Paul Luckraft reviews ‘That Hideous Strength: How the West was Lost’ by Melvin Tinker (Evangelical Press, 2018).

This slim volume is an excellent resource on the state of our society in the light of the creeping revolution known as ‘cultural Marxism’.

Much is now being written on this topic but here is a book which provides an interesting take by drawing on the works of CS Lewis (hence the book’s title) and the account in Genesis 11 of the Tower of Babel.

Insights into Spiritual War

The Lewis book in question, ‘That Hideous Strength’ (1945), is the third in a fictional space trilogy and in some ways itself follows on from a talk Lewis gave called The Abolition of Man (1943). It is helpful to have read these or at least be aware of them, but it is not essential as Tinker explains the connections clearly throughout his book.

The author believes that Lewis’s novel and the Babel story in Genesis provide “penetrating insights into the spiritual warfare which rages today in the West” (p20).

From this standpoint Tinker explores the ideology of cultural Marxism, describing it as “the machine which drives much of the political correctness which is stifling free thought and speech in our society today, as well as providing the philosophical matrix of much of the gender agenda” (p20).

This slim volume is an excellent resource on the state of our society in the light of the creeping revolution known as ‘cultural Marxism’.

Here is ‘that hideous strength’ of our day - no longer fictional but a reality of the manifestation of the principalities and powers seeking to dethrone God and destroy man. The Babel account adds to our understanding by providing one of the earliest expressions of a similar rebellion and arrogance. Here is “a parabolic lens through which we can view and come to understand what has been happening in our society” (p34).

Dethroning God, Destroying Man

Aided by both these works, Tinker shows how an intellectual elite of ideologues is capable of changing what great swathes of the population consider to be ‘common sense’, thus determining which views are permissible, which are outdated and which are dangerous.

Alongside this ability to reshape thinking is the promotion of the representation of the self as the ‘be all and end all’ of human existence. This thoroughly egocentric understanding is projected as reality, setting up the exciting possibility of Man’s power to make of himself what he pleases.

This anti-God rebellion ultimately destroys Man as he was originally created - namely, in the image of God.

Bringing Down Judeo-Christian Society

The first two chapters take us through the Lewis novel and the Babel account as preparation for the heart of Tinker’s book. The third chapter begins the discussion of cultural Marxism as a modern variant of what we find in these earlier works.

Cultural Marxism seeks to ‘liberate’ humanity from the social institutions that have ‘enslaved’ it, such as the family and the Church. Traditional social values have, so the theory goes, promoted repression through inequalities which in turn have prevented the individual from realising his true self and expressing his true desires. He now can achieve full autonomy and be anything he wants to be. He has no need of any reference to God.

Tinker explains the thinking and writings of Herbert Marcuse and Antonio Gramsci, who were at the forefront of this movement, and the later Frankfurt School and Critical Theory, the goal of which is to bring down Judeo-Christian society and culture through unremitting destructive criticism. Mention is also made of Theodor Adorno, who established that anyone who disagrees with this new movement can legitimately be labelled ‘fascist’.

Cultural Marxism is today’s manifestation of the principalities and powers seeking to dethrone God and destroy man.

Such early 20^th Century advocates of cultural Marxism knew they were in for the long haul. Changing society that radically would take time, but the ‘long march’ over 75 years is at last reaching its destination.

Christianity is now seen as implausible and easily ignored, or worse, bigoted and oppressive. Old truths are now declared non-truths, subject to state censorship because they are considered offensive or intolerant. Here is a totalitarianism that masquerades as freedom.

Preaching Christ and the Cross

In Chapter 4 Tinker explores gender issues, revealing the programme undertaken to change societal views and penalise disagreement. It is devastating to see what has happened and what this means for our future. Throwing off all traditional values and sexual restraints has led to a ‘polymorphous perversity’. The power of hormones has triumphed!

In the next chapter he shows how the gates have been breached within the Church. In particular, the cultural Marxist agenda is now embedded within the organisational structure of the Church of England which has become an insipid and derivative mouthpiece for modernism.

Thankfully, the final chapter offers some hope for ‘Bringing Down Babel’. Although this is ultimately for God to do, declaring the duality of Christ’s person (human and divine) is the best way to counter cultural Marxism, Tinker argues. We can still preach Christ and the Cross. But will we speak out or run and hide?

Overall this book is a worthwhile contribution to the growing and necessary discussion of this important issue.

‘That Hideous Strength’ (128pp, paperback) is available from the publisher for £6.99. Also available elsewhere online.

Readers may also be interested in Steve Maltz’s recent book on cultural Marxism, ‘Into the Lions’ Den’, which we reviewed here, as well as the upcoming Foundations 10 conference on the same theme.

Britain is lost unless Bible-believing Christians speak up.

It is not easy being a Bible-believing Christian in Britain or any of the Western nations today. 30 years ago there were prophecies that Christians would soon be facing persecution. These seemed like wild predictions – such things could never happen in nations with centuries of Christian tradition!

