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Christianity Today, August, 2008 |

Jeremiah at Harvard

Three decades after Solzhenitsyn's speech, where do we find ourselves?

Charles Colson with Anne Morse | posted 8/05/2008 08:30AM

Thirty years ago this summer, a 59-year-old bearded dissident, whose writings helped expose and eventually bring down Soviet tyranny, stood facing rows of robed faculty and graduates at Harvard's historic ...

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Mary Ann

Posted: August 12, 2008 3:37 PM

Colson once more pulls us back to the Word as he rightly assesses modern society. The Western world has lost an important allie with Solzenitsen's death and too few realize it. Why should we be shocked that people see this article as purely political when that is the way modern political correctness misses the spiritual aspects of all of life. This is not a democrat or republican issue. It is a spiritual condition. Christians indeed need to wake up, fall on our knees seeking forgiveness, and seeking God's face once more. A call to prayer is mandatory. Who will issue the call? Who will heed it? It is up to each of us to have ears to listen and lips that speak the Word. Will you join me and the thousands who are already praying for this nation to regain her Christian conscience? I pray many will.

Fran Davies

Posted: August 10, 2008 7:50 AM

The Bush administration "boldly confronting evil"? Pa-leeze! The Bush administration's hubris stinks to high heaven. They sent our men and women into a holocaust, destabilizing an already less than stable region, killing and maiming tens of thousands of people, leaving our nation to agonize and fight amongst ourselves over how to extricate us from Iraq and FOR WHAT? Osama bin Laden continues to snub his nose and play hide and seek seven years after 9-11 and international terrorism is more rampant than ever. All of the things we have done to protect ourselves from terrorists on the domestic front could have been done without invading Iraq. How about "boldly and bumblingly" confronting evil? Please, Mr. Colson, don't try to make Bush out to be a peer of Solzhenitsyn.

Dave N.

Posted: August 08, 2008 5:30 PM


Colson's comments seem out of place on a Christian website. His neo-conservative Bush boosterism belongs on the op-ed pages of the Washington Times, not here.

Leroy

Posted: August 07, 2008 1:30 PM

Doesn't Colson know that Solzhenitsyn was both a moralist and nationalist who supported Putin when he rose to power in Russia. Solzhenitsyn's early writings are spectacular, but his moralizing and misunderstanding of the nature of secular society, similar to Colson's, who has been singing the "were are headed into a new dark ages" blues for so long that he doesn't really know any other tune. Solzhenitsyn's critique of the western world view is as outdated as Colson's And for Colson to hold up Bush's response to 9/11 as laudable is obscene, misguided and if not so offensive would be amusing. How can killing 10s of thousand innocent civilians be seen as anything other than tragic? In any event, it is the black and white view of the world that has gotten us into the mess we are in. Its a shame that Colson is using the death of Solzhenitsyn as a soap box for his own, narrow minded view of the world.

Rich of NYC

Posted: August 07, 2008 12:13 PM

Father Michael makes a good point with the author looking at the Bush polices at face value and not fully understanding how the admin tried to undermine the people. We have lost our voice and ability to change, to a great extent, in this society. The spirit of the 60's and 70's for social change, and demanding "we" be heard, has died. A good point has been made tha this war has created an isolationist mentality in us- "we don't want to deal with that, we've got to get our house in order". Which is true. But as the Rev. Wright said, before damning the country, God has blessed America, and with that blessing comes responsibility whether we like it or not. & I agree, we have become too PC for our own good, rationale thought has left the courrtroom to appease the masses and many forms of social morale have died. Raising a young daughter, I know I'll be fighting with my cultural traditions and spirituality, versus society. As my dad once said, "as sheep I send you among wolves".

DAvid Proffitt

Posted: August 06, 2008 7:13 PM


Great thoughts from chuck colson. I hope we heed them.

Beau in NC

Posted: August 06, 2008 2:11 PM

I agree with Sean. As Colson puts it, if someone is a terrorist suspect, then he is only a suspect. As as any suspect, there are rights, and if we are believing Americans, then they are God-given right. A God-given right to remain silent. A God-given right to an attorney. A God-given right to face one's accusers. A God-given right to know the charges against you. A God-given right to Habeas Corpus. And above all, a GOD-GIVEN RIGHT NOT TO BE WATERBOARDED INTO A "CONFESSION." Chuck, try to break free from the fads and fashions of those who support and applaud Bush and his neo-conservative (an oxymoron if ever there was one) team.

Father Michael

Posted: August 06, 2008 1:18 PM

Mentioning Solzhenitsyn in the same article as President Bush is simply outrageous and betrays an inability in Colson to divorce his Christian faith from his Republican (even Nixonian) political vision. There is nothing morally courageous about the Bush administration's foreign policy. While I agree that ideology and utopian aspirations can lead to morally courageous action, that action usually entails something more than renouncing golf while the sons of other men fight. It requires self-sacrifice and self-implication in the pursuit of justice. How much more courageous would it have been for the President to heed the univocal advice of moral theologians who disclaimed the invasion of Iraq as an unjust war? How much more courageous would it have been to pursue the more difficult path of truth, justice, and reconciliation? Or have we simply forgotten the story of how God in Christ confronted evil and reconciled the world to himself?

