At the back of every discussion of the good society lies this question, What is the object of human life?
The enlightened conservative does not believe that the end or aim of life is competition; or success; or enjoyment; or longevity; or power; or possessions. He believes, instead, that the object of life is Love.
He knows that the just and ordered society is that in which Love governs us, so far as Love ever can reign in this world of sorrows; and he knows that the anarchical or the tyrannical society is that in which Love lies corrupt. He has learnt that Love is the source of all being, and that Hell itself is ordained by Love.
He understands that Death, when we have finished the part that was assigned to us, is the reward of Love. And he apprehends the truth that the greatest happiness ever granted to a man is the privilege of being happy in the hour of his death.
--Russell Kirk, 1954, ten years before he converted to Roman Catholicism
Did Kirk ever write explicitly about Christ and him crucified for us? I have dabbled this summer in some of his writings, including his third-person bio.
ReplyDeleteBTW, nice blog, Brad. I wish there could be a Lutheran web presence like this for the Hillsdale community.
Blessings,
Rob Olson
Rob, thanks. Kirk was very open re his faith, but he kept certain parts of it very personal. There's no evangelical statement, though. You should definitely start a nosy website. It's free with google.
ReplyDeleteIt took me a while to figure out what he was saying at the end of his third-person autobio.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the blog, I did create one, just for fun, but note its subtitle: http://hillsdalelutheran.blogspot.com/
"Test, test, test. How does Brad find the time?"
Rob ;-)