Makers of the Modern Revolution

Order of Service

• Sermon
• Closing Prayer

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Sermon Title: Makers of the Modern Revolution

Scripture: No Scripture text was read.

I. Introduction to the Series

A. The series examines key thinkers and cultural theorists whose ideas shaped modern Western culture B. Presenter: Dr. Carl Trueman, minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, professor at Grove City College C. Central thesis: Ideas originating in academic and philosophical circles over centuries have seeped into broader culture and now form the intuitive assumptions of modern people

1. Figures to be examined: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the Romantics, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Oscar Wilde, Sigmund Freud, and the New Left
2. Most people have never read these thinkers yet live in the world their ideas created

II. First Characteristic of the Modern Age — Expressive Individualism

A. Definition: The authentic self is found by expressing outwardly what one feels inwardly B. The modern person believes authenticity requires that inner feelings be publicly expressed

1. To live contrary to one's inner feelings is to "live a lie"
2. The highest virtue is being "authentic" — outward behavior matching inner feeling C. This has not always been the case; prior generations valued reserve and the suppression of feelings as signs of genuine character D. This idea was deliberately formulated by specific thinkers and did not arise naturally

III. Second Characteristic — Happiness as Inner Psychological Satisfaction

A. The modern person defines happiness as an inward sense of psychological well-being B. Prior generations defined satisfaction outwardly — in terms of fulfilling responsibilities to others

1. Example: A working-class grandfather found job satisfaction in providing materially for his family
2. Modern people define job satisfaction in terms of personal feelings, enjoyment, and inner fulfillment C. This shift explains the modern view that words cause harm: words damage a person's inward psychological well-being D. This characteristic flows directly from expressive individualism — the inner life is what defines the self

IV. Third Characteristic — The Immanent Frame

A. The modern world understands all things within the limits of the material world, with no reference to anything beyond it B. Philosopher Charles Taylor describes this as the "immanent frame" — reality is explained without transcendence

1. In medieval times, natural events (thunderstorms, illness) were understood as acts of God or supernatural forces
2. Luther's near-miss by a thunderbolt was understood by him as divine judgment, not a natural phenomenon
3. The Puritans grounded their identity in providential history — the connection between this world and the supernatural C. Traditional law and morality were grounded in transcendent authority (the gods, God, natural law)
4. Ancient Sparta: the law code received from the oracle at Delphi
5. Christian tradition: natural law rooted in the character of God D. The modern age has broken decisively with this; ethics are now driven by what produces happiness or what works for the most people — an entirely immanent basis

V. Fourth Characteristic — The Sexual Revolution

A. The sexual revolution involves a fundamental overthrow and repudiation of traditional sexual morality, not merely a broadening of it

1. Traditional morality is now regarded as repressive — as an obstacle to expressive individualism and inner psychological happiness B. First aspect: The rejection of entire categories, not merely their redefinition
2. Example: Modesty was once debated in terms of degree; today the concept of modesty itself is considered absurd
3. Example: Virginity, once a virtue, is now treated culturally as ridiculous (illustrated by the comedy premise of a film title)
4. Traditional notions of modesty were rooted in transcendent standards — the immanent frame has no basis for them C. Second aspect: The attenuation of social standards and the removal of shame
5. Sexual rule-breaking has always existed, but it was previously understood as breaking the rules
6. Today the rules themselves have been so weakened that they can scarcely be broken; adultery carries no social stigma D. Third aspect: Sexual identity — sex has moved from something people do to something people are
7. The concept of "sexual orientation" is a recent development
8. In ancient Greece, homosexual activity was common but no one defined themselves by it as an identity
9. The modern self is now defined primarily in terms of sexual desire — a radical break with all prior history

VI. Application and Discussion

A. These ideas should prompt self-examination within the church, not merely critique of the outside culture B. Christians unconsciously absorb cultural presuppositions that shape how they read Scripture

1. Example: The question of the age of creation in Genesis 1–3 is a post-Darwin question; the early church fathers did not ask it
2. The questions we bring to Scripture are shaped by the culture we inhabit C. Charles Taylor's observation: secular people cannot live consistently within the immanent frame — transcendence keeps breaking through (e.g., in the experience of music)
3. Secular thinkers who reject transcendence must borrow from the Christian worldview to make sense of love, philanthropy, and human dignity D. Understanding the historical roots of modern ideas equips Christians to engage unbelievers seriously and intellectually
4. The lives of the thinkers who produced these ideas (Rousseau, Marx, Nietzsche, etc.) were often morally catastrophic — their worldviews did not produce human flourishing E. The series will proceed to examine Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the Romantic movement in the next lecture