The New American Enlightenment Movement
Enlightenment is a relative term. At its root, social and political enlightenment is an intellectual movement that gradually - but sometimes violently - transfers authority from institutions to individuals, from perceived oppressors to the enlightened oppressed.
To those who hold power, especially the type of arbitrary power the Church held over Western culture for 1, 500 years, the word enlightenment was a death knoll. Their ecclesiastical grip on all aspects of society in the West strangled any life form aberrant to itself, including education, government, natural philosophy (science) and faith. The principle in play here is that any light entering the dungeons of arbitrary authority is anathema to that authority, much like water is to fire.
It took the likes of Martin Luther and other 16th century "heretics" to crack open the windows of arbitrary church authority, shedding reformation light on a dogmatic truth that was permanently hidden under a bushel of papal corruption and sanctimonious deceit. Luther and his Wittenberg hammer struck repeated blows at an arbitrary Church that acted solely in its self- interests, in the name of Jesus. A heavy ecclesiastical hand squeezed the life out the masses and any dissenters by instilling a palpable fear of Hell into the illiterate and ignorant via excommunication from all grace or a national interdict on their eternal bliss, all of which fed the flames of and irrepressible Papal furnaces.
To free thinkers, however, enlightenment was, and continues to be, a hopeful prospect using any number of intellectual or artistic disciplines such as poetry, literature, science and philosophy to chip away at the mountains of oppressive, arbitrary authority. New "dangerous" ideas seek out expanding opportunities of self-expression, gradually enabling the oppressed to break the shackles of ignorance, always seeking the means to participate in the liberating activities of light and truth instead of succumbing to the smothering weight of church dogma.
18th Century American Colonial enlightenment thinkers joined their European counterparts by attacking King George's monarchical grip with the three simple, but highly explosive, goals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. "Several key thinkers influenced the American Enlightenment, including John Locke, Adam Smith, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson. John Locke argued that individuals have the right to create, alter, or abolish governments by their common consent." Boundless.com.
The 18th Century American Enlightenment served to break the shackles from both fledgling nations and individual citizens previously bound by the authority of Church and State. The flames of the growing European Enlightenment helped ignite the powder keg of The American Revolution.
Then a decade later, the American model inspired the French masses who coined their own phrase, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity to describe their bloody revolt from the arbitrary institution of the Monarchy to the individual designs of empowered citizens.
I suggest America today, if not the world, is experiencing another Enlightenment. The foundations of what has been centuries of arbitrary Christian-based morality are eroding under the relentless pressure of progressive ideas that champion the rights of all citizens to live their convictions without fear of social and economic repercussion.
In terms of individual liberty versus institutional authority, progressives view the likes of gender identity bathroom choice as important as any other constitutionally guaranteed right. Marriage in its traditional Biblical sense is an affront to those who see the Bible as little more than an oppressive form of authority that must be vanquished. Many LGBTQ practitioners see fundamental Christianity as illegitimate and as immoral as our Founding Fathers saw King George's government.
Enlightenment is a process of overthrowing oppressive authority. So, when progressive activists control the majority of corporate entities, personal and governmental decisions are predictable. If a state decides to keep restroom use traditional, they face the loss of immense amounts of corporate money via the boycotting of their tourism industry.
So, if traditional values are ever pitted against the new politically correct left, no business or political leader will opt for the rights of any group that endangers the economic well-being of their state. The old, standards of fundamental Christianity will always lose now to the new progressivism that is considered by the PC powerful, refreshing enlightenment.
This phenomenon is played out almost weekly in our land. Governors, businesses and churches chafe under the irrepressible influence of liberal political correctness groups, only recently backing down from perceived morality positions in Indiana and Georgia. Then in North Carolina where next year's scheduled National Basketball Association championship activities have been rescinded, costing the area hundreds of millions of dollars because of the state embraced conservative gender identity and public restroom policies. Finally, Confederate flags are disappearing across the South, and Confederate soldier's statues are being removed in several states because of what they represented more than a century ago.
That's how the new enlightenment looks. And any who think life will eventually revert back to the good old days of Biblical morality and family values will be frustrated and disappointed, if not angry and defeated.
