Cultural Renewal: The Nature of Our Mission

One PERSON (St Paul) led to conversion of three PERSONS (a business woman from Asia Minor, a slave girl who was a professional fortuneteller, and Paul’s jailer), which led to the conversion of a CONTINENT (Europe), which led to the conversion of a CIVILIZATION (Western Civ).

Western man and the Western way of life is the fruit of Christian culture. Unfortunately, that fruit (i.e., Western Christian culture) is in decay. And I agree with the Catholic historian Christopher Dawson who says we must admit it’s our own fault because we have not been faithful to that Christian tradition. It is thus our duty to renew that tradition. To do so, each and every one of us must daily make decisions that will contribute to either the renewal or the degeneration of Christian culture. Listen to Dawson:

the fate of nations and civilizations must always be found in the heart of man and in the hand of God. There is no limit to the efficacy of faith and to the influence of these acts of spiritual decision which are ultimately the response of particular men to God’s call, as revealed in particular historical and personal circumstances.

…It is a commonplace to say that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church, yet what we are asserting is simply that individual acts of spiritual decision ultimately bear social fruit.

For the great cultural changes and the historic revolutions that decide the fate of nations or the character of an age are the cumulative result of a number of spiritual decisions—the faith and insight, or the refusal and blindness, of individuals. No one can put his finger on the ultimate spiritual act which tilts the balance and makes the external order of society assume a new form. In this sense we may adapt Burke’s saying and assert that the prayer of some unknown Christian or some unrecognized and unadmitted act of spiritual surrender may change the face of the world.

So cultural renewal depends on the spiritual decisions of individuals. It depends on people like the recipients of the St. John of Damascus Award: Warren Farha (Orthodox), Christian Kettler (Protestant), and Jeri Holladay (Catholic). And it depends on people like me and you.

But cultural renewal also takes time…a LONG TIME. If we are serious about cultural renewal we have to be committed to the long haul. It’s going to require perseverance, fortitude, patience, persistence, sacrifice…qualities embodied by our SJDA recipients, qualities we too must embrace and embody.

Finally, cultural renewal requires a commitment to the life of the mind. Listen to Dawson again (this was written in 1960!):

The return from a secular civilization to a Christian way of life no doubt involves a reversal of many historical forces that transcend the limits not only of our personal experience but even of our particular society. But in spite of the modern totalitarian tendency to control the development of culture by the external methods of legislation and international organization and the control of parties and political police, it is still the individual mind that is the creative force which determines the ultimate fate of cultures. And the first step in the transformation of culture is a change in the pattern of culture within the mind, for this is the seed out of which there spring new forms of life which ultimately change the social way of life and thus create a new culture.

I occasionally receive feedback suggesting EDI is too intellectual or academic. If Christopher Dawson is correct in suggesting that the “mind is the creative force which determines the fate of cultures,” and I believe he is, then the fulfillment of our mission to renew culture actually depends upon our “intellectual” or “academic” work.

Let me end by repeating Dawson’s last sentence: “The first step in the transformation of culture is a change in the pattern of culture within the mind…” So again, if we agree with Dawson, cultural renewal begins with a transformation of the mind. This is exactly what St. Paul says in his epistle to the Romans (12:2): “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

This is the mission that the life and work of the St. John of Damascus Award recipients have embodied. This is the mission that your life and work must embody. This is the mission of Eighth Day Institute. And it’s our goal to help you fulfill that mission.

Will you help us fulfill our mission? Our fall campaign goal is to recruit 100 new members as a first huge step toward our 10-year goal of 1,000 new members...all toward the end of hiring more staff so we can more effectively fulfill our vital mission of renewing culture through faith and learning.

If you’re not yet a member, will you please consider joining the community today?

If you’re already a member, thank you so much for your support. Will you please help us recruit new members. We’d surpass our fall goal if each of you would heed our campaign motto for members: “every member recruit a member!”

This is a very short, adapted version of a speech Erin Doom presented at the 2022 St. John of Damascus Award ceremony honoring Jeri Holladay. You can read the full presentation here.