Discussing
Remembering a modern-day prophet: Alexander Solzhenitsyn

This is interesting, thanks.

The West, founded on Biblical principles and definitions of the human, manifested a Freedom that enables creative Freedom and progression. However, many in the West reject the superiorities and choose immorality and non-ethos as the fulfillment of human appetites and desires - including illegality and criminality. Mr. Adams said that such a Freedom system was designed only for a religious people, meaning self-controlled, and will work for no other. Thus, the greatest weakness in the church and the nations of the West is less than perfect emulation by far too many of its cittizens. Still. Yet, its betrayers cannot come up with a better system of thought and behavior.

I once read all three volumes of The Gulag Archipelago. I still have them on my shelf. Many people never got through the first volume because its contents assume too much knowledge of Soviet history, especially that of its legal system. But the second and third volumes are fascinating in spite of the fact that the whole work suffers from poor editing due to the circumstances under which it had to be written and published. There was a very good abridgment published by one of his translators (Whitney, I think). At the very least one should read his short little novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Dennisovitch to get a small taste of what it was like to be a prisoner in the Gulag.

Solzhenitsyn was a prophetic individual, I think. We do well, even more so today, to consider his warnings carefully. Having to learn the hard way seems to be an inevitable human failing, however. I think his writings have been a very strong influence on my faith and serve as an example what it means to have courage in the face of suffering and evil. The idea that he compromised to survive the Gulag is hogwash. He served his full 10 year sentence and collected the material for his early publications at a great risk to his life.

The path to greater spirituality has always been an individual journey.... those who suffer unwillingly are more likely to seek the spiritual than those who have no such rod. So while the, "Weak Western church" may be true overall, within that are the saints whom God gave the strength to say, "no" to decadence. And this is no less difficult than the eastern churches journey.

Since no one is smarter than their criteria, unbelievers function at a mediocrity level throughout their earthly experience. Judeo-Christians possess God-made Transcendent Criteria that cannot be topped, exhibiting the infinite character of the Author.

Put this on your refrigerator and teach children:

|"No one is smarter than their criteria." selah

Now YOU know why Sir Isaac Newton was the greatest scientist in human history! JFB