Miscellaneous

The New Fascism Q&A

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Conversations, Panels, and Sermons

Lesson: 2-2

Genre: Talk

Track: 2

Dictation Name: RR319A2

Location/Venue:

Year:

[Audio very quiet, possible errors]

[Audience Leader] Okay, if you have some questions you would like to ask Dr. Rushdoony…

[Audience Member] …?...

[Rushdoony] Yes, Fascism has become a popular term to condemn anything that the left wing does not like, but the Liberals in this country use it by and large to characterize anyone who is a free-market man; a genuine conservative. They are the ‘real fascists’ themselves. Yes?

[Audience Member] …?...

[Rushdoony] Yes, first of all the Libertarians have a view of man as essentially good. So at this point they are basically in the camp of the enemy; and I have seen more than once that when the chips are down, they- most of them, not all- will tend to line up with the Liberals as against a Christian thinker. This does not mean their thinking in the area of economics is not exceptionally good, and usually of a very high order.

Christianity before 1660 was by no means a final statement of the faith, and in fact had very serious problems and defects, and one of the reasons of course for its declension was that there were unresolved conflicts in its own nature that it did not properly deal with. It would take an evening to go into an examination of these on both sides of the fence, Protestant and Catholic, but in a sense it was their own fault that they lost the ascendency. Both of them missed the boat. They have an opportunity again, because humanism is in chaos today, whether they will avail themselves of it is of course a question that will be decided in the next 20-30 years. Yes?

[Audience Member] …?...

[Rushdoony] Yes, but it is your problem if the idea of guilt and justice is being dropped from our sociology, our legal system, from our legislature and so on.

[Audience Member] …?...

[Rushdoony] Oh of course, I would agree.

[Audience Member] …?...

[Rushdoony] Well, I recognize that point of view, but I believe of course that there is going to be a turnaround, that unless of course there is a Christian rethinking and reawakening, a regeneration in Christian circles, that will be the conclusion, but I believe that there are already under way powerful counterforces to the existing structure of things. Yes?

[Audience Member] …?...

[Rushdoony] First of all, the increasing sense of bankruptcy is working in our favor. I was talking to a doctor just about two weeks ago who told me what I have heard from others, he said: “I am getting more and more patients who are suicidal. They see no future, no hope.” Now, this sense of despair is all to the good, because it is bringing home the bankruptcy of our society to the people who are a part of that bankruptcy. This is true throughout the Western world, it is true behind the Iron Curtain. Today it would be very simple for the Soviet Union to take over Western Europe- Western Europe is really helpless. There is certainly no will to resistance here. But what you are you beginning to see within the Soviet Union is also the paralysis there, the very deep paralysis. So there is a failure of will everywhere in the world, and this is emphatically an opportunity for us.

Well, what are the counterforces working? Well, this is one right here, the Christian school movement. It is reaching countless numbers of children to the point that at the present rate of growth, at least two new schools established every day across the country, by the end of the century there will be no government schools left. (applause)

Then you are finding without any publicity, without any promotion, without anyone doing anything to lend a hand and in fact to suppress it, the kind of thinking that I represent is beginning to make an impact in one circle after another, some very powerful thinkers are beginning to come our way. I was recommending a book to Mr. Thoburn, let me recommend it to you: the three books written by, in particular to by Otto J. Scott. James the First and Robespierre the Voice of Virtue. Now here is a tremendous thinker, he is already having an impact on a number of minds. What is he doing? He is writing a history of a number of men, four when he is through, who he calls the holy fools of the modern age. Men who at critical time exercised a deadly influence to bring Western man to the impasse he is now. First, James the 1st, and second Robespierre, he is writing right now on John Brown and Harpers Ferry, and the fourth and climatic holy fool is Woodrow Wilson.

Now, his books incidentally on the oil industry and American history since 1900 titled The Professional, McGraw Hill brought that one out, is perhaps as good if not the best history of America in this century that you can find, you will find some shockers in it, there was no real teapot dome scandal.

[Audience Member] …?...

[Rushdoony] The Professional, Otto J. Scott. You can order these books through David Thoburn if you choose because he will be carrying them or ordering them for you.

