Calling for a Return to the Doctrinal Ideals and Kingdom Ethics of the First Reformation
https://cne.news/article/4938-how-arts-draw-europe-back-to-paganism
This article struck me as rather strange. In many respects I can resonate with Placentino's concerns about pagan revival in connection with 18th and 19th century Romanticism, but at the same time I found his arguments wanting and often guilty of begging the question.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y772jlpgzo
In early July 2025, the Dalai Lama finally announced that he would have a successor, that there would be a reincarnation and a continuation of the office, which in Tibetan Buddhism is a manifestation (or emanation) of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. The Bodhisattvas are beings in the Mahayana tradition that have delayed their entrance to the state of Nirvana in order to help mankind. They are functionally a type of divine entity that some would compare to angels or gods, but such terms and concepts don't exactly fit. Nevertheless they are venerated and appealed to - and so from a Christian standpoint they are akin to gods are at least demi-gods.
From time to time I will watch (usually in segments) the 2004 film The Ister, which is a three-hour fascinating re-telling and interpretation of Heidegger's talks on the Hölderlin (1770-1843) poem which was written sometime in the early 19th century.
A Calvinist blogger (from the South) posted about wanting to understand his Celtic roots and then listed some books being read to that end.
The original nation under the Articles of Confederation wouldn't hold together and so for many the revolution was betrayed by the creation of the Constitution and federalism. Some are aware of this to be sure but the masses of flag wavers are not.
Atlanticism represents a historical anomaly – Europe under subjugation from an outside power. For many decades this was limited to Western Europe but with the collapse of the USSR, the United States extended its reach through NATO and other mechanisms to include all the former Warsaw Pact nations and portions of the former Soviet Union itself.
All things considered, I don't disagree with Wyman's general narrative regarding the rise of the modern West and how it surpassed previous super-power states and cultures like that of the Ottoman Empire.
But rather than celebrate Capitalism and the way it has reshaped the world, I would offer some different narratives to consider.
Patrick Wyman's The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance and Forty Years that Shook the World (published in 2021 by Twelve) focuses primarily on the years1490-1530. He argues this period was critical for understanding the modern world as the West moved through these four decades of transition.
In the process of surveying some of the main historical events of this period, he teases out key cultural markers that (he argues) set the stage for the coming period and the world we know today.
The Churchill Cult in the United States finds its most tangible expression in Fulton, Missouri the site of his famous speech. Though most people are unaware of this, a small London church (reconstructed by Wren after the 1666 fire) was dismantled in the 1960's and moved to Missouri and is a symbolic platform for the Churchill museum. In a kind of strange commemorative fusion it combines Churchill, Christianity and (it would seem) the call to take up arms in the Cold War.
Following recent Christian discussions on historiography, it was inevitable that criticism directed at Historicism would eventually be put on the table. In this case the reference is to the argument for inevitable historical processes that govern human development and progress. Following in the footsteps of thinkers like Hegel, the philosopher studies these processes and by understanding them, a right view of history can be developed and with it a coherent political theory and strategy.
God, Family, and Country – what's wrong with that? This is the response of the Christian Right to the electoral victory of Giorgia Meloni and her choice slogan. In fact it sounds a lot like what one hears with the Trumpite movement. Meloni who is all but set to be the next prime minister of Italy has certainly been making the rounds and has garnered considerable support in American Right-wing circles. Fluent in English she has been able to blend in nicely at the National Prayer Breakfast and CPAC.
It goes without saying that the death of Elizabeth II is a cultural milestone. It's unsettling for many as one of the foundational pillars of British society has been removed. The monarchy continues but because of the length of her reign and the stability it brought during the tumultuous cultural upheaval of the post-war period – the stability is associated less with the monarchy as a whole but is instead associated specifically with her person. And now she's gone.
The New Testament tells us to honor the king and given the Neronic context of these writings and apostolic exhortations, that imperative remains true even if the regime can be categorised as bestial. As such, rebellion or collaboration with anti-monarchical forces is forbidden to Christians in all cases.
On this Martin Luther King Jr. day we are once more reminded of the massive revisionism taking place within Right-wing circles. I've written about this repeatedly and focused deliberately on these points back in 2012 and 2014. This revisionism is something I noticed years ago and was left somewhat stunned to hear figures like Glenn Beck and Charles Colson attempt to appropriate the King legacy and argue that somehow his ideas were resonant and representative of their own. It was a re-writing of the history and yet few seemed to notice.
Revelation 18.23 refers to the sorceries of fallen Babylon. It could be a reference to Babylon in general or more specifically to the merchants of Babylon. Ultimately it doesn't matter as the mercantile-mammon driven activity of its 'great men' are part and parcel representative of the Babylonian system as a whole along with its larger list of deceptions and evil.
When the Magisterial Reformation appeared on the scene in the Sixteenth Century it was followed by many episodes of iconoclasm. Protestant mobs would rush into Catholic buildings and tear out and smash art, statues, relics, and architectural elements that they found objectionable.
In recent days while reflecting on Afghanistan and the US withdrawal, I have thought more and more of Vietnam and what happened there in 1975. I was prompted to revisit the 2014 PBS film Last Days in Vietnam which was aired at the end of April 2015 – the fortieth anniversary of the fall of Saigon.
It's hard to miss. In Evangelical and Confessional circles there's a heavy despondency over the Biden presidency and the fact that Trump lost the election. There's an ominous tone of coming persecution and hard times. America is in a state of crisis we're told. If we don't do something to stop this trajectory there won't be any Christian America anymore.
Recovering the First Reformation - Toward a Proto-Protestant Narrative of Church History (XXII/Final)
We ought to understand that technology and art are not easily
separated and both are to some extent inseparable from questions of
epistemology and morality. Additionally, if we grasp that socially conservative
attitudes toward the arts and culture (while inconsistent) cannot be divorced from
their larger cultural narratives surrounding epistemology and previous
generational progress and values, it behooves us (lest we be swept away by
these powerful cultural forces and heavily promoted arguments) to apply the otherworldly
and non-conformist ethos of the First Reformation to the present day. Our
culture is in crisis and thus to many, the arguments made by conservatives seem
very persuasive and grounding but from a New Testament perspective they are flawed
at almost every level.
An otherworldly and non-conformist ethos leads us to a
cultural posture and interaction that embraces neither the Classic nor the
Enlightened. In fact in many ways we are better able to resonate with the postmodern
critique and even the cynical. We benefit from critiques that expose the world
system's inherent flaws and contradictions, that reveal it to be an idolatrous
fraud and resting on transient and degenerating foundations – as Paul teaches
in 1 Corinthians 7.29-31 and Romans 8.19-23. This should not upset us but
rather drives us all the more toward the inescapable choice between dependence
upon revelation and the hope it grants or a collapse into nihilism.