Philosopher and writer Os Guinness thinks America is in its greatest crisis since the Civil War, and perhaps since the American Revolution. At the heart of the crisis is how people understand liberty and freedom. As the culture walks further and further away from Christian faith, far more is at stake than most people realize.
Os talks about what’s really at stake in this moment, and how to become part of the solution, not part of a deepening cultural problem.
Welcome to Episode 255 of the podcast. Listen and access the show notes below or search for the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and listen for free.
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Os Guinness | Last Call for Liberty
Episode Links
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3 Insights from Os
1. The political problem we see in America is worse than we think, and it far out-dates the election of Trump
The 2016 election of Donald Trump into the United States Presidency was a surprise and shock to the world. Many people thought it would lead to chaos and tragedy. Os Guinness argues that the major political problems that we see in America are actually worse than we think they are. The issue is much deeper than just a partisan issue.
The major divide within America is between ideologies that are designed with biblical roots that find their origin within the American Revolution, and ideologies that are based out of the French, Russian, and Chinese Revolutions that were not biblically based. Os’ major concern is that without biblically designed checks and balances, tyranny is near.
2. We are seeing the end of Western civilization. So what’s next?
When we look at the world today, the end of western civilization is in sight. The question we have to ask ourselves is “what is going to rebuild civilization”? A similar time in history is when Augustine was the leader of Rome during its demise. He saw the end of a great civilization and the birth of a new one. Now it is our turn.
As the church, “the end is not the end”. The church will survive through this massive cultural change. We need to do our best to stay faithful throughout the challenges that are to come. Our vision, conviction, and proclamation of truth must live on. Our basic biblical truths must be unpacked, explored, and lived out.
3. As political Christians, we need to think more deeply and post more carefully
A lot of modern preaching is trivial. People want more intellectual depth than we think. Much of modern American preaching has been watered down and made simple. There is a desperate need for a deeper conversation. Many of the modern political issues have a theological answer.
As we live our lives out on social media, we often limit our focus to whatever political issues happen to scroll through our news feeds. The better step for us as Christians with online influence would be to think about the much deeper root causes of the issues and comment on those, rather than spreading more surface level partisanship in our feeds.
Quotes from Episode 255
Trump is not the cause of the problem. He is the consequence of the problem. -Os Guinness Click To Tweet
Biblically, when words break down violence is never far away. -Os Guinness Click To Tweet
When you remove God from the equation, you set us up to be tyrants. @cnieuwhof Click To Tweet
Read or Download the Transcript for Episode 255
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Read or download a free PDF transcript of this episode here.
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Next Episode: Carly Fiorina
Carly Fiorina has an unlikely journey as a leader. Carly talks how her approach to leadership and problem solving while a secretary at a real estate firm and then low level employee at AT&T eventually prepared her to become CEO of HP and prepared her to run for President of the United States. Carly talks about the reality associated with being the first woman CEO of a Fortune 100 company, the only female candidate for the Republican nomination as well as the only female Vice-Presidential candidate. She also shares how she learned how to be resilient in the face of intense criticism, without becoming jaded or bitter.
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