The Power and Purpose of Western Civilization

The Power and Purpose of Western Civilization

Civilizations rise and fall, but Western Civilization has withstood horrific stresses and still resulted in the modern world. But its strength — its Judeo-Christian rules — is being drained.  ...
Dennis Behreandt

Far away and cold beyond cold. The words do not do the reality justice in describing the state of the Voyager 1 spacecraft hurtling outward into the galaxy. The furthest man-made object from our warm, watery world, its now antique instrumentation peers back to its origin, and in the lens of its camera, that origin is merely a speck. Forward, into the great void beyond the planets, the little probe hurtles, an infinity awaiting it.

Voyager 1 is mankind’s first interstellar spacecraft, something that, when stated in such terms, seems a matter only of science fiction, rather than science fact. Yet, the truth remains: In 1977, the United States, the wealthiest and most technologically advanced nation in history, built and launched the very first interstellar spacecraft. In fact, it launched a pair of them. Like Voyager 1, Voyager 2 is exiting the solar system. In 300,000 years, it will pass the great star Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.

For the Voyagers, eternity is the future, and for that eternity they will represent the greatest achievement, to this point in any case, of a great civilization of epochal importance. The Voyagers were created by technological means derived from the epistemological practice of science, a means of interrogating the material world and increasing our understanding of it. But science itself is predicated on a whole host of other civilizational characteristics, all of which coalesced in what was once known as “Christendom” and has, more recently, come to be known as Western Civilization.

This fantastic article is for subscribers only.
Login
Lost Password?

JBS Member or ShopJBS.org Customer?

Sign in with your ShopJBS.org account username and password or use that login to subscribe.

The New American Digital Subscription The New American Digital Subscription Subscribe Now
Use code SUB25 at check out
  • 24 Issues Per Year
  • Digital Edition Access
  • Exclusive Subscriber Content
  • Audio provided for all articles
  • Unlimited access to past issues
  • Cancel anytime.
  • Renews automatically
The New American Print+Digital Subscription The New American Print+Digital Subscription Subscribe Now
Use code SUB25 at check out
  • 24 Issues Per Year
  • Print edition delivery (USA)
    *Available Outside USA
  • Digital Edition Access
  • Exclusive Subscriber Content
  • Audio provided for all articles
  • Unlimited access to past issues
  • Cancel anytime.
  • Renews automatically