13 April, 2023
Dear Reader,
We at the Dawson Centre have always had readers and supporters who do not share our Faith, but who nevertheless hold strongly to the notion that Christianity has been overwhelmingly a force for good. Our social consciences have been formed by Christian ethics. Systems of social security, racial integration, abolition of slavery, hospitals and hospices, schools and universities, caring for the poor and weak, organisations such as the Red Cross and Amnesty International, have all risen out of the Christian conscience. They have thrived particularly in the West because of that Christian moral inheritance. They have prevailed even when the Faith itself has faded in the souls of so many. I am often reminded of the thought ascribed to Gandhi: ‘God is so great that he is the Atheism of the Atheist’.
Of course, those who disagree with us will point to persons claiming to be Christians who have opposed any or all of these good things. The existence of such people should never surprise us, though it may sadden us: there have been betrayers, backsliders, time-servers, weaklings and cowards within the household of Faith since Judas.
I was much moved recently by this dialogue between Bishop Robert Barron and distinguished writer and historian Tom Holland. Holland is not a believer, but he is emphatic that Christianity brought with it a deep compassion for human suffering and a sense of the brotherhood of humankind that was simply unknown to the pagan world.
EASTER WINGS
Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store,
Though foolishly he lost the same,
Decaying more and more,
Till he became
Most poor:
With thee
O let me rise
As larks, harmoniously,
And sing this day thy victories:
Then shall the fall further the flight in me.
George Herbert (1593-1633) wrote these pretty lines – in the shape of a pair of wings to signify our final aspiration to soar heavenwards in Christ’s triumphant Easter train. The last line is a little puzzling at first: I take him to mean that the further we human beings fall, the higher we can ascend by God’s grace.
More than two centuries later Gerald Manley Hopkins came up with a complementary thought:
Build His church and deck His shrine,
Empty though it be on earth;
Ye have kept your choicest wine—
Let it flow for heavenly mirth…
…Beauty now for ashes wear,
Perfumes for the garb of woe,
Chaplets for dishevelled hair,
Dances for sad footsteps slow;
Open wide your hearts that they
Let in joy this Easter Day.
The second line ‘Empty though it be on Earth’ could have been written with the 21st century in mind, at least in the western world. Many of our churches now are almost empty, and religious houses are often neglected and even abandoned. It’s a sad prospect, but as Herbert thought, the further we fall the higher we can rise. Let’s cleave to that hope.
But is our situation really all that grievous today? Was there ever really an ‘Age of Faith’, when most Christians lived mostly Christian lives? From our point of view there have certainly been better times than now, and there’s a lot going on that might lead us to think that things are getting worse. Certainly, the situation of Christians and Muslims in China (and many other places) has deteriorated in recent years. Even in Australia persecution is already on the cards if they think you hold basic ‘fundamentalist’ views on certain issues of faith and morals. Remember Israel Folau?
There’s a lot of truth in the protestant doctrine of ‘the invisible church’ (Catholics have never been very comfortable with it), which says in effect that saints are always pretty thin on the ground, that God knows who they are even if we generally don’t, and that most of us are deeply tempted by material pleasures and constantly prone to succumb to them. In a way nothing changes, though a world like ours, with material expectations that go far beyond anything that earlier generations could imagine, makes it easier than ever to dismiss ultimate reality and imagine, as John Lennon said, that there’s no heaven.
Here’s a more comforting thought though: As the pendulum falls on its down-stroke and gathers momentum for its swing upwards, so let us hope that the Church’s reserves of energy, boosted by the Holy Ghost, will launch us into dizzying flight. There’ll be no permanent triumph in this world, but (to vary the metaphor) it would be wonderful to get some good runs on the board again!
With kind wishes for Eastertide,
David
IN THE NEWS
CHRISTIANITY AND HISTORY
Bishop Robert Barron and historian Tom Holland discuss Western culture, the intellectual and moral aspects of Christianity, and the doctrine of original sin in this dialogue. Full of excellent ideas, beautifully exchanged with great courtesy. Don’t miss this discussion.
WHAT’S HAPPENED TO THE WEST?
The New Culture Forum has produced a six-part series on the heritage of the West. Watch episode one here. Stick with it: the words of black US sociologist W E B Du Bois (about 16 minutes in) are worth waiting for! Here is Du Bois arguing for Western Civilisation as the common inheritance of all human beings:
I sit with Shakespeare, and he winces not. Across the color line I move arm and arm with Balzac and Dumas, where smiling men and welcoming women glide in gilded halls. From out of the caves of evening that swing between the strong-limbed Earth and the tracery of stars, I summon Aristotle and Aurelius and what soul I will, and they come all graciously with no scorn nor condescension. So, wed with Truth, I dwell above the veil.
This is the same point that Christopher Dawson made:
It is true that Christianity is not bound up with any particular race or culture. It is neither of the East or of the West, but has a universal mission to the human race as a whole.
ABORIGINAL CHRISTIANITY
Here’s something you won’t read much about in the mainstream media. Check out the whole Memory Mountain website – it’s inspirational.
GENDER TRANSITIONING
Jordan Peterson interviews an American woman who underwent a double-mastectomy at 15. She suffered and continues to suffer irreversible damage and is now suing the medical bodies responsible. It’s very long, but if you only have time for the first few minutes they will move you deeply.
FOLLOWING UP STEVEN MOSHER
If you saw Steve Mosher’s recent talk (online here) you might be interested in this piece by Bill Muehlenberg, with its list of recommended readings. The CCP has recently ‘blindsided’ the Vatican by directly appointing a new bishop without consultation.
TEENAGE MENTAL ILLNESS – AN EPIDEMIC?
Alarming piece from Jonathan Haidt and Zach Rausch. Here’s a sample: ‘the rise of safetyism, and the shouting down of speakers on university campuses when students deemed the speaker to be harmful … seemed that all the Anglo nations were setting up their children for failure. Sound familiar?
Quadrant has just published this piece by Eminent paediatrician Dr John Whitehall.
BIOLOGICAL SEX
Is it just a ‘colonial imposition’? This Canadian article looks at guidance for researchers in the Medical Faculty of the University of British Columbia.
COMING EVENTS
ONLINE, 20-21 APRIL: RENEWING CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
This is a collaboration between ACES (Australia) and the Circe Institute (USA). The Cultivation of Virtue is the theme.
HOBART, SATURDAY 8 JULY – ALL DAY
THE ANNUAL COLLOQUIUM
‘Wokery’ – a Wake-Up Call for the West!
On Saturday 8 July the Christopher Dawson Centre for Cultural Studies will host its eighth annual colloquium – somewhere in Hobart, Tasmania!
The following have offered papers:
Dr Kevin Donnelly
Looking Backward Leads us Forward: the True Nature of Conservatism
Dr Gerard Gaskin
Truth in Education?
Ms Karina Hepner
Pricing Everything, but Valuing Nothing: the cost of leaving ‘The Woke’ asleep
Dr Fiona Mueller and Dr Deidre Clary
The Place of Debate in Australian Education: Fortifying a Free and Civil Society
Mr John Roskam (title to come)
Prof Ramesh Thakur
Wokism risks the descent of the West into Nihilism
Dr Robert Stove
‘They order this matter better in France’: Continental Europe’s resistance to ‘le Wokisme’
HOBART WED 13 SEPTEMBER – 6.00 PM
DR RALPH MARTIN
Dr Ralph Martin is President of Renewal Ministries and Director of Graduate Theology Programs in Evangelization, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Archdiocese of Detroit, USA. He holds a doctorate in theology from the Angelicum University in Rome.
Topic: Living as Catholics in Challenging Times
(Location to be advised)