Rod Dreher
Christians are increasingly being viewed by culture as roadblocks to a soft totalitarian state, columnist Rod Dreher writes in his new book, “Live Not by Lies: a Manual for Christian Dissidents.”
“Ours is going to be a more soft version where they use the infliction of economic pain and marginalization and shaming to force Christians out of the public square and to compel us to conform with left-wing ideology, and the fact that it’s soft doesn’t mean it is any less totalitarian,” Dreher said. Dreher stated social media is a major driver behind isolation and unease, especially among young people.
“It has made them desperate for something to solve their problem of alienation and their anxiety,” he said “I think this is opening them up to the acceptance of a false idol that will be totalitarian that will tell them, ‘We can take care of all your problems, we can fix it if you will only say yes to us.’ That’s what happened in Russia and that’s what happened in Germany and that’s what’s coming here.”
Those who advocate Judeo-Christian values and reject the lies of the new American leftist state will be marginalized and singled out for persecution.
“Conservative Christians and their churches and institutions are seen as an obstacle to progress,” Dreher said. “If you stand against LGBT rights, for example, if you stand against abortion rights, if you stand against critical race theory, you are a problem.”
Dreher believes it doesn’t matter who is elected president, because neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump will be able to reverse the course. He said we are living through the birth pangs of a cultural revolution.
Christians, Culture and Soft Totalitarianism
Here is the concern that most animates Dreher in this book:
A progressive—and profoundly anti-Christian militancy—is steadily overtaking society; one described by Pope Benedict XVI as a “worldwide dictatorship of seemingly humanistic ideologies” that pushes dissenters to the margins. Benedict called this a manifestation of “the spiritual power of the Antichrist.” This spiritual power takes material form in government and private institutions, in corporations, in academia and media, and in the changing practices of everyday American life. It is empowered by unprecedented technological capabilities to surveil private life. There is virtually nowhere to hide.
“This sort of thing is marching through all the institutions, it’s marching through churches, it’s marching through universities, seminaries, corporations, and we Christians have got to be prepared for it,” he said. “Hope for the best, but we also have to remember ours is a religion of martyrdom. Those who suffered and even died for the faith, they received a crown of glory. That may well be our calling and we need to accept that as believers.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice
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