Just put up a long post on First Thoughts arguing against both the conservative hubris of Jeremy Neill, who – seemingly immune to irony – cites Karl Marx in arguing that History will inevitably deliver victory to conservatism, and the seeming despair of Carl Trueman. I argue:

No society can live long without public order, including in matters of sex; but it is equally true that no pagan society could live long with the kind of order we would call conservative and traditional. And here we come to the meaning of “conservative,” “traditional,” and “victory.”

I am a conservative and I value tradition, but I do not think either of those can be the real basis of social order…

What we really want is justice, mercy and love of neighbor. And those things can be built in ways that are not “conservative” or “traditional.” After the collapse of the sexual revolution, the world will have been remade. Carl is right that there will not be much hope for justice, mercy and love of neighbor if achieving those goals depends upon the reconstruction of an older, pre-sexual-revolution social world. But why must that be the case?

Wherever people are people, human beings made in the image of God, there is hope for justice, mercy and love of neighbor.

Your thoughts, as always, are appreciated!