Rob Braun

Posted: August 06, 2008 11:56 AM

I was just reading a comment about Solzenitsyn's speach made in an obiturary in the NY Times. They too didin't like his speach at Harvard. But as Jesus said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" Matt.23:37-39

Geoff

Posted: August 06, 2008 11:54 AM


To Greg Chase: Actually, I understood Colson's point quite clearly, but connecting a "call to repentance" with support for a particular political agenda was Colson's decision in writing the article the way he (or his ghost-writers) did. I merely pointed out the flawed logic and bad theology of such an approach.

David Price

Posted: August 06, 2008 10:01 AM

In the first two comments by (Chris and Sean )there is a lot of time devoted to the war in Iraq, and the Bush policies. This leads me to believe, that you have a narrow view of history, and the context of Colsons remarks really have little meaning to you. As a child, I had to practice getting under my desk at school in order to protect myself from an atomic blast because of Russia(USSR)and of all things pledging allegiance to the flag and Country. But, thats History. I'm concerned for my grandchildren. Will they have the Liberty I have, or the 30 day mentality of most people in the country now. By the way, September 11, 2001 is now ancient history. Lets forget about it and see who we can accomodate now. The end of the month is only 25 days away

Sean	Posted: August 06, 2008 8:16 AM

Colson's twisting of Solzhenitsyn's words and suggestion that somehow Christians have something at stake in the way the Bush administration has pursued its immoral and deeply anti-Christian war in Iraq -- even to the point of condoning the terrorism and the torturing of innocent people by George W. Bush -- is idolatrous and should not be tolerated by honest Christians. Shame, shame, shame on you, Mr. Colson.

brooke

Posted: August 06, 2008 6:43 AM


Chris C, wonderful insight. I couldn't agree with you more! Americans certainly need to learn not to lump issues together in a left/right, good/bad fashion. Each issue we encounter should be prayed about, and reflected upon in seeking God's guidance.

Bette Dewing

Posted: August 06, 2008 6:07 AM

Bravo, for recalling this most important message which is being ignored in the obituaries and commentaries. Solzynitsyn sharply criticized the change in music and other entertainment. He also urged "Everyone to make everthing their business." And so much more that went undeeded by the most pwoerful social engineers. Incidentally, then NY Times editor Harrison Salisbury applauded the message unlike most editors and columnists. I praised it in my column in the Manhattan weekly Our Town and now trying to find a copy. RabbiSehldon Zimmerman did too in his commentary in this paper which then had a weekly space for religious homilies. (no more sadly). As one who advocates for ongoing family closeness, I thought a commentator said he returend to Russia because of his ailing mother. Not sure if I heard right. But surely the segregation that exists between generation is a apartheid destructive to everyone. Again thank you for recalling his Harvard mesage more important now than eve

Susan De Vries

Posted: August 06, 2008 3:04 AM


Excellent parallels. Thank you for the perceptive insights and comparisons.

Jimbo Steamer

Posted: August 06, 2008 2:20 AM

Several points here: 1. Harvard, an organ of secular liberalism, invited Solzhenitsyn and listened to what he had to say. Too often conservatives and evangelicals are not willing to "hear out" contrary viewpoints. Look how well that has worked in the Bush Administration. 2. Colson himself was part of the collapse of morality at the highest levels of our government. He and his GOP cohorts are partially responsible for the erosion of civic life in America and the rise of cynicism. 3. Solzhenitsyn condemned a Soviet government built on bald-faced lies, and he would certainly be critical of a government, like ours, that lies to get us into an unnecessary war in Iraq. 4. The fraying of American values is due, in large part, to the unfettered power of corporations, which have commandeered our culture, food chain and family lives in the service of higher profits, and conservatives have supported this every step of the way.

Lorin Hart

Posted: August 06, 2008 12:48 AM


The war for an Iraq that is stable and democratic and free is working.... Everyone believed the same data. it is not and was not immoral. The rights and the laws we cherish are for citizens, not enemy combatants, and never have been, or it would be impossible to win a war. Respectfully, some of these commenters seem to have missed Colsens points as well as Solzhenitsyn's entirely....sad

Stephen N. Johnson

Posted: August 05, 2008 9:17 PM

Without question the culture is becoming more secular. Freedom is abused, but freedom must means “freedoms for good” or “freedoms for evil;” otherwise it is not freedom at all. The church is not threatened by opposing same-sex marriage, but because it has compromised the only distinctive message it has ever had—the Gospel of the Grace of God. The Court has granted justice for terrorist, but surely the church does not recommend injustice. The citizenry is spiritually exhausted, not because of the moral degradation in the culture, but because the power of the Gospel has been eclipsed by politics and “religious correctness” in the pulpit. Let the church carry the pure gospel of grace—the unconditional love and forgiveness of God, unfiltered by a thousand, ifs, and, buts—to the marketplace of ideas. If it cannot win the day with the only distinctive message it has ever had, the fault is not that of a secular society or the academy. The fault rests with the church

CBob	Posted: August 05, 2008 6:30 PM


Great Article! Great Writer! Great man! We desperately need to re/consider his words!

