Saturday, October 15, 2022

The Novelization Of Our Society

It is certain that all of us have heard quite a good deal about George Orwell's eerily prescient novel "1984" and its uncanny predictions about the world which at the time of his writing was decades in the future. I have recently finished listening to the book and in truth some of the things it has to say about society and how it would devolve into a mesh of contradictions are amazingly accurate. One may be tempted to think that Orwell was some sort of prophet, but it doesn't take a prophet to understand where the world is headed.

Recently, Doug Wilson made a comment referring to CS Lewis saying that he was usually right on point when describing man's motivations and what he saw was the future of the race. Wilson also mentioned that it was not that Lewis had some sort of crystal ball that allowed him to see the future, but rather that he understood human nature. If one understands human nature, then it will become quite simple to predict the direction society will take at any given moment in time. 

The Bible tells us what human nature is all about. A few Sundays ago, our pastor spoke about that very nature in reading Romans 3. There, Paul lays out the evidence for man's corruption in sin. In the end, Paul says, the primary reason for their corruption is the fact that "there is no fear of God in their eyes." When the fear of God is absent, man becomes his own god and when he is his own god then the downward spiral that we've been in can only accelerate.

Getting back to Orwell, the society that he predicted was one where everything was basically the opposite of what people were led to believe. The Ministry of Truth sought to basically erase history, by propagating lies. Winston, the main character in the novel, would examine past issues of newspapers or books seeking where they needed to be "updated." In other words, if Big Brother had predicted something that actually didn't come to pass, for example, it was Winston's job to edit the offending prediction and change it so it would say what actually happened. Thus, what Big Brother said was made to look as though it was in fact what actually came to pass. All editions of the documents that had the original quote would then be destroyed being sent down the memory hole. In the same way, whenever Big Brother found the need to honor someone for being a stalwart party apparatchik, one would be invented from whole cloth. As Winston commented in the book, a historical figure could be made to exist today who didn't actually exist in the past!

I couldn't help but think of this very thing as I read an article about how the government is seeking to change the names of the military forts and bases that bear confederate names. And, predictably, the person in charge of the effort, in response to questions about the action, said that they are not seeking to erase history. How's that for a lack of self awareness? 

History is a pesky thing and facts, as Ben Shapiro likes to say, don't care about our feelings. In time, all of this attempt at erasing history and eliminating anything that could in any possible way offend will only create a society like 1984's: full of people sleepwalking with little purpose and no reason for living. If it were not for the grace of God, we all would be headed in that direction. Thank God for His unspeakable Gift!

 

 

 



7 comments:

  1. We can definitely say there’s no fear of God in their eyes. What a sad group of lost souls who have truth available, but blatantly refuses anything where truth matters.

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    1. So true. Never in the history of the world has the truth of God been more available and yet so ignored. Instead of embracing that truth and basking in the grace of God, people seek to distort it and change it to suit their perverse purposes.

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  2. I almost did a boo-boo! I was confusing Farenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury) with "1984." I suppose that is forgivable since there is a bit of similarity between the two books. David L.

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    1. I haven't read Fahrenheit 451, but by the little I've read about it, seems that Bradbury and Orwell were thinking along similar lines. It is instructive that those who are engaged in the "sanitizing" of our society and who seek to remove all traces of those things which can be "hurtful," often accuse those who resist such efforts as being the ones who are committing those very acts. Witness how liberal politicians accuse the other side or wanting to "ban books" because they object to pornography and lewdness being taught to elementary school age children. As I mentioned during my message of a couple a weeks ago, all to often liberals seek to teach children things that they should not learn until much later in life, if at all!

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    2. Yes. Much of the liberal filth is unsuitable for any and all. David L.

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  3. Great post, Mike! Be sure to read Lewis' That Hideous Strength, too! Seems like the N.I.C.E. is running our nation! -Matt M (for some reason my post is Anonymous.)

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    1. Hey Matt, good to hear from you. Hope things are going well in your neck of the woods. Write me an email and let me know how things are going. I will read Lewis' book. I've read a lot of his works and I like them a lot. He may have had his theological issues, but he understood human nature perhaps better than anyone. Appreciate your thoughts!

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