GOSPEL MATTERS: The West, Faith and Reason
By Dr Christine Wood, Director of the Evangelisation & Catechesis Office
The recent murder of activist Charlie Kirk shook the western world, not only because this young husband and father of two children was cut down in his prime, but because his brutal killing and subsequent online trolling seemed to intensify society’s cultural polarisation.
I admit that I hadn’t heard of Kirk before news of his death hit the airwaves. But a review of his recent videos reveals a man of extraordinary courage and faith. With a penetrating mind and the Socratic method, he took the Gospel of life to college campuses, engaging openly with some of the most aggressive critics of western civilisation.
Western civilisation, which was built upon divine revelation and the best in Ancient Greek philosophy, and embodied in Judeo-Christian culture, is arguably the greatest civilisation the world has ever known. It’s had its low points certainly, but for the most part, it’s elevated the human condition in all areas of life, culture, and society.
The Incarnation, when the divine Logos became flesh and immersed himself in human culture and family life, is the centre point of history. God became one of us. The Greek word, logos, means reason or intelligibility.
God’s own reason has become visible in human form, thus forever elevating the human condition to the divine order. No other religion approaches Christianity’s concept of human dignity.
Jews and Christians believe the world is inherently intelligible and therefore infused with meaning and purpose. This view has propelled the Church to dialogue with the world in science and philosophy for centuries.
There is a long tradition in the west of openly debating serious issues in the public square. Plato paints a captivating picture of his teacher, Socrates, engaging with the apologists of the “woke” culture of his day. The young “college” students of the ancient world paid the sophists to teach them fatuous doctrines that neither penetrated the surface of reality in which they lived, nor inspired them towards moral goodness. Sophistry led to moral corruption and societal fragmentation.
Like Charlie Kirk, Socrates too was executed by his opponents. Socrates was accused of impiety for not believing in the gods of the public religion, and thus for undermining the civic structure and corrupting the youth. With rational arguments, Socrates challenged the thinking of the elites. Unable to refute those arguments, his opponents executed him.
Why is this important for Australia? Western civilisation was built on a harmonious integration of faith and reason, and Australia has inherited this tradition. If human flourishing is to continue in this wonderful country, an open and frank dialogue of faith and reason must be permitted in the public square, without the threat of violence or punitive retribution.