Lady Mermaid, a regular reader of this blog, recently posted a lucid summary of freedom and how it relates to the further development of Christian consciousness. I have decided that it deserves a post of its own (slight editing and bold added):
Many traditionalists/reactionaries rightfully argue that the emphasis on individual freedom led to the godless world of today. While individual liberty did lead to the downfall of the West, I don't believe that this downfall was inevitable.
The quote from Berdyaev about this increased freedom leading to God or the devil is the most sobering aspect of this post.
If the Enlightenment had been centered on how to use individual liberty to grow in Christ, it could have a been a great development in man's consciousness.
Unfortunately, the majority of Enlightenment thinkers used their new freedom to reject God. Instead of mankind embarking to better things, the post Enlightenment man fell into the horrors of Communism, Nazism, Facism, scientism, rationalism, "public health", and the security state.
While man has certainly abused the freedoms he has gained over the last two centuries, I agree w/ Berdyaev that God did want us to be able to truly decide to follow Him rather than simply out of habit or tradition. This is why attempts to restore the former traditional paths during the 20th century failed whether it was a Catholic Republic of Ireland or Franco's Post WWII Spain. Modern man is fundamentally different than the medieval or Renaissance man.
I'm not dismissing the spirituality of the past by any means. It's simply that today it has be an individual choice rather than taken for granted.
There is a great price for this freedom if we continue on the wrong path, but there are great rewards if we freely choose Christ.
Many traditionalists/reactionaries rightfully argue that the emphasis on individual freedom led to the godless world of today. While individual liberty did lead to the downfall of the West, I don't believe that this downfall was inevitable.
The quote from Berdyaev about this increased freedom leading to God or the devil is the most sobering aspect of this post.
If the Enlightenment had been centered on how to use individual liberty to grow in Christ, it could have a been a great development in man's consciousness.
Unfortunately, the majority of Enlightenment thinkers used their new freedom to reject God. Instead of mankind embarking to better things, the post Enlightenment man fell into the horrors of Communism, Nazism, Facism, scientism, rationalism, "public health", and the security state.
While man has certainly abused the freedoms he has gained over the last two centuries, I agree w/ Berdyaev that God did want us to be able to truly decide to follow Him rather than simply out of habit or tradition. This is why attempts to restore the former traditional paths during the 20th century failed whether it was a Catholic Republic of Ireland or Franco's Post WWII Spain. Modern man is fundamentally different than the medieval or Renaissance man.
I'm not dismissing the spirituality of the past by any means. It's simply that today it has be an individual choice rather than taken for granted.
There is a great price for this freedom if we continue on the wrong path, but there are great rewards if we freely choose Christ.
RSS Feed
