If “we have never been modern,” why do we all say we have? Why do we say we’re living in an iron cage, that the world has been secularized and disenchanted, that religion has passed its sell-by date?
Perhaps we just like to beat ourselves up.
Or, perhaps the notion of “modernity” plays a protective role.
For instance:
The Bible talks about a violent atonement; modernity says that we’ve outgrown that. Since Kant, we’ve learned to bring in a kingdom of peace without blood. Therefore, the Bible’s not talking to us.
The Bible talks about angels and demons and miracles; modernity says that the world operates by scientific laws. Since Newton, Darwin, and Einstein, we’ve got it figured out. Therefore, the Bible’s not talking to us.
The Bible claims to be divine revelation, and talks about God intervening to speak and act in history; modernity says that the world is a closed system. Since everybody, we know that God, if He exists, couldn’t possibly speak in a way we could understand. Therefore, the Bible’s not talking to us.
It’s all a ruse. It’s a centuries-long, civilization-wide project in “suppressing truth in unrighteousness.”
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Undercover in Canada’s Lawless Abortion Industry
On November 27, 2023, thirty-six-year-old Alissa Golob walked through the doors of the Cabbagetown Women’s Clinic in…
The Return of Blasphemy Laws?
Over my many years in the U.S., I have resisted the temptation to buy into the catastrophism…
The Fourth Watch
The following is an excerpt from the first edition of The Fourth Watch, a newsletter about Catholicism from First…