Today, every day there is news of Christians losing their jobs because of taking a stand upon biblical principles, or Christians being taken to law charged with so-called ‘hate’ offences because they’ve quoted the Bible or refused to bake a cake with an LGBTQ+ slogan on it.

For British Christians an increasing problem is discerning between ‘fake news’ and the truth. Our national broadcaster, the BBC, once world-famous for trustworthy reporting founded upon biblical principles of truth and integrity, has been taken over by a consortium of secular humanists, including LGBTQ+ activists and Israel-haters. Their influence can be seen in everything from soaps and entertainment programmes to news broadcasting.

The search for truth is becoming increasingly difficult in an age when we are battered on every side with different media reports that are usually more ideological than factual. Where can we find truth and integrity today?

Today, every day there is news of Christians losing their jobs because of taking a stand upon biblical principles.

Battle Between Good and Evil

Of course, there are plenty of warnings in the Bible such as:

There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. (2 Tim 3:1-5)

We all know people like this and we read about them every day in our newspapers and on the internet. But we also know of people from around the world who responded to the call for help to go and rescue boys trapped underground in a Thailand mountain. They willingly risked their own lives - and one of them actually died - in an effort to save the boys. It is an inspiring story of human bravery and self-sacrifice. Clearly there is something of great worth in our human nature that responds to such needs (as our Managing Editor describes in her article this week).

It is these two sides of our human nature, the good and the bad, that are reflected in the national life of both Britain and the USA at the moment. We are witnessing a conflict between the opposing forces of light and darkness.

Nations Torn Asunder

Both nations are being torn asunder by battles over God’s instituted truths - including gender. In the USA there are numerous legal cases being fought over the rights of transgender people to use public toilets or attempts to ban therapy for unwanted same-sex attraction.

In Britain our Government is considering a similar ban and Prime Minister Theresa May last week pledged support for making transgender processes easier. She either doesn’t understand the nature of the battle or she is deliberately forsaking her professed Christian principles for the sake of alleged political gain.

Both Britain and the USA are being torn asunder by battles over God’s instituted truths.

It is small wonder that the British Government is in disarray, the Cabinet torn apart by resignations and disagreement over the proposed Brexit terms to be offered to the EU. Once biblical standards of truth are abandoned, chaos and confusion inevitably follow: everyone makes up their own rules. This is what is happening, not only in Britain, but in all the Western nations, where their biblical heritages are being deliberately challenged.

The fundamental issue is a clash between human beings and God: do we follow our own human rules or do we accept the word of the Lord?

Rejecting the Nature of God

Paul neatly sums up the issue: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godliness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Rom 1:18). Paul says that the nature of God has been revealed in Creation and that once we reject the God of Creation we are driven by the destructive powers of darkness. This is why we are beginning a short series of study articles on Creation today, which we hope all our readers find helpful in their search for truth.

The Apostle Paul says that once we stop believing in God we don’t believe nothing, we believe anything! We worship all kinds of images in our idolatry. In Romans 1: 24-31, Paul outlines three stages in the degradation of humanity:

1. Human beings exchange the truth of God for a lie and worship created things rather than the Creator, which leads to engaging in all kinds of sexual impurity.
   
2. The second stage is “exchanging natural relations for unnatural ones” which includes all kinds of homosexual acts.
   
3. The third stage is when God gives human beings over “to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice”
   

I leave our readers to decide which stage we are in but we cannot ignore the fact that Britain and all the Western nations are immersed in an intense spiritual battle for their very souls, which will determine the history of humanity for the next 100 years or more.

Britain and all the Western nations are immersed in an intense spiritual battle for their very souls.

Answer to Prayer

I believe that it was in answer to prayer that God enabled the British people to vote to leave the secular humanist European Union. But the rich and powerful are combining with big businesses in a campaign to try any way they can to force Britain to reverse the decision – thus keeping us under the yoke of Brussels.

There are powerful forces in the media sponsored by big business feeding fake news and lies to the British public in a desperate attempt to keep us shackled to the EU. They say that our economy will collapse, whereas the reverse is more likely to be true! It is the profits and investments of the global conglomerates that may be hit by Brexit, but small businesses will be released from EU rules and regulations that inhibit their growth.
I believe that a time of great prosperity under the blessing of God awaits Britain if we can only shake ourselves free from the European Union.

A Prophetic Voice?

But why do we never hear a prophetic voice from the churches in Britain? Is it because the preachers don’t take the trouble to study what’s going on in the nation, or do they care so little about the word of God that they never apply the Gospel to current events? Why do we not hear the words of Amos thundering from every pulpit in the land, “Let justice roll down like a river and righteousness like a never-ending stream!” (Amos 5:24).

Surely it is time for Christians to wake up and recognise the severity of the great spiritual battle that is raging in the heavenlies and on earth as the forces of darkness seek to destroy our Judeo-Christian heritage.

Wake up, Bible-believing Christians! Speak up in the ‘silent’ churches! Come together in small groups to spread these things before the Lord and join the battle for truth before it is too late!