I self-diagnosed many years ago with Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (AADD). I often watch two or three sporting events simultaneously. Currently, I am reading three books: F. A. Hayek’s The Fatal Conceit, C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity, and Western Heritage: A Reader from Hillsdale College. I also try to spend fifteen minutes a day in scripture or at least contemplating a Biblical passage that has been sent to me.
Hayek characterized himself as a “non-religious agnostic.” Lewis was a devout Catholic apologist, yet both were conservative in their views about government, economics, and political philosophy. F. A. Hayek and C. S. Lewis never directly interacted or corresponded, but their writings reveal striking similarities in their critiques of totalitarianism, central planning, and the dangers of unchecked government power. Recent analyses highlight how both thinkers, though from different intellectual traditions—economics for Hayek, theology and literature for Lewis—shared a deep suspicion toward ideologies that sought to engineer society or human nature according to abstract schemes, especially under the banners of “social justice” and “scientific planning”.
In The Fatal Conceit, Hayek describes the moral underpinnings that define interactions within a civil society as grounded in “tradition,” though he does not acknowledge an external or existential source for truth. Unlike ancient philosophers such as Aristotle and Judeo-Christian thinkers from the Old Testament Patriarchs and Kings up to Aquinas—who acknowledged the need for grounding tradition to link reason and intuition (emotion)—Hayek, in my humble opinion, fails to establish the basis for such truths. Our Founding Fathers did precisely this: they linked the “laws of Nature and Nature’s God”—the moral laws—to foundational pillars not subject to the whims of humanistic situational ethics. Our laws come from God, not from the minds of men. The whims of humanistic relativism are not a viable basis for a society to survive in the long run. The West has long survived and advanced in every field because of our “moral underpinnings” based on God’s law.
One of Hayek’s major contributions outside of economics is his identification, in The Fatal Conceit, of progressive socialist leftists who have gained control over much of the modern Democratic Party as “intelligent people who tend to overvalue their own intelligence and suppose that all the advantages and opportunities of our civilization are the result of deliberate design—meaning human reason. This leads one to be favorably disposed to central planning, which lies at the heart of socialism.”
Hayek believes, correctly, that morals, laws, and the rules that govern our institutions—such as property, freedom, and justice—are not exclusively a creation of man’s reason; so far, I agree with Hayek. But when he states that they are grounded in “cultural evolution,” I am skeptical. Did the evolution of culture not begin with rules? If not, why did God have to give Moses and the Hebrew people the Ten Commandments?
The whole point in describing the “rules of the game” for a civil society is that these rules are under attack. And make no mistake about it, this is not merely a cultural war but a spiritual war. The assassination of Charlie Kirk is not the beginning, but an acceleration of a battle that has been fought since antiquity, in all cultures and religions, before and after the time of Jesus. Over the past fourteen days, there has been no better description of that battle—and no better call to prayer and to join the fight in defense of Christianity—than what has been provided by Pope Benedict XIV, Bishop Robert Barron, and Bishop John Nolan. Where are all the other bishops and church leaders in our Idaho communities?
Protestant church leaders have likewise come forward, especially those in Evangelical churches. I attended a church service in Oak Harbor, Washington, last week where the minister said, “I didn’t agree with everything Charlie Kirk said, but I did pray for him and his family.” I ask: What did Charlie Kirk do or say that was not informed by his Christian faith or was not appropriate as an advocate and witness of his faith in public forums? Now is not the time to go “squishy’—especially for those church leaders who we look to lead the charge.
Pope Benedict XIV specifically mentioned to our U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican that he was praying for Charlie Kirk and his family. Since becoming pope, Benedict has issued clarion calls against the forces of evil who are murdering Christians and Jews around the world. Religious leaders and Christians continue to be persecuted. Organized paid political rallies against Israel and the Jewish people are part of the war against faith. The bombing of a Catholic church while children were at Mass in Minneapolis was a similar act of evil.
We are informed by the secular logic of Hayek, grounded in moral tradition, and by the theological truths of C. S. Lewis and many religious leaders. When we are attacked—when people like Charlie Kirk and the innocent children in Minneapolis are killed—we are called to confront evil in all its forms, always and forever. If we do not, those shouting “racist,” “bigot,” and “fascist” will continue their radicalized and personalized persecution of Christians and Jews—including me and you!
NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO GO SOFT ON EVIL. Now is not the time to equivocate.
