Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Quote of the Day: Faith
“Economics is not the central problem of this century. It is a relative problem which can be solved in relative ways. Faith is the central problem of this age. The Western world does not know it, but it already possesses the answer to this problem – but only provided its faith in God and the freedom He enjoins is as great as Communism’s faith in Man.” — Whittaker Chambers, Witness
These words remain applicable today, and yet so many of our current political debates focus on economics. As a parent of children attending public schools, I see faith in God being deliberately replaced with faith in man. Schools eagerly preach the religion of environmentalism under the guise of science, or English, or whatever other subject they can tangentially relate to its themes.
I wonder if it is possible to separate religion from education; the secular beliefs that are taught seem to presume the superiority of man over God. In her speech at the UN last week, Greta Thunberg seemed to understand the limits of materialism and economics, instead appealing to emotions and a spiritual need for purpose. Arguing in response that the costs are too high or the solutions not quite effective miss the point. Disagreeing with the imperative for collective action is viewed as heresy.
Published in General
Eliminating the Department of Education should be Republicans’ top priority. It’s not even on the table.
That’s exactly right. But I think the problem is, how do sell this to a very skeptical buyer?
Thoughts, Ricochet?
Faith is a problem, and it doesn’t need to be Judaeo-Christian. Each country must accept some civil faith that commerce is done without coercion and corruption. If so, it will grow and prosper, as with Japan and the Asian tigers. If not, it can quickly go from well-off to ruin, as with Venezuela and Cuba.
The Quote of the Day series is the easiest way to start a fun conversation on Ricochet. There are many open days on the October Signup Sheet. We even include tips for finding great quotes, so choose your favorite quote and sign up today!
My quibble with Chambers: If Communism had any faith in Man then it wouldn’t entail nearly as much social control over individual behaviour.
I think they had too much faith in man – some men, anyway.
It had faith in Man, not in individual persons.
Perfect selection from a timeless book. This is the central thesis of the book and indeed the guiding principle for Chambers path in life after he came to this belief.
I would however agree with with MG that Chambers was mistaken about Communism’s faith in man. I think they were far more cynical than he believed.
Alas, I am afraid the western civilization must come back to faith i n order to survive but will not do so without some horrible tragedy that provides a moment of clarity. I don’t know what that would be.
I had already picked out a different quite from Witness for my QOTD so tune back in on October 6th.
I hope my August 5 QOTD from Witness was an inspiration for some of these fine quotes! It was a revealing book.
http://ricochet.com/658839/quote-of-the-day-wrong-side-of-the-tracks/
That may be a worthy long-term goal, but I might be satisfied by high school students being required to read Chambers’ introductory “Letter to My Children,” along with other books and essays that challenge the prevailing secular group-think.
I find that I like individual teachers, respect their capabilities, and value what they teach my children, especially math and music. However, the schools do push students to espouse simplified and one-sided opinions about environmentalism, climate change, and identity politics. I also find that the schools over-emphasize self-confidence and completely ignore humility. I think that’s consistent with a world-view that thinks human beings can look to themselves instead of God for solutions to eternal problems.
I tried going back to older QOTD posts and see if Witness was already covered, but I hadn’t seen yours. I could have included so many different parts from just the beginning “Letter.” I confess that I haven’t been following QOTD regularly, but I want to read and post more regularly. I forced myself to commit to a post, and I had a lot of different sources in mind. I read Witness about 8 years ago, but I love to pick it up and re-read the intro.
Including states’ departments of education.
I hear an awful lot of invocations of “The Universe.” Oddly enough, the Universe behaves just like a God, responding to prayers (“intentions”), sending messages via coincidence, inspiring experiences of the numinous and bestowing or withholding good fortune.
Why The Universe would bother with a planet smaller than a single grain of sand set against the vast sands of the Sahara, let alone attend to the love lives and career choices of that planet’s human inhabitants …well, the theology hasn’t been worked out yet. But I’m sure, given a few millennia, it will all come together.