“The culture of Western nations in which humanitarian thinking is dominant is a rentier living off the moral capital accumulated by its predecessors and giving no attention to replenishing it. When it runs out, the horrors begin in earnest . . . Humanism is a philosophy of death” (Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction, pp. 81-82).
A Different Task Entirely
“The early Protestant preachers did not think their message was to get the sick patients to take their medicine. They saw their task as one of preaching in a graveyard, praying for a resurrection” (For Kirk and Covenant, p. 95).
A Floating Poverty Line
“Sentimentality, as we have seen, finds expression in autonomous, pragmatically based decisions on right and wrong, and in the refusal to declare absolute standards on all matters, including poverty. What sometimes seems to be an intellectual vacuity in humanitarian polemics is associated with this trait, which we may think of as the propensity to define …
Just Say It
“The culture of the West, infused as it is with Christian values, is superior to any other, and all the valid charges against the West are indications that it has betrayed its own heritage. It is not superior because it is wealthy; it is wealthy because it is superior, because it believes that work is …
Ressentiment
“The twisted path from humanism’s soaring tributes in honor of the human divinity to the consequences of modern humanitarianism is best explained by the concept of ressentiment. When Nietzsche wrote his celebrated attack on Christianity, he transliterated this word from the French because he could find no German equivalent . . . When Scheler’s book …
Use the Right Standard
“Whenever we take the measure and weight of any man, we must be sure to use the canons and balances of heaven” (For Kirk and Covenant, p. 89).
And That Means Nobody
“Nobody who rejects the first four commandments’ call to reject idols and worship the true and living God can be expected to recognize any ultimate significance in the last six commandments’ ethical requirements” (Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction, p. 47).
Why Humanism Can Cry Me a River
“Humanism thrives on sentimentality because few religions are more dishonest in their doctrinal expressions. Unable to withstand dispassionate analysis, which would reveal its lack of foundation, it stresses feeling rather than thought. That is what makes sentimentality so vicious. People can get good feelings from almost anything” (Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction, p. 46).
They Like Core Values Instead
“Modern humanists are hostile to any notion of law that is external to the legislative organs under human control, and this means that morality cannot be predicated on universal codes” (Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction, p. 43).
Historical Idolatry
“All things work together for good to him that is in tune with the times. Trying to ‘turn back the clock’ becomes more serious than impropriety or stupidity; it is an act of impiety” (Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction, p. 17).