Western civilization is a unique blessing to humankind

A subject that finds its way into a variety of comment threads here at LITD is the indispensability of Western civilization. The view that it offers our species nothing of particular value relative to other civilizations is sometimes put forth. While all viewpoints, respectfully expressed and cogently argued, are welcome here, this one concerns me, as it points to the fading of the very idea of a Western civilization.

Most colleges and universities don't give a diddly that such is the case. The most prominent exception to this is Hillsdale College in Michigan, which not only requires such subjects as the study of the Constitution for any and all majors of those on its campus, but makes lecture series on that and other subjects that will enhance one's grounding in Western thought - ranging from C.S. Lewis to Shakespeare to an overview of Judeo-Christian theology to a compare-and-contrast look at ancient Athens and Sparta to the Federalist Papers - available for the general public to take for free.

The school's president, Larry Arnn, is deeply concerned with the increasing ignorance among Westerners of their own heritage:

America’s lack of civic and cultural knowledge is an existential threat, says Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn in his introductory lectureto the college’s free online lecture series, “History 101: Western Heritage.”

“We’re living in a time as if some blight has come across the earth,” Arnn says. “Something fantastic, something deep, something old, something elevated, something high is basically being obliterated.”

He points to the constant litany of public surveys stretching back decades that keep showing large percentages of Americans cannot say when Abraham Lincoln lived, who Joseph Stalin was, or what century the Civil War took place. Pointing this out has become a sort of cottage industry of reoccurring bestsellers such as E.D. Hirsch’s 1984 “Cultural Literacy,” Neil Postman’s 1985 “Amusing Ourselves to Death,” and Allan Bloom’s 1987 “Closing of the American Mind.” Despite constant re-acknowledgement of this phenomenon, however, it not only persists but has worsened.

While the oldest data is not as plentiful as today’s, sociological surveys such as Alexis de Tocqueville’s 1837 “Democracy in America” and Hirsch’s careful documentation of available evidence for the twentieth century, as well as other surveys of original material, all indicate a marked decline in public knowledge since the founding era. Arnn argues that this decline directly reduces Americans’ ability to fulfill our duties as citizens to govern ourselves.

He says a “virus has come among us,” a virus in the form of the idea that “the things in the past have been superseded, they’re not valuable, they’re obsolete.” While this may be true of some things, particularly technological advancements, he says this is not true of many things, particularly truths about human nature that over time Western culture has uncovered and handed down.

What, in a nutshell, are the unique Western contributions  to general human understanding? There are two.

One is the distillation of the conversation begun with Greco-Roman models of government that has led to the conclusion that representative democracy is the form best suited to maximizing ordered liberty.

The other is the process, begun in ancient Israel, by which humanity arrived at the most accurate understanding of God's nature and our relationship to Him to be found among the world's religious traditions.

Arnn uses two cities as shorthand for this:

Western civilization’s centuries of dialogue between Athens and Jerusalem — two historic cities that represent reason and faith, respectively — establish universals about human nature that Americans once again need to draw upon to make key decisions about our future.

As the Christmas season proceeds to its climax, and as we all brace for the cacophonous rancor that is going to characterize  the sociopolitical landscape in 2018, we do well to rededicate ourselves to prioritizing this heritage we're blessed to be recipients of.

And, of course, over the next couple of days, to particularly focus on the central event that ties together both of the above-mentioned contributions, and the various strains within them. It's also the central event in the history of our planet. I speak, of course, of the 33-year period in which the Son facet of the triune God dwelt among us, was unspeakably brutalized and killed by those who feared the light he radiated, and rose to defeat the darkness pervading the hearts of those who wounded and killed him. (That would be all of us, every day.)

From Western civilization, we get the understanding of grace and freedom, God's two greatest gifts to us.

Thank you, almighty Lord!