Like it or not, the church and the Bible are the model arbitrary authorities that are falling under the daily attack of the new "enlightened" minorities. Some popular political figures today catch the attention of millions, mostly because they appear fearless in the face of the politically correct left power brokers. To some, the change from the old morality to a new one is welcome. To others it represents the end of their understanding of social order and the good old American way.
How one sees that dichotomy will determine their level of optimism or pessimism for the world today and in the immediate future.
JG
8/6/2016
2/20/18
THE GREAT AWAKENING BY CONTRAST
"The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1790, gained momentum by 1800 and, after 1820, membership rose rapidly among Baptist and Methodist congregations whose preachers led the movement. It was past its peak by the late 1850s. The Second Great Awakening reflected Romanticism characterized by enthusiasm, emotion, and an appeal to the super-natural. It rejected the skeptical rationalism and deism of the Enlightenment." Wikipedia
As opposed to the Great Enlightenment.
The words describing the movements are pregnant with imagery. Awakening the inner man versus Enlightening the inner man. One is emotionally based ROMANTICISM, the other is educationally based PRAGMATISM. One is reaction, one is process. One builds the authority of institutions, the other dismantles them. One is based on divinity, the other on humanity. JG
*French Revolutionary "Freedom"
On the whole, the French Revolution was hostile to Christianity and to institutions which the church had built over the centuries.
The revolutionists pursued an erratic policy toward church and faith. At times they attempted to sway the priests to their side. Very early in the revolution, while the king was still alive, the Catholic church was declared the only church of the nation. But, more typically, the revolutionaries acted directly contrary to the interests of the church.
The churchmen were not without blame. Their bishops were largely drawn from the old ruling classes. As their persecution of the Huguenots showed, they were without tolerance. Indeed, had the Huguenots not been driven out of France, their zeal for Christ, their Protestant ethics and their faith might have prevented the revolution. The cruelties of the inquisition in France were notorious. Too often the established church had not shown Christ's love. Clearly, the Philosophés, who rejected the church and embraced Deism, Agnosticism or Atheism, had a strong historical rationale for their attacks on the church. And many who occupied high positions within the Revolution thought as they did.
As early as August 1789, various church fees were abolished. When the Declaration of Rights of Man was issued, it merely tolerated religion, with the words "No one is to be molested for his opinions, even his religious opinions..." A decree in November 1789 declared all church property was at the disposal of the nation. A month later a vast amount of church property was ordered sold. Early the next year, religious vows were forbidden. Yet the National Assembly agreed to pay the priests' stipends. When the Pope condemned the Declaration of Rights, half the priests swore to uphold the new constitution whereas the rest refused. They were considered anti-revolutionaries (called "non-jurors").
Non-jurors were forbidden to preach in their churches. They could only hold mass. Many non-jurors therefore renounced state pay and embraced poverty. Increasingly they came under restriction and attack.
The anti-clerical faction must have been greatly pleased when legislation closed all religious houses on this day, August 4, 1792.Cluny, an abbey hoary with tradition, was destroyed. Other abbies became prisons. Later that month an oath of liberty and equality was devised to which all clergy must accede. On the 26th, with passions running high, a decree ordered all non-juring clergy out of the nation within two weeks. Only the sick and aged alone were excused. The penalty was exportation to tropical Guiana.
Before all was over, French priests were hunted, harassed and executed. A Deist god was proclaimed by Robespierre, and at last the Goddess Reason (represented by a prostitute) was made the official deity of a France whose daily, blood-crazed zigzags in policy were anything but reasonable. Some venerable Catholic buildings became the scenes of mocking rites. These developments serve to remind us that it is easier to lash out at political chains than to throw off the chains of sin.
Bibliography:
* Aulard, François Victor Alphonse. Christianity and the French Revolution. New York: H. Fertig, 1966.
* Durant, Will and Ariel. Rousseau and Revolution. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967.
* Lefebvre, Georges. The Coming of the French Revolution. New York: Vintage Books, 1947.
* Munro and Whitcomb. Medieval and Modern History. New York, Appleton, 1912. Source of the image.