Greg Chase

Posted: August 05, 2008 6:05 PM

The point that Mr Colson was trying to make was completely lost on Greg And Geoff. The need for repenting in sack cloth and ashes is here. He who has eyes to see, let him see and ears to hear, let him hear. Revival is what America needs not political sniping. It sickens me that they go on in some trivial pursuit and miss the entire call to repentance. As the lyrics go from my generation, "No one is so blind as he who will not see." And scripture says, "Righeousness exhalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people." Greg, Colson did go to prison but he also repented and was forgiven by the Savior. Perhaps you could learn from Jesus to forgive and repent of your own sins.

A Hermit

Posted: August 05, 2008 5:02 PM

Colson's attack on the Supreme Court for giving 'terrorists' the right to access US courts goes against our presumption of innocence. Guantanamo is our equivalent of the 'gulag'- no rights, no appeal, no mercy. For an indefinate amount of time. Bush started the Iraq war despite having allowed Osama Bin Laden to escape, and despite ongoing UN inspections that showed no weapons of mass destruction. The greatest threat to the US is not 'secular humanism', but greed and lust for power that places control of our nation in the hands of a relatively few powerful and wealthy men and corporations. Bush's policies have given more power and wealth to the minority, at the expense of our environment and social programs for the poor. Jesus did not come to establish a materially wealthy, powerful capitalist state- but a kingdom not of this world, of love, sharing and mercy.

Isaiah Tor

Posted: August 05, 2008 4:52 PM

This article by Mr Colson points out certain deep seated issues concerning the Christian faith. However there is a latent confusion here as between the world ( as defined by the apostle John in his first Epistle as lying in the evil one, a system that is inherently and even boldly reprobate against the glory of God) and the lot of the genuine believers of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Spiritual exhaustion as applied to us believers is most apt, but spiritual exhaustion is not applicable to men who are unbelievers composing this dark and evil age, even as they are still "dead in sins and offenses". In John 17, the Lord Jesus equated in an apposite sense the moral condition of the world (as a system) is that of being in the hands of the devil. Let us rather pray that we be renewed in the spirit of our mind, allowing the Lord to renew us daily, in order that unbelievers who view us daily would witness the very work of grace in us and so according to His love in us believe into Him.

Jeff Fairchild

Posted: August 05, 2008 4:49 PM

I believe that Colson brings up an excellent point about what is happening in our country. And, I believe that if we are not careful we are going to see the end of this great nation. President Bush did the right thing in confronting the terrorists and Saddam. Just because his popularity has waned does not mean what he did was wrong. Right and wrong are not based on consensus. It is based on moral and ethical grounds. I think, if our country survives, history will vindicate President Bush just as it did another unpopular president who was hated for his stance, Abraham Lincoln. Folks, we need to stop listening to the drivel of the left and start to look at things based on right and wrong as laid out in the scriptures. Finally, let me say that the Bible says nothing about just war doctrine. This was made up by Bishops in the Catholic Church. Jesus never condemned war. You will not find it in the Scriptures. In fact, the sinful world as we know it will be destroyed by war led by Jesus.

Gary F.

Posted: August 05, 2008 4:15 PM

No offense intended, but I think Jerome, Nicki and Alan have proved Solzenitsen's point by missing Colson's. The point of the article was not about politics, but about the national abandonment of God and His ways by our society and its leaders in general. This humanistic bent has taken us on a cultural descent into non-sense and depravity. That - and Colson's question at the end - is the point, not Iraqi's rights, Bush's performance, or even Solzenitsyn's works. Sincerely, with all due respect.

Mark	Posted: August 05, 2008 4:02 PM

Colson may be off base on Iraq, but don't miss the larger points he is making via Solzhenitsyn. In that same speech at Harvard in 1978, Solzhenitsyn’s words convey a truth that is eerily applicable to 2008: “It is imperative to review the table of widespread human values. Its present incorrectness is astounding. It is not possible that assessment of the President's performance be reduced to the question of how much money one makes or of unlimited availability of gasoline. Only voluntary, inspired self-restraint can raise man above the world stream of materialism.” Solzhenitsyn decried the “calamity of a despiritualized and irreligious humanistic consciousness,” concluding that: “we have lost the concept of a Supreme Complete Entity which used to restrain our passions and our irresponsibility. We have placed too much hope in political and social reforms, only to find out that we were being deprived of our most precious possession: our spiritual life."

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