The Culture War Is a Symptom of the Cosmic War
If we want to save the West, we need to start talking about the Christian God
There’s a lot of talk about the culture wars.
But the culture wars - fights over everything from the meaning of Australia Day to the definition of women - are symptomatic of something much larger, and far more important.
The culture wars are a natural consequence and sub plot of the main narrative which , of course, is the cosmic war.
The real story right now is not the West’s rejection of its Christian roots.
American philosopher Thomas Nagel summed up the attitude of many in the West when he said …
“I want atheism to be true, and I am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers.
“It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.”
It wasn’t that science had disproved God, as some argued (indeed hoped) that it would. Far from it. The more we learn about the universe the more compelling belief in God becomes.
The West’s abandonment of God has far more to do with desire than with data, with selfishness than with science.
We prefer a universe without rules, boundaries or constraints. We are so wedded to the idea of individual autonomy that it seems wholly undesirable that anyone should ever tell us what to do.
The idea of a God who might disagree with our personal life choices is highly offensive.
So we abandoned any idea of a cosmic reality and now the ripple effects of that decision have become a cultural tsunami.
In waging a cosmic war against the Christian God we have said a firm ‘no’ to two things; authority and absolutes.
We have said not to authority since, if there is no God above me, who is anyone to tell me what to do?
The crisis in authority - be it in the church, the political system or in law enforcement - is not because a few priests fiddled with children or because politicians broke promises or because police took bribes.
Institutions have always been corrupted because institutions have always been populated by flawed human beings.
The crisis of faith in our institutions has been primarily because, as a culture, we have rejected authority. We are loath to recognise it, let alone honour it, let alone submit to it.
What becomes of a culture in which no-one recognises authority?
We have also waged war on absolutes since, if there is no God beyond me, then how can you ever judge me, or indeed anything? By what measure will you evaluate me?
And who is anyone to say what is ‘normal’ since - if there is nothing beyond us - there is no standard to which you can point.
Thus, everything is up for grabs. You say a woman can’t have a penis. I say she can. And the argument can never be resolved because, without a God beyond us, the entire issue has become a matter of personal opinion.
Trans women are women. Trans women are women. Trans women are women. Trans women are women.
The left chant slogans believing that if they say something often enough reality will bend to conform to their opinion. And it’s entirely logical in a universe where nothing exists beyond their own opinion.
But what becomes of a culture in which no norms can ever be agreed upon?
So the culture wars are interesting and important but they are merely symptomatic of the cosmic war.
And therein lies the problem for conservative political commentators. We bemoan the culture wars every night on TV but we are playing around the edges. They are not addressing the root issue.
Moreover, we continually express surprise that the culture wars keep rolling on. Just when we think the culture has reached peak stupid, it gets even stupider. And we cannot understands it.
Bud Lite goes woke and then broke, only for another corporation to do the exact same thing.
We bang our heads thinking, ‘Why don’t they ever learn? It makes no sense’.
But since when did rebellion against God make sense? The culture war is not guided by principle since it is, at heart, a rebellion against all principle - being cosmic in nature.
Professing to be wise, they became fools.
One of my favourite truisms is that what cannot continue will not continue.
The culture wars will end in one of two ways - either in spiritual revival or a descent into violence that necessitates an authoritarian response.
There are green shoots of a spiritual revival.
Author and political commentator Aayan Hirsi Ali recently announced her conversion to Christianity.
She said that, among other things, she had realised that a belief in the Christian God was the only thing powerful enough to hold society together.
Last week British comedian and commentator Russell Brand announced his conversion to Christianity. He said he got sick of talking to himself and so decided to start talking to Jesus instead.
Ali and Brand join other public figures like Jordan Peterson and Andrew Klavan who boldly express their belief in God and, consequently, in the need for mankind to acknowledge authority beyond themselves and norms that don’t answer to lobby groups.
A return to faith in God would save Western culture from complete collapse. But without a spiritual revival, the culture will continue to fragment and divide - no recognition of authority and no acceptance of norms.
The result will be tribalism. And history tells us that tribalism always ends in violence.
Ironically, a culture that rejects cosmic authority will eventually require State authoritarianism to control it. We are seeing the early stages of that now.
Everywhere, the power of the State is growing. Politicians are insisting they need more powers to police every aspect of our lives.
If the cosmic war is not surrendered, then expect to see increasing authoritarianism in the culture. How else to create order among people who will not submit to authority and who will not recognise any truth but “my truth”?
And so, culturally, we find ourselves at a huge fork in the road.
If conservatives - whether believers or not - want to save the culture, then they must start talking about the Christian God - in the media, in the workplace, in our families.
Because all the craziness we are seeing in the culture is a direct consequence of the cosmic craziness released by the Thomas Nagel’s of this world. And there is a little bit of Thomas Nagel in all of us. That’s the real problem, and if that is not addressed, Australia Day and transgenderism are the least of our problems.
A well written submission James and judging by the comments it has been well received by like minded believers but I am not convinced that the biblical god is a reality or that believing in god is the answer to world problems. Good luck convincing the world that it is.
I believe people power is the middle ground between Christianity and violence and that is where the solution lies without having to adopt either extreme.
I admire those who have the faith and genuinely believe in and practice Christianity but for too long many of the administrators of the Christian Religion have not exactly been good examples to follow.
Allegations of kiddy fiddling, fornication, debauchery, fraud etc does not help the religion.
Might I suggest, if you want to revive Christianity, in no particular order:-
. Name calling and disparaging comments by some about people who choose to not believe will not be likely to attract newcomers and borders on bullying.
. Go easy on the ‘you must love god’, because if you don’t you will spend eternity burning in the fires of hell stuff. It doesn’t sit well with young people and it relies on a fear factor.
. Get rid of the boring, tuneless hymns which young people don’t understand.
Perhaps try rock music or at least a modern version of it. Oh, wait, that’s been tried and set up by an alleged paedophile and his son who were more interested in collecting funds for huge buildings and private planes.
. Don’t tell people that if you believe in him, he will protect you. I can tell you first hand that it didn't work in real life for some who did believe and I didn’t.
. Quit telling people that he sees all and hears all. Big brother stuff in this day and age doesn’t go over well. Once again, it is an illogical fear factor.
I realise that my comments will not sit well with many people on this site and I’ll cop a bit of flak but I can’t and won’t pretend to be something I’m not.
Excellent James!