Following Hegel’s bread crumbs, Karl Marx assumed that conflict is the engine that drives history forward. Revolution is the Marxist equivalent of, and substitute for, regeneration. (h/t to Gary North) Unless people are turned against one another, society stagnates. Workers must be taught to view the men who give them a place to work, work to do, and pay for doing that work, as foes to be fought. (A strike is a military term for a violent assault.)
In the civil realm, gallant revolutionaries bring in utopia out of the barrels of their smoking guns, as they destroy the established social order. Especially any Christian social order.
In the name of “equality,” spouses must be turned against each other, and the glorious differences between them suppressed. (Or surgically corrected. One of the most hideous euphemisms in the air today, used to justify castrating boys and slicing off the breasts of young women, is gender affirming care.)
All of these advocated and orchestrated conflicts reflect a reversion to the ancient Saturnalia and its belief in regeneration via a deep dive into primordial chaos.
In practice, thank God, the harmony of interests is far more basic than the conflict of interests, as R. J. Rushdoony pointed out in many of his essays.
If you draw a Venn diagram of God’s agenda for His glory, and His plans for our good, the area of overlap will jump out at you. Feasting is mentioned 7 times as often as fasting, for example. The default setting for maximum happiness in this fallen, but redeemed world, includes thriving in our vocations, enjoying a passionate Christian marriage, and having happy, faithful children to carry on the family trade after we’ve served our own generation by the counsel of God.
There are exceptions that TEST the rule (earlier meaning of verb “to prove”), but they make headlines BECAUSE they are departures from the norm, the standard, the default setting. In this fallen world, a certain ration of tests and trials falls into every life. We face these with resolute faith, courage, and humor.
Sometimes, it seems that there’s a Gomer for every Hosea. A Christian man may marry a manipulative woman in good faith, who deserts him as soon as she gets what she wanted. And he stays true. For decades. Then God gives him permission to remarry. Or maybe one spouse is stricken by a lengthy and debilitating illness. Alzheimer’s, for example. And the other finds great joy in caring for her during “the long goodbye.” And unexpected resources. The “hidden manna” that keeps him afloat.
In practice, as the Vulgate put it,
Mat 11:30 iugum enim meum suave est et onus meum leve est
Our Lord’s yoke is SUAVE. Which means – well-fitted. Appropriate. And even a bit stylish. Looks good on us, and is the key to a beautiful life. The times of greatest joy in life usually coincide with a structure of responsibility and opportunity. And support for the roles “assigned us at birth.”
Question: How can we be voices for sanity in a world going mad?
North, G. 1989. Marx’s Religion of Revolution: Regeneration Through Chaos. Institute for Christian Economics. (click HERE)