Steve and I sit down with Aaron Renn, author of Life in the Negative World. Is the West now Post-Christian? Was it ever Christian? How do we navigate the changes all around us?
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Thankyou & well done – for taking a risk with Aaron Renn & his observations / perspectives. He certainly had plenty to say! I particularly appreciated his reference to “The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind” – not that the decline in valuing a broad education & reasoning faculties is a uniquely evangelical problem (it clearly is across the board everywhere) but the scandal is to abandon the rich history of (some) religious traditions being the pioneers & defenders of “sober analysis of nature, human society, and the arts”, even to join the ranks of those who might prefer the “alternative facts” derived from whatever faith position of the day.
Perhaps Mr Renn’s book mentions this (yet it wasn’t raised in the interview?), but I was surprised that the three of you in reflecting upon the slip of Christian influence from Positive to Neutral to Negative did not mention the societal scourge of child abuse and the added shame of institutional actions during & then responses after when called to account. You mentioned & took some comfort in renewed religious interest in the younger generation coming through – but is this aided because they have little interest in, or the skills to pursue, this latest chapter of church history?
Again, thanks for arranging Aaron Renn’s input.