How to Save the West: Ancient Wisdom for 5 Modern Crises with Spencer Klavan

Please see the video interview here!

Western Culture is in a state of crisis. Objective truth is replaced by virtual reality, humanity by “transhumanism,” meaning by meaninglessness, religion by whole-hearted devotion to scientism, and the republican government by the liberal internationalist regime. This cultural chaos inevitably leads to the question—Can the West be saved?

On this episode of Hank Unplugged the Oxford-educated classicist Spencer Klavan joins Hank Hanegraaff to discuss his new book How to Save the West: Ancient Wisdom for 5 Modern Crises in which Klavan identifies five “essential crises”: The Crisis of Reality, The Crisis of the Body, The Crisis of Meaning, The Crisis of Religion and The Crisis of Regime. Klavan’s deep understanding of the roots of Western civilization make him a trustworthy guide for those concerned about the future of Western civilization. The situation is dire. But every crisis we face today we have faced—and surmounted—before.

For more information on How to Save the West: Ancient Wisdom for 5 Modern Crises and how to receive for your partnering gift, please click here. 

Topics discussed include:  Hank explains how he became familiar with Spencer Klavan’s work and their differences on human sexuality (:45); the crisis that ensues when we fail to communicate even when we disagree (7:25); how do we define Western Civilization? (9:35); does maintaining the traditions of Western Civilization matter? (13:45); are we experiencing a reality crisis? (19:30); if you can’t tell what is real or fake, then how can you determine good vs. evil? (24:30); what is reality privilege? (29:00); the connection between Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse and Plato’s Cave (32:45); the crisis of the body, consciousness and the soul (37:00); the purely fabricated notion of gender (43:00); the slippery slope from transgenderism to transhumanism (45:45); the state of our culture wars and the crisis of meaning (49:15); where do the rules of reality come from for a materialist? (53:45); the new religions of scientism and social justice (59:50); the disservice that the Enlightenment did to Western Civilization (1:04:50); the modern infatuation with the multiverse theories (1:09:10); why most people do not have the courage to live according to their convictions (1:13:45); the mythology that follows in the wake of science—the problem with science trying to answer questions that it was never designed to ask (1:17:20); our current political crisis is a crisis of civic love (1:20:05); the bright side of technology (1:30:00); how can we save the West? (1:31:35).

NOTE: Hank Hanegraaff and the Christian Research Institute hold to the historic Christian orthodox view of marriage and sexuality; namely, that marriage is the exclusive, permanent, and comprehensive union of one man and one woman, the proper end of which is the bearing and rearing of children (Girgis, Anderson, George, What Is Marriage? Encounter Books; 1st Edition (December 11, 2012 ). Indeed, biblical marriage and sexuality constitute essential teaching of the faith—not an area about which Christians can simply agree to disagree. Nonetheless, professing Christians who have strong disagreements on primary doctrines can work together as cobelligerents on common cause issues. Guest Spencer Klavan, who is married to a man, brings brilliant scholarship and deep understanding to bear on the specific areas addressed in his book, How to Save the West, and the Hank Unplugged/Bible Answer Man conversation. To paraphrase Benjamin Franklin from another context, we either hang together against the common threats to society or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately. In not allowing the perfect to become the enemy of the good, it is our prayer and hope that Hank’s modeling of an uncomfortable conversation will benefit all listeners. For further study, see Scott Klusendorf, “Should Christians Be Cobelligerents in Ecumenical Coalitions?,” Christian Research Journal 29, 03 (2006), Rev. Matthew M. Kennedy, “Marriage is about the Gospel: Clarifying the Boundaries of Christian Orthodoxy,” Christian Research Journal 45, 2/3 (2022): 16–23.

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