The Western Liberalism of John Locke, Rousseau, and the founding fathers of America, promised to set us free from the tyranny of kings and priests. That the God of the Christian Bible would be a casualty in this great purge seemed to many to be a necessary step on this path to liberation. But far from making us happy and free, sociologists, counselors, and therapists (not to mention the billion dollar pharmaceutical industry) agree that we are of all people most lonely and hopeless. What happened to the freedom we were promised?
Chuck and Aaron discuss how the death of the idea of God stripped us of the philosophical foundation necessary to be a truly moral people. In addition, it gutted the idea of beauty and transcendence, turning them into purely personal opinion. The resulting individualism and commitment to personal freedom has separated us from the types of community which have traditionally given people a sense of purpose and meaning.
As a result, the epidemic of loneliness and despair are only growing. Our culture’s one true hope is to turn to the ultimate meaning provided by the God of the Christian Bible, the God who became a human being to give all human beings value, who died for us because of his deep commitment to that value, and who meets with his humans in the Church, the community which gives us all a framework for selfless purpose and meaning.