Enlightenment (3)
The utopian dream of the Enlightenment can be summed up by five words: reason, nature, happiness, progress, and liberty. It was thoroughly secular in its thinking. The humanistic elements which had risen during the Renaissance came to flood tide in the Enlightenment. Here was man starting from himself absolutely.
Francis Schaeffer
How Should We Then Live?, 132 Prominent Hindu sages teach that the world, including individuality is Maya -illusion. Buddhism teaches Anatman -"No-self." Your belief that you exist as an individual person is your bondage. Rene Descartes, the father of European Enlightenment, tried to prove that he existed, but failed. Therefore, much of contemporary Western philosophy has lost the confidence that you exist as a real person; a permanent soul, self, or spirit. It is following the Buddha in giving up the confidence that your logic can know the truth and that your language can communicate it. This tectonic philosophical shift is moving the modern West to postmodern, neo-Buddhist nihilism.This Book Changed Everything, 45
How quickly all the humanist ideals came to grief! In September 1792 began the massacre in which some thirteen hundred prisoners were killed... Before it was all over, the government and its agents killed forty thousand people, many of them peasants. Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794), the revolutionary leader, was himself executed in July 1794. This destruction came not from outside the system; it was produced by the system. As in the later Russian Revolution, the revolutionaries on their humanist base had only two options--anarchy or repression.How Should We Then Live?, 135
Get notified when new 'Enlightenment' quotes come out?
Top Authors
1. Charles Spurgeon (134)
2. Thomas Watson (128)
3. J.C. Ryle (117)
4. John Calvin (107)
5. J.I. Packer (92)
6. John Piper (87)
7. George Swinnock (76)
8. A.W. Pink (68)
9. Louis Berkhof (63)
10. C.S. Lewis (59)
11. John Flavel (59)
12. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (58)
13. B.B. Warfield (58)
14. John Owen (55)
15. R.C. Sproul (55)
16. Heinrich Bullinger (53)
17. Gerald Bray (50)
18. Francis Schaeffer (50)
19. Thomas Brooks (47)
20. Francis Turretin (47)
2. Thomas Watson (128)
3. J.C. Ryle (117)
4. John Calvin (107)
5. J.I. Packer (92)
6. John Piper (87)
7. George Swinnock (76)
8. A.W. Pink (68)
9. Louis Berkhof (63)
10. C.S. Lewis (59)
11. John Flavel (59)
12. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (58)
13. B.B. Warfield (58)
14. John Owen (55)
15. R.C. Sproul (55)
16. Heinrich Bullinger (53)
17. Gerald Bray (50)
18. Francis Schaeffer (50)
19. Thomas Brooks (47)
20. Francis Turretin (47)
Top Topics
1. Sin (206)2. Scripture (152)
3. Prayer (138)
4. Faith (118)
5. Preaching (117)
6. The Law (106)
7. Gospel (104)
8. Salvation (90)
9. Suffering (89)
10. Sabbath (88)
11. Church (77)
12. Christ (68)
13. Law (61)
14. Grace (55)
15. Justification (54)
16. Truth (53)
17. Love (46)
18. Creation (43)
19. Theology (43)
20. Ten Commandments (42)
21. Children (41)
22. Worship (39)
23. Fear (38)
24. Heaven (38)
25. Holiness (38)
26. Sanctification (38)