely reassert it over and over.

Why must we? What Christianity? That of the Early Church, hidden in the catacombs, or that of the Middle Ages where the Pope ruled the Kings, or the democratized churches of Luther and the other reformers?

The idea that this is possible is preposterous. Even if it is desirable, which is questionable.

Either way we need a lot more reasons and details than either of you have provided.

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Francis Berger
10/27/2019 20:52:43

@ Vlad - Take a look around you. What more evidence do you need that materialism alone is not enough? Do you think rightist materialism will be infinitely better than leftist materialism?

I do think a spiritual awakening is possible and desirable, but for the time being I don't believe it is probable, at least not on any grand scale.

In terms of what Christianity . none of the above. We must look forward, not back. Nevertheless, you do mention the Early Church hidden in catacombs. The early Christians had undeniable spiritual power - enough to transform an Empire.

I don't know what the spiritual renewal will look like or where it will come from, but it is needed. Without it, the only choice left is death, and the West is choosing that quite eagerly at the moment.

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tz
10/27/2019 23:08:01

Christianity as in being saved by Christ. See my above comment, but the first order of Natural Law is reason and evidence, and that comes from Aquinas who baptized "The Philosopher" (Aristotle) retroactively. Also see CS Lewis Abolition of Man (CSLewisDoodle on youtube has an entertaining video of each chapter and it isn't very long).
The key here is Christianity manages to repair the tools - the human beings - enough to have a western civilization. Part of the problem is our fallen and corrupt nature rejects and will not obey the most objectively true rule of conduct.

Jesus Christ, even indirectly, is a root cause of civilization. Proposing to build or rebuild civilization with barbarians will fail.

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Francis Berger
10/28/2019 17:59:49

@ Mark Powell - Thanks for the comment. Belief has become somewhat of an empty word in these times, but I am always moved by references to belief in the Gospel of John (the Fourth Gospel).

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