The western world is going through a massive culture war. It may be the most important war we have ever fought. Why? Because it is being fought on the battlefield of ideas. Normal wars are fought physically. Not this one. It is being fought in the minds and hearts of people. On one side are those who seek to redefine reality, rewrite history and change concepts like race, gender, sex and morality. On the other are those who know reality, defend authentic history and traditions and believe in real definitions of race, sex and gender. The war is intensifying, and the struggle does not seem to have an end in sight. 

Lies and Distortions

The issue centers around reality. We may have different ideas about what is good, true and beautiful but, in the end, either something is real, or it is not. If it is not, and you say it is, then you are lying. In the culture war one side (not ours) is promoting lies to advance their agenda. Their objective is obvious. They feel that if they can get enough people to believe in their falsehoods, they can seize control of the public narrative and gain political power, perhaps forever. What is most frightening about this is that they actually believe their lies and feel justified in attempting to force those beliefs on the rest of us. But we cannot survive as a nation or a species if we do not believe in truth. History is full of tragic examples of what happens when we reject it. We cannot “Live by Lies.” 

One of the Greatest Lies

One of their greatest lies is that Christianity is not connected to western civilization. It is a particularly monstrous lie, accompanied by another one: that Judeo Christian ethics have no relevance for the West. In the minds of progressives, Christianity and Judeo-Christian ethics are not part of the narrative of the western world. Lies such as this have grown in power and influence over the last few years as woke progressives hammer away at our culture and slowly gain power over our institutions. But the claim that Christianity and Judeo-Christian ethics have no connection to the western world could not be more false. It would be like saying that the sun has nothing to do with growing crops. And yet, they try to convince us of it . Let’s take a look at why it is so wrong.  

The Physical Connection

First, the physical connection. We see evidence of the Judeo-Christian world all around us. And yet, strangely enough, in 2003 when the European Union constitution was being created, there was not a single reference to God or the Christian faith. Instead, they referred to “the cultural, religious and humanistic inheritance of Europe.” What an astonishing statement! It allowed them to eliminate centuries of Europe’s Christian past and use a vague and indeterminate term like “religious.” Astonishingly, the physical evidence of Christian culture was all around them! Those drawing up the constitution only needed to look outside their window or walk around any large European city to see evidence of the exact opposite of what they had written. If they had done so they would have seen magnificent cathedrals, churches, public squares named after saints and thousand-year-old universities created by Christian scholars. To deny the reality of that evidence is delusional. Pope John Paul II once said that without Christianity there is no Europe. There is an undeniable truth to that statement. Perhaps those who wrote the EU constitution were blinded in some mysterious way and couldn’t see the historic buildings around them, but I don’t think so.

The Cultural Connection

Second, there is the cultural connection. The attempt to secularize the West flounders on the rock of the obvious. European culture was founded on Christianity and Judeo-Christian values and, for many European countries, especially nations like Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, and the newly reviving Italy, this is especially true. The connection is not just religious, it is also cultural, built into the very fabric of nations. For over fifteen hundred years European culture has been connected to Judeo-Christian values and the Christian faith.  Art, architecture, education, music, theology, religion and social organization all have a Christian connection.  The cultural inheritance of those values is everywhere, even amid the secular attempt to destroy it. That inheritance cannot be easily wiped away. The record of history cries out against it.  

The Political Connection

The political structure of Europe and North America was also  founded on concepts of law and justice firmly based on Judeo Christian values. The struggle to establish those values hasn’t always been easy. It has taken us centuries to abolish absolutism and establish the rights of the citizen, but nowhere in that long process, was there ever long-lasting submission to the idea that Judeo-Christian values were irrelevant or that they should be abolished. In fact, if anything, nations like Canada and the United States have recognized the importance of God and our Judeo-Christian heritage. In Canada the Charter of Rights and Freedoms acknowledges the “Supremacy of God” and the American Declaration of Independence states that fundamental freedoms and rights are “Endowed by our Creator.” In Europe, the long history of the Christian faith endures in a less direct, but still powerful way maintaining the legacy of the Judeo-Christian connection. 

The Spiritual Connection

Until very recently all spiritual welfare in the West was provided for by a combination of Judeo-Christian morality and the Christian faith. For the most part it still is. Fundamental concepts like the ten commandments, the golden rule, Biblical parables and basic tenets of theological speculation formed the backbone of our social life, and they came from the Judeo-Christian tradition. In times of extreme hardship like war, famine and economic depression, it was Judeo-Christian spirituality that carried people through. Belief, comfort, sustenance and wisdom, in the direst of circumstances, all came from the Judeo-Christian heritage, and it is that heritage that forms the religious and spiritual foundation of the West. 

Under Attack but not Surrendering

There can be little doubt, though, that Christianity and Judeo-Christian values are under attack. Those who would deny it are not paying attention to the facts. From burning churches to a full-scale assault in the schools, universities and culture at large, the attempt to reverse what we once knew as the status quo is accelerating. It is happening so often now that it is obvious. But it is also strangely true that the benefits of Christianity and the Judeo-Christian ethical system are being defended, even by New Atheist proponents like Richard Dawkins, who are finally admitting that religion has a place in society, and from brave clerics and pastors like Calvin Robinson who are resisting the “Wokeification” of the Christian faith.

A Defence of Truth

There are two fundamental truths to remember here. First, that Christianity and the Judeo-Christian ethical system are the foundation of our civilization. It is a simple historical fact so that, for all rational people, it ought to be easy to defend and believe in it. The second is that the fountain of our spiritual life comes from the Judeo-Christian world we have inherited. It has been the source of our cultural and religious life for centuries, and it is worth defending. We now need to go from just acknowledging those two truths to actively defending them. It is the next step for all of us.