I think the conversation that has developed between Randall & Seth reflects the whole "culture wars" theme present within conservative circles today. I think it would be a good exercise for you to read their exchange.
If you want to join the conversation, that'd be great, but before you dive in, here are some points to consider:
- Exactly what is a civilization?
- What are the roots of Western Civilization (Jerusalem or Athens)?
- How far can "Western Civilization" stray from its roots before it turns into a different civilization?
- Is Europe today an example of traditional, historic Western Civilization or is it something else?
- Is this cultural issue something about which Christians should be concerned?
- If Christians should be concerned about the "culture wars", what are their primary means and methods of changing the status quo (political action, armed rebellion, preaching & teaching, etc.)?
3 comments:
Gravelbelly,
I will attempt some abbreviated answers to your very good questions, but really, each of these is worthy of it's own post and extended discussion. Thanks for providing them.
1. What is a civilization?
In a nutshell: A particular people, related by blood, with their own language and culture, dwelling in their own lands. I base this definition on the meaning of the word 'nation' as it is used in the scriptures. Nation = 'ethnos' the root of the english word, ethnic.
2. What are the roots of western civilization?
A mixture of classical greek and roman influences, shaped by 2000 years of christian teaching, culminating in the reformation, with renaissance enlightenment thinking gradually eroding the contributions of Christ's church.
3. How far can 'western civilization' stray from it's roots before it turns into a different civilization?
That remains to be seen. I would say western civilization has been decidedly post-christian for at least 100 years, and I'm tempted to say that the U.S. Constitution itself was a key departure from western norms up until that time. Since then, western civilization has moved steadily away from God; which means western civilization is increasingly suicidal. 'All those who hate me, love death.' The abortion holocaust since 1973 is a graphic example of this suicidal tendency, as is the immigration debate.
4. Is Europe today an example of traditional, historic western civilization, or is it something else?
Europe is about 20 years ahead of the U.S. in the race to commit suicide. European birth-rates are lower then ours, and they are being inundated with muslims, Africans and Asians on a larger scale. This has caused intense social unrest in much of Europe, though the dominant media prefers not to talk about it. There are, however, pockets of Europe which still cling to their catholic or eastern orthodox faith, their language and their ways. The nordic countries are beginning to wake up to the dangers of unrestricted immigration and low birth-rates. The irish, welsh and scots have always had a strong national identity and still cling to many of their traditional ways. Britain is toast, probably France, Italy and Germany too. Russia and the baltic states may survive, and perhaps some of the eastern european states.
5. Is this cultural issue something about which Christians should be concerned?
Biblically speaking, a 'nation' is a large extended family. Should a christian be concerned about his/her extended family? Phrased that way, the answer seems obvious to me.
6. If christians should be concerned, what are legitimate means for changing the status quo?
We first have to recover the whole gospel. God made each christian to occupy a place within a particular family, tribe and nation. We have duties to these social spheres that are not recognized today, for fear of being called 'racists' or whatever. But loyalty to extended family (ie. your race) is something the Lord expects of you, and it's something every race on earth, except white people, actively practice. But for the most part, our preachers have taught the opposite; that our race doesn't matter. B.S., all races matter; our's too. So, recovering a sense of racial solidarity is essential to stopping our slide into extinction. And this sense, rightly understood, is not opposed to the orthodox christian faith.
The second thing we should do is join in covenant with like-minded believers and then support each other. This means geographic proximity and real fellowship day by day, not just on Sundays. We will have to rediscover christian community and local self-government and local interdependence under God. Political action, I think, is greatly over-rated, since the deck is already stacked so heavily against us. We should begin to peacefully separate, as much as we can, from the dominant culture and build parallel institutions for self government. But eventually we will need to produce our own statesmen and other leaders, so we can secede and make it stick.
So . . . a civilization is one nation? Since you seem to identify Western Civilization with the USA, does that mean that Western Civilization began with the colonization of America?
I know it seems like a stupid question, but it seems to follow from the definition you gave. Would you like to clarify?
Gravelbelly,
Sorry, I guess I wasn't very clear. I should have defined as western civilization those predominantly white countries in eastern and western europe, and all those countries descended from them. I would place Canada, U.S.A., New Zealand, Australia and perhaps South Africa in that latter category.
Re-reading my answer, I do tend to focus on the U.S., but of course the U.S. did not invent western civilization. But we are busy dismantling it, brick by brick.
Thanks for the opportunity to clarify. Hope this helps.
Post a Comment