For one of my classes this semester, I was assigned to read "The Crisis of Islam" by Bernard Lewis. It is a really good book that attempts to give a brief history of how and why "The West" and radical Islam are in the current conflict.
There was a passing comment that I thought was interesting though...
"Among the components in the mood of anti-Americanism were certain intellectual influences coming from Europe. ... In this perception, America was the ultimate example of civilization without culture; rich and comfortable, materially advanced but soulless and artificial; assembled or at best constructed, not grown; mechanical not organic; technologically complex but without the spirituality and vitality of the rooted, human, national cultures of the Germans and other 'authentic' peoples" (69-70).
It appears to me that there is at least some truth to this...
"For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked" -Rev. 3:14
Maybe we need more than just culture....
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