Writing in his book, The Fractured Republic: Renewing America’s Social Contract in the Age of Individualism, Yuval Levin observes, “Life in America is always getting better and worse at the same time.” He identifies nostalgia as a major barrier to finding unifying solutions for persistent problems. And he insists that we cannot simply turn the clock back to the 1950s or 1960s and once again enjoy the unity and prosperity of those post-war years.
Since World War II, Levin writes:
In our cultural, economic, political, and social life, this has been a trajectory of increasing individualism, diversity, dynamism, and liberalization. And it has come at the cost of dwindling solidarity, cohesion, stability, authority, and social order. . . . We have grown less conformist but more fragmented; more diverse but less unified; more dynamic but less secure.
Yuval Levin joins me for this episode of The Gospel Coalition podcast. Levin is the Hertog Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and the founder and editor of the journal National Affairs. He is a former White House and congressional staffer and a contributing editor to National Review and the Weekly Standard. We talked about religious liberty, what a resurgence of orthodoxy might look like, and the possibility that culture warriors may have focused too much on controlling institutions rather than building thriving subcultures.
Involved in Women’s Ministry? Add This to Your Discipleship Tool Kit.
We need one another. Yet we don’t always know how to develop deep relationships to help us grow in the Christian life. Younger believers benefit from the guidance and wisdom of more mature saints as their faith deepens. But too often, potential mentors lack clarity and training on how to engage in discipling those they can influence.
Whether you’re longing to find a spiritual mentor or hoping to serve as a guide for someone else, we have a FREE resource to encourage and equip you. In Growing Together: Taking Mentoring Beyond Small Talk and Prayer Requests, Melissa Kruger, TGC’s vice president of discipleship programming, offers encouraging lessons to guide conversations that promote spiritual growth in both the mentee and mentor.