* Varoius encyclopedia articles.
Last updated April, 2007.
Published: Wednesday, April 28, 2010
To those who hold power, especially the type of arbitrary power the Church held over Western culture for 1, 500 years, the word enlightenment was a death knoll. Their ecclesiastical grip on all aspects of society in the West strangled any life form aberrant to itself, including education, government, natural philosophy (science) and faith. The principle in play here is that any light entering the dungeons of arbitrary authority is anathema to that authority, much like water is to fire.
It took the likes of Martin Luther and other 16th century "heretics" to crack open the windows of arbitrary church authority, shedding reformation light on a dogmatic truth that was permanently hidden under a bushel of papal corruption and sanctimonious deceit. Luther and his Wittenberg hammer struck repeated blows at an arbitrary Church that acted solely in its self- interests, in the name of Jesus. A heavy ecclesiastical hand squeezed the life out the masses and any dissenters by instilling a palpable fear of Hell into the illiterate and ignorant via excommunication from all grace or a national interdict on their eternal bliss, all of which fed the flames of and irrepressible Papal furnaces.
To free thinkers, however, enlightenment was, and continues to be, a hopeful prospect using any number of intellectual or artistic disciplines such as poetry, literature, science and philosophy to chip away at the mountains of oppressive, arbitrary authority. New "dangerous" ideas seek out expanding opportunities of self-expression, gradually enabling the oppressed to break the shackles of ignorance, always seeking the means to participate in the liberating activities of light and truth instead of succumbing to the smothering weight of church dogma.
18th Century American Colonial enlightenment thinkers joined their European counterparts by attacking King George's monarchical grip with the three simple, but highly explosive, goals of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. "Several key thinkers influenced the American Enlightenment, including John Locke, Adam Smith, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson. John Locke argued that individuals have the right to create, alter, or abolish governments by their common consent." Boundless.com.
The 18th Century American Enlightenment served to break the shackles from both fledgling nations and individual citizens previously bound by the authority of Church and State. The flames of the growing European Enlightenment helped ignite the powder keg of The American Revolution.
Then a decade later, the American model inspired the French masses who coined their own phrase, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity to describe their bloody revolt from the arbitrary institution of the Monarchy to the individual designs of empowered citizens.
I suggest America today, if not the world, is experiencing another Enlightenment. The foundations of what has been centuries of arbitrary Christian-based morality are eroding under the relentless pressure of progressive ideas that champion the rights of all citizens to live their convictions without fear of social and economic repercussion.
In terms of individual liberty versus institutional authority, progressives view the likes of gender identity bathroom choice as important as any other constitutionally guaranteed right. Marriage in its traditional Biblical sense is an affront to those who see the Bible as little more than an oppressive form of authority that must be vanquished. Many LGBTQ practitioners see fundamental Christianity as illegitimate and as immoral as our Founding Fathers saw King George's government.
Enlightenment is a process of overthrowing oppressive authority. So, when progressive activists control the majority of corporate entities, personal and governmental decisions are predictable. If a state decides to keep restroom use traditional, they face the loss of immense amounts of corporate money via the boycotting of their tourism industry.
So, if traditional values are ever pitted against the new politically correct left, no business or political leader will opt for the rights of any group that endangers the economic well-being of their state. The old, standards of fundamental Christianity will always lose now to the new progressivism that is considered by the PC powerful, refreshing enlightenment.
This phenomenon is played out almost weekly in our land. Governors, businesses and churches chafe under the irrepressible influence of liberal political correctness groups, only recently backing down from perceived morality positions in Indiana and Georgia. Then in North Carolina where next year's scheduled National Basketball Association championship activities have been rescinded, costing the area hundreds of millions of dollars because of the state embraced conservative gender identity and public restroom policies. Finally, Confederate flags are disappearing across the South, and Confederate soldier's statues are being removed in several states because of what they represented more than a century ago.
That's how the new enlightenment looks. And any who think life will eventually revert back to the good old days of Biblical morality and family values will be frustrated and disappointed, if not angry and defeated.
