Prior to WWI, intellectuals and elites were already striving to educate, manipulate, and coerce populations to take a particular direction; one that they believed best for everyone involved and one that they both devised and controlled. These intellectuals, especially those members of The Frankfurt School had two aims: to destroy Western civilization and to destroy Christianity.

In times such as ours, far too few citizens ask the “why?” question. Allow me to explain what I mean by the “why?” question. We will all agree, I think, that we live in a humanistic culture where relativism reigns. In fact, it is generally accepted as a correct way to live and think. When asked where relativism comes from, most people today are likely to shrug their shoulders and say something like: “It’s just the way things are.”[1] Given all the unrest America has experienced in, say, the last decade it might be easy to accept the notion that all the turmoil, riots, destruction of property, chaos, and animosity, as well as rampant relativism is “just way things are” at this juncture in the twenty-first century. Remember when Andy Kim sang, “Remember how it used to was” in his song, Baby, How’d We Ever Get This Way? Many are asking that question now. How did we ever get to where we are in American in our time?

To accept such a stance, however, might work if we are striving to be someone who is a morally tolerant intellectual, but “intellectuals” and “experts” have been and continue to be wrong on many issues and on many levels. In fact, some of the dumbest, most dishonest, insidious, blatantly incorrect, and intentionally misleading statements have been made by “intellectuals” and “experts.” The most leftwing statements of our time have been made by academics, politicians, newscasters, and others who are considered to be “intellectuals,” who repeatedly assert that they are “mainstream” and that their opponents are completely out of touch with what is “mainstream.” These elites are considered to be substantially smarter than the rest of mankind. Just think the late Ted Kennedy and Maxine Waters.

Before we delve into the “why” question more deeply in this blog, one does have to wonder where the contemporary cultural mores had their origin. The why? question definitely has historical underpinnings. A solid case can be made for some of what occurs in our society based on the writings of ancient philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle. Further, much of what we are experiencing in America since, say, the 1960s can be traced culturally and philosophically to the influence of many lesser known men such Franz Boas, Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) in Italy, and Georg Lukacs (György Lukács; 1885-1971) in Hungary. Of course, men of the stature of Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Theodor Adorno, and Herbert Marcuse figure into the cultural equation along with the movement known as The Frankfurt School (cultural Marxism). Other cultural undertakings such as Romanticism, economic Marxism, feminism, environmentalism, the war on global and domestic poverty, Liberation Theology, and the philosophical writings of a gaggle of French “intellectuals” after World War II also play their respective parts.

Clearly, there are more efforts that could be named, but these are sufficient for now. I will strive to explain how each of these made a contribution to bring us where we are both in the church as well as in our twenty-first-century society. My plan is to eliminate technical language and jargon and simply to explain how these various movements not only play a role in our societal regress but also how they all followed a deliberate agenda. My goal is that you become informed. As William S. Lind writes in his January 2, 2018 article (“Who Stole Our Culture?”), what we are living today did not just “happen.” It is the result of an intentional, deliberate agenda “and it is a story almost no one knows.” It is a story that reaches back into the history of the world prior to World War I, especially in Germany and the United States. New York City and Columbia University will play integral roles in this story. Prior to WWI, intellectuals and elites were already striving to educate, manipulate, and coerce populations to take a particular direction; one that they believed best for everyone involved and one that they both devised and controlled. These intellectuals, especially those members of The Frankfurt School had two aims: to destroy Western civilization and to destroy Christianity. Hold on to that truth, because it will appear frequently as we move forward on this blog site.

Therefore, I want warmly and cordially to invite you to embark on this journey with me to determine who intentionally stole our culture and to seek a biblical solution and worldview to combat years of destructive attitudes and actions. As a Christian, I am convinced that there is a way back out of this cultural morass, but it will require effort and the fortitude to stand resolutely in the face of what, no doubt, will be savage resistance and reprisals. I will begin with Franz Boas.

[1] See William D. Gairdner, The Book of Absolutes. A Critique of Relativism and a Defense of Universals, (Montreal, Canada: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2008), 3.

Dr. Ron Gleason is a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America. He lives in South Carolina. This article is used with permission.