Now, I cite this one person, I could cite others, who are beginning to do some important thinking. Now these books were done in as it were by the major reviewers, but they are still by word of mouth making their impact and reorganizing the thinking of a great many people.

Well, what I am trying to say is that there are key thinkers in one area after another who unexpectedly- he was not a Christian 4-5 years ago- who are beginning to reach a great many minds. He is a key figure, not only as a scholar but as a former oil company executive in the oil world, and he can tell you of some very dramatic things on the producing end of men who are beginning to see things in a different light- on the distributing end some of your big companies have a different perspective, they are a part of the Fascism, they quit, but you have some with a great deal of enterprise and initiative.

One of them died recently, and I’ve got the story…

[Mount Olive Tape Library] His name was John Dolphin.

[Rushdoony] Hour from you was a young man mining coal, couldn’t read or write. He taught himself to read and became a very able reader, an omnivorous reader. He learned to print his name, so he could carry on business, and decided the oil business years ago was the thing to get into. He did, worked his way up to the top; by the time he was in his early forties he had made 28 million dollars, and had 28 million dollars. He lost it in 2-3 years in some new ventures, by the time he had retired he had set a record for having made and lost and then made more fortunes than any man in American history. After he was more or less retired he couldn’t sit still, he went into the oil and coal business and basic exploration and development on a bigger scale than ever before. He died suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of 90. (laughter) He was negotiating for some coal leases on a 99 year basis.

We have more men of that spirit in this country then you realize, so with men like John Dolphin we have a future. Yes?

[Audience Member] I’m a little puzzled to think of these men rethinking the current situation and the positions of influence we’ve heard about, and the desperate situation of humanism, and yet I feel that your thinking in terms of purely naturalistic turning around; now if man really is depraved as the scripture teaches and he may have advantageously good ideas on the borrowed capital on the fact that we are right as far as this goes, the laws and principles that work in God’s creation; are you saying that on that basis this great turn around will take place?

[Rushdoony] No, I use the word regeneration advisably.

[Audience Member] Could you elaborate on that, I am thinking in terms …?...

[Rushdoony] Yes, I have written on that, and I don’t want to go into a second talk here, but basically an eschatology which is postmillennial, beginning on the premise of course of the regeneration of man, the reconstruction of society in terms of Christian faith, the application of Biblical law in every area of life is my concept of the future. But I don’t want to go into a separate talk, I was confining myself to the New Fascism.

[Audience Member] …?...

[Rushdoony] Oh yes, but behind that there is another change, a supernatural change of course. The one produces the other. Yes?

[Audience Member] With all these forces at work, and the turn around in the thinking and so forth, do you think these changes will take place in a peaceful or a revolutionary manner?

[Rushdoony] I have no way of knowing, but I do believe the changes are in process emphatically.

[Audience Member] I’m afraid the changes will be made in a revolutionary manner rather than a peaceful manner (?).

[Rushdoony] To me the evidences of a change are very extensive across the fences; they are not visible because they are publicized. We have one type of idea dominating the current scene, the other because it is in opposition to that, is not given any recognition. Our best seller lists for example do not give you any indication of the kind of books that are selling, but an indication of the approved books, and how they are selling. And you can go on down the line and point out how the opposition is not ready to acknowledge the existence of what is happening. For example, about four years ago there was an article on the Christian school movement, in a major, one of the 2-3 largest papers in the United States. It was called the ‘quiet revolution’. They never once mentioned the word Christian in it. So that they spoke about the Christian schools, it was obvious they were speaking about the Christian schools, but they never once used the word.

[Audience Leader] Thank you Dr. Rushdoony for sharing with us this evening, we will have a prayer before we are dismissed …?...

Let’s bow our heads for prayer. Our gracious heavenly Father we thank Thee for all Thy blessings upon our lives, we thank Thee that Thou hast created this world, Thou didst make it very good, Thou hast made us in Thy own image, and Thou hast given us dominion over the works of Thy hand. We thank Thee that Thou hast instituted property, that we may hold as stewards under Thee. We pray Father that we may use this property for Thy glory and that we might resist the encroachments of man who would take them away. Father we pray Thy blessing upon us as we go to our homes, on the one who has spoken to us, continue to use his great gifts to bring glory to Thy name. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.