Is Western Civilization Worth Saving?

Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Western civilization is not indestructible. It needs to be actively defended. While the Saudis have invested at least $2 billion a year over the last 30-years to spread their own radical fundamentalist Islam, The response of the US and western Europe has been to kow-tow to “multi-culturalism” rather than to suggest that western civilization has created a higher standard of living and has protected the rights of ordinary citizens to a degree unknown in other civilizations. Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former member of the Dutch parliament, says:

What do the controversies around the proposed mosque near Ground Zero, the eviction of American missionaries from Morocco earlier this year, the minaret ban in Switzerland last year, and the recent burka ban in France have in common? All four are framed in the Western media as issues of religious tolerance. But that is not their essence. Fundamentally, they are all symptoms of what the late Harvard political scientist Samuel Huntington called the “Clash of Civilizations,” particularly the clash between Islam and the West.

Huntington’s argument is worth summarizing briefly for those who now only remember his striking title. The essential building block of the post-Cold War world, he wrote, are seven or eight historical civilizations of which the Western, the Muslim and the Confucian are the most important.

The balance of power among these civilizations, he argued, is shifting. The West is declining in relative power, Islam is exploding demographically, and Asian civilizations—especially China—are economically ascendant. . . .

Thus the survival of the West depends on Americans, Europeans and other Westerners reaffirming their shared civilization as unique—and uniting to defend it against challenges from non-Western civilizations.

Continue reading here. . . .

The Rules Of Grace

Charles H. Spurgeon

Quoting C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892):

“Too many professors pacify themselves with the idea that they possess imputed righteousness, while they are indifferent to the sanctifying work of the Spirit. They refuse to put on the garment of obedience. They reject the white linen which is the righteousness of the saints. They thus reveal their self-will, their enmity to God, and their non-submission to His Son. Such men may talk what they will about justification by faith, and salvation by grace, but they are rebels at heart; they have not on the wedding-dress any more than the self-righteous, whom they so eagerly condemn. The fact is, if we wish for the blessings of grace, we must in our hearts submit to the rules of grace without picking and choosing”

The Glory Of The American Revolution

Quoting John Quincy Adams:

“The highest glory of the American Revolution was this; it connected, in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity.”

Trusting God With Your Troubles

The Apostle Peter tells us: “Cast all your anxiety on God.” (1 Peter 7) Some see this verse as a reference to Psalm 55:22: “Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.” I, on the other hand, have always found it difficult to cast off problems. I know I cannot escape them or pretend they are not real. So, how do you get rid of the anxiety that is caused by many of life’s problems? How can you avoid being burdened down by care?

For the Christian, the answer to these questions is “God”. We trust God with our worries and fears because He is absolutely sovereign over our lives. It is His providential care that sustains each breath we take and guides the course of the planets and stars. We pour out our anxiety to Him in prayer because we know that it is His Will that must be done. When we begin to understand that God is in control even when we are not, then we can be calm even in the midst of great trouble. When we can trust God in this manner, we will experience the peace that God promises and that Jesus exemplifies.

God created us. Psalm 139 tells us that God fashioned and formed us, that He knew us when we were still in our mother’s womb. He continues to care for us and about us. God loves us as a Father. God is omnipotent and only He has the power and strength to carry all our burdens. Yes, we should cast our cares on God, but do not use this as an excuse for fatalism, laziness or carelessness. Christians are called to have personal discipline and self-control. (1 Peter 13-16)

We must keep alert about our spiritual lives. Satan wants to undo all that we’ve done. He wants to break down our good habits and our spiritual disciplines. He wants to muddy the waters of our relationship with God. He wants us out of the church, where our faith is sustained.

The God of all grace, however, has called us in Jesus Christ. Because of His Word, He will restore us, support us, and strengthen us. When we fall down, He will support us and pick us back up. When we suffer, He will restore us. When we are tempted, He will strengthen us. When we fail, He will forgive us. We can cast our cares on God because we know that God is on our side in Christ Jesus.