Like it or not, the church and the Bible are the model arbitrary authorities that are falling under the daily attack of the new "enlightened" minorities. Some popular political figures today catch the attention of millions, mostly because they appear fearless in the face of the politically correct left power brokers. To some, the change from the old morality to a new one is welcome. To others it represents the end of their understanding of social order and the good old American way.
How one sees that dichotomy will determine their level of optimism or pessimism for the world today and in the immediate future.
JG
8/6/2016
2/20/18
THE GREAT AWAKENING BY CONTRAST
"The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1790, gained momentum by 1800 and, after 1820, membership rose rapidly among Baptist and Methodist congregations whose preachers led the movement. It was past its peak by the late 1850s. The Second Great Awakening reflected Romanticism characterized by enthusiasm, emotion, and an appeal to the super-natural. It rejected the skeptical rationalism and deism of the Enlightenment." Wikipedia
As opposed to the Great Enlightenment.
The words describing the movements are pregnant with imagery. Awakening the inner man versus Enlightening the inner man. One is emotionally based ROMANTICISM, the other is educationally based PRAGMATISM. One is reaction, one is process. One builds the authority of institutions, the other dismantles them. One is based on divinity, the other on humanity. JG
*French Revolutionary "Freedom"
On the whole, the French Revolution was hostile to Christianity and to institutions which the church had built over the centuries.
The revolutionists pursued an erratic policy toward church and faith. At times they attempted to sway the priests to their side. Very early in the revolution, while the king was still alive, the Catholic church was declared the only church of the nation. But, more typically, the revolutionaries acted directly contrary to the interests of the church.
The churchmen were not without blame. Their bishops were largely drawn from the old ruling classes. As their persecution of the Huguenots showed, they were without tolerance. Indeed, had the Huguenots not been driven out of France, their zeal for Christ, their Protestant ethics and their faith might have prevented the revolution. The cruelties of the inquisition in France were notorious. Too often the established church had not shown Christ's love. Clearly, the Philosophés, who rejected the church and embraced Deism, Agnosticism or Atheism, had a strong historical rationale for their attacks on the church. And many who occupied high positions within the Revolution thought as they did.
As early as August 1789, various church fees were abolished. When the Declaration of Rights of Man was issued, it merely tolerated religion, with the words "No one is to be molested for his opinions, even his religious opinions..." A decree in November 1789 declared all church property was at the disposal of the nation. A month later a vast amount of church property was ordered sold. Early the next year, religious vows were forbidden. Yet the National Assembly agreed to pay the priests' stipends. When the Pope condemned the Declaration of Rights, half the priests swore to uphold the new constitution whereas the rest refused. They were considered anti-revolutionaries (called "non-jurors").
Non-jurors were forbidden to preach in their churches. They could only hold mass. Many non-jurors therefore renounced state pay and embraced poverty. Increasingly they came under restriction and attack.
The anti-clerical faction must have been greatly pleased when legislation closed all religious houses on this day, August 4, 1792.Cluny, an abbey hoary with tradition, was destroyed. Other abbies became prisons. Later that month an oath of liberty and equality was devised to which all clergy must accede. On the 26th, with passions running high, a decree ordered all non-juring clergy out of the nation within two weeks. Only the sick and aged alone were excused. The penalty was exportation to tropical Guiana.
Before all was over, French priests were hunted, harassed and executed. A Deist god was proclaimed by Robespierre, and at last the Goddess Reason (represented by a prostitute) was made the official deity of a France whose daily, blood-crazed zigzags in policy were anything but reasonable. Some venerable Catholic buildings became the scenes of mocking rites. These developments serve to remind us that it is easier to lash out at political chains than to throw off the chains of sin.
Bibliography:
* Aulard, François Victor Alphonse. Christianity and the French Revolution. New York: H. Fertig, 1966.
* Durant, Will and Ariel. Rousseau and Revolution. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967.
* Lefebvre, Georges. The Coming of the French Revolution. New York: Vintage Books, 1947.
* Munro and Whitcomb. Medieval and Modern History. New York, Appleton, 1912. Source of the image.
* Varoius encyclopedia articles.
Last updated April, 2007.
Published: Wednesday, April 28, 2010
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