R.J. Rushdoony and Otto Scott discuss Christian Reconstruction as the biblical mandate to establish God’s justice and righteousness in every sphere of society. They emphasize that the Early Church became influential far beyond its numbers by helping one another, serving the community, resolving disputes, and creating a moral, functional order amid a corrupt world. Christianity historically transformed civilizations, building cities, draining swamps, cultivating land, and establishing law and education, producing wealth and stability.

Rushdoony and Scott contrast this constructive, faith-driven action with modern society, where humanistic states, urban decay, rising immorality, and bureaucratic interference suppress Christian activity and resist moral responsibility. They argue that Christian Reconstruction begins with individual faith and responsibility, extending to education, charity, and community engagement. Modern tools like computers and global communication offer unprecedented opportunities for a new Reformation, allowing believers to restore order, influence society, and extend God’s justice practically.

They conclude that while short-term challenges may be severe, the long-term outlook under God promises a more prosperous, free, and godly society. Practical application—such as supporting Christian relief efforts like CERT and aiding persecuted believers—is emphasized as the starting point for meaningful reconstruction.

R.J. Rushdoony and Otto Scott discuss history, its meaning, and how it is recorded, emphasizing that true history reflects God’s hand, not merely human actions. They critique modern historiography, which often interprets events naturalistically, humanistically, or through myths, ignoring divine providence and the unpredictable factors that shape outcomes, such as weather, disease, or unexpected deaths of leaders. Examples include Constantine’s conversion, the Pilgrims’ survival, the Mongol halt in Europe, and the outcomes of World Wars, illustrating that history is far more contingent and guided by God than modern accounts suggest. They note that modern education and social science have largely replaced traditional history, leaving students unaware of patterns of tyranny, the role of faith, and the moral lessons of the past. Rushdoony and Scott stress that Christian schools are uniquely positioned to teach history accurately, recognizing God’s sovereignty and the enduring reality of mystery.

In this 1987 Easy Chair discussion, R.J. Rushdoony and Otto Scott argue that the “future” isn’t an unreadable mystery so much as the present worked out—and that modern decadence shows itself in a culture that can’t defend itself, won’t think past the moment, and replaces realistic planning with fantasy. They critique celebrity “futurecasting” as shallow, insular, and godless—whether rosy or grim—because it ignores that man is fundamentally religious, and history unfolds under God’s sovereign decree. Against the modern state’s push to “predestine” everything through total control (a horizontal Tower of Babel), they warn of coming judgment and testing, yet insist judgment can also be God’s clearing of the ground for renewal. Their hope rests in God’s unexpected interventions and in a rising, grassroots Christian seriousness—discipleship, responsibility, and rebuilding—so that believers don’t merely comment on the future, but work to create a godly one.

#EasyChair #Rushdoony #OttoScott #ChristianWorldview #FaithAndFuture #JudgmentAndMercy #Discipleship #CultureAndCrisis #GodsSovereignty #Dominion #BiblicalThinking #ChristianReconstruction"

In this episode (Feb. 12, 1987), R.J. Rushdoony dismantles the modern “brainwashing” narrative by drawing on suppressed Korean War research: the most resilient POWs were those with **governing convictions**—a living Christian faith and a clear belief in the free market—who were recognized as natural leaders, resisted manipulation, and even attempted escape, while the faithless majority proved tragically leaderless, anarchic, and easily induced to comply because they believed in nothing. From there he pivots to a sobering cultural warning: the same emptiness makes societies vulnerable to hypnotic suggestion through movies, propaganda, and statist schooling—illustrated even by criminals imitating *The Godfather*—and he argues that humanistic education produces citizens who vote for images instead of reality and tolerate absurdities (like Amtrak stopping trains mid-route for Daylight Saving Time). Rushdoony then surveys major fronts in the battle for the faith in public life: the push to rewrite God-language and subvert biblical revelation, the false “gospels” of technology and political revolution, modernist capture within church institutions and the Marxist distortion of “liberation,” the weaponization of child-abuse accusations to expand state power, and the pride of man exposed in tragedies like the Titanic—closing with a call to recover a faith that acts, serves, and builds dominion, and to tangibly aid persecuted Christians rather than merely sympathize.

#EasyChair #Rushdoony #Chalcedon #ChristianWorldview #BrainwashingMyth #GoverningFaith #CulturalDecay #Humanism #Education #Propaganda #ChurchAndState #LiberationTheology #Family #ReligiousFreedom #PersecutedChurch

R.J. Rushdoony and Otto Scott examine the cultural and philosophical climate of the 20th century, focusing on existentialism and its pervasive influence. Existential philosophy, originating with Kierkegaard and popularized in the U.S. through Emerson, emphasizes living for the moment, personal experience, and the negation of objective truth or moral absolutes. Rushdoony notes that modern man increasingly mirrors the limited temporal perspective of “savages,” living in the present with little regard for the past or future, which manifests in short-term thinking in politics, media, and everyday life.

The discussion highlights the moral consequences of existentialism in culture and the arts. Figures like Sartre, de Beauvoir, Genet, Camus, and Polanski exemplify a system where personal experience and notoriety outweigh ethical conduct. Artistic acclaim and intellectual respectability often reward contempt for traditional values and embrace of evil or immorality as “new good.” Rushdoony and Scott link this to media, theater, and entertainment, showing a pervasive drive for continual sensation, visual shock, and superficiality that undermines historical awareness, thoughtful engagement, and enduring meaning.

Existentialism has also infiltrated the Church, seminaries, and education, producing a focus on personal experience over objective truth and a repudiation of serious moral or historical reflection. Rushdoony observes that this leads to infantilization, self-centeredness, and a collapse of communal and intergenerational wisdom. The resulting culture elevates triviality and egoism, prioritizes sensation over continuity, and fosters widespread moral and intellectual disorientation—what Scott describes as a society in which life itself has become a theatrical spectacle, leaving citizens trapped in perpetual “no exit” existentialism, oblivious to God and moral reality.

R.J. Rushdoony critiques the lionization of Thoreau, highlighting that his retreat to Walden Pond was less a philosophical act than a gesture of personal alienation from Concord. While often portrayed as a nature idealist, Thoreau frequently returned to town for meals and socializing, demonstrating a divergence between myth and reality.

Rushdoony also critiques modern conservatism through Russell Kirk, arguing that Kirk’s emphasis on tradition, custom, and continuity neglects faith and fundamental justice. Such conservatism, though seemingly rooted in stability, is impotent in addressing contemporary moral and societal issues because it is not grounded in God. He contrasts this with the seriousness of the early Anglo-Saxon Christian converts, who underwent rigorous preparation and moral change, demonstrating a faith-based transformation absent in modern practice.

He then discusses cultural and historical insights from various books. Joseph Wandel highlights the influential German dimension in American history, from immigration to contributions in sports and society. Bob Tamarkin’s The New Gatsbys reveals how commodity traders reflect the existentialist, short-term, high-risk mentality of modern culture. Viktor Suvorov’s Inside the Aquarium exposes the brutal training and psychology of Soviet GRU operatives, while Vladimir Voinovich’s The Anti-Soviet Soviet Union humorously reveals Soviet dysfunction and naïve Western perceptions. Rushdoony concludes with observations on television, noting extreme sponsor control, regulatory quirks, and declining moral standards in programming, reflecting the broader cultural shift away from reason, faith, and responsibility.

R.J. Rushdoony and Otto Scott discuss revolution, linking it to Romanticism and the Enlightenment. They argue that the Enlightenment’s exaltation of reason cultivated “rootlessness,” which Romanticism transferred to emotions. Revolution, therefore, seeks to destroy tradition, Christianity, and past institutions to create a “brave new world.” All revolutionary regimes whether National Socialist, Marxist, Communist, or Fascist are inherently anti-Christian. Terror is inseparable from revolution, as exemplified by Robespierre and Lenin, and totalitarian states maintain control through fear and manipulation of education.

They describe how modern revolutions are aided by ideology, media, and financial support for violence. Simple-minded or immature Christians who fail to discern truth unwittingly enable revolutionary agendas. Revolutionaries equate life with theater and spectacle, blurring reality and fostering societal chaos, while the broader populace, including the church, often remains indifferent or complicit.

Rushdoony emphasizes that faith is the counterforce to revolutionary collapse. History shows that civilizations fall when morality and justice are abandoned, but Christians, grounded in God’s power, can counter evil and preserve society. He urges believers to awaken, take responsibility in every sphere government, education, business, and church and actively resist revolutionary and anti-Christian trends before it is too late.

R.J. Rushdoony examines fame and its cultural impact, drawing on Leo Braudy’s The Frenzy of Renown. He contrasts the Christian era, where men lived accountable to God, with the Renaissance and modern times, where public image dominates. From Alexander the Great to modern actors and politicians, people perform for attention, often sacrificing substance, morality, and reality. This obsession with image weakens politics, religion, and society.

He also discusses Theodore Shank’s American Alternative Theater, showing how avant-garde performance and youth culture turn life into theater. Peer pressure and image-consciousness replace objective values, making society shallow and disconnected from God. Christians, adhering to divine authority rather than societal norms, are seen as outsiders.

Rushdoony concludes with historical examples cavalry in WWII, the Indian Wars, and European aristocracy to illustrate human ambition, courage, and moral failure. He stresses that justice depends on God’s judgment; without it, societies collapse, and only Christian faith provides enduring cultural stability.