Finished The "Masterwork"

I am in North Carolina right now. I road tripped up with my boys Russell and Allen as a last hurrah before Russell gets married next month. We came to hang out with another friend of ours, Ryan, who used to be on staff with us back in the day. They are playing a quality game of Settlers of Catan right now so I figured I would take the time to write.

On the drive up I finished the last 80 pages or so of Atlas Shrugged. The pace of the novel in the last 150 pages slowed down dramatically, although there was still a good amount of action. I know it is a fictional novel, but that did not prevent Rand from using an entire chapter and her ultimate hero, John Galt, to present her entire philosophy in one long monologue. I will not go into plot detail, but I believe it put the entire novel to a halt. I have read that a movie is in the making with Angelina Jolie set to play Dagny, the female lead, but I can't see how they would fit the diatribe given by Galt late in the story.

In finishing the novel--which I felt both relief and triumph because it is the longest book I have ever read outside of the Bible--I had two immediate thoughts.

1. Rand mentions as part of her philosophy that

   "Objectivism rejects any form of determinism, the belief that man is a victim of forces beyond his control (such as God, fate, upbringing, genes, or economic conditions)."

   This means that she would feel no pity for the religious blind child who grew up in the ghetto with no parents and can't get out. But that's not what I notice in her novels. In both The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged there are never any natural disasters; all the disasters are manmade, particularly in the form of fire. I just found that interesting and I wonder how she would respond to those and other things that surely are outside of man's control.


2. The line that epitomizes the character of John Galt is the final one he makes during his ridiculously long speech where he spells out her philosophy. Galt closes with these words:

   "I swear--by my life and my love of it--that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine"

   Sacrfice was a disgusting concept to Rand, but again what I find interesting in the fictional worlds she created is that none of the heroes ever have children. They may start of as children of others (as in the case of Hank Rearden and his family), but there is no situation where the heros themselves have children with each other and start a family; this also in light of the fact that there is a good bit of sex that occurs throughout the novel. What does her philosophy look like then? My understanding goes that no one really knows the meaning of sacrifice until one has to raise a family. I personally cannot understand the anguish experienced in Abraham's life as he had Isaac on the altar or Jesus' life as He sacrificed Himself for His creation. As far as I know, Rand herself, who was married to Frank O'Connor for fifty years, never had children. Would things have looked different for her should she have had a family? Would she reconsider her this thought of not living for another person? Does the concept of a family go against her philosophical ideals?

I don't have the answers as I am still trying to process stuff and do not have a strong enough grasp on her philosophy, but after reading her two greatest works these two issues needed to at least be mentioned.

Now back to my peeps.

By His Grace.

The Author Of Our Lives

As I was praying one morning a few days ago, I was praying through what I was learning in Ayn Rand's book, how I am applying those things to my life, and making sure that I wasn't applying things that were not of God. I have come to know the influence of words, both good and bad, so I was also praying against the dangers of being led astray by her philosophy.

I was praying this when I recalled one of my favorite verses in Scripture:

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God.(Heb. 12:2 NIV)

Ayn Rand would have said that she was a "mover," building the world up from the ashes, giving life, making it a place more suitable for our existence. She would have said that what made her great was that she owned every one of her words written, from the very first to the very last. But as I look at Jesus Christ, recognizing him as the author of my faith, I must also give acknowledgment to him being the author of all life.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.(Col 1:15-17)

Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega. Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end. Jesus Christ is The Word and He is the one who owns it all. This was Rand's fatal flaw. It is sadly the fatal flaw of so many beautiful people--they do not recognize who wrote them into existence; they do not give credit, acknowledgment, or praise to the author of their lives.

By His Grace.

Ayn Rand on Post-Modernism

Many of you have never heard of Ayn Rand. Some of you may have. I for one got introduced to her through my 11th grade AP English teacher, Ms. Zawacki. The summer entering into the school year we were required to read The Fountainhead, which for some reason or another I read more thoroughly than any other book I have read in my life save the Bible.

Well I entered a national essay contest for the book and was picked as a semi-finalist, with my prize being her landmark novel, Atlas Shrugged. I didn't actually receive the book until eight years later, so I began reading it last summer knowing how much I enjoyed The Fountainhead.

Without getting into too much detail, Rand's philosophy is called Objectivism. The ideal for her is the self-made man who uses the material world to pursue his most selfish interest. For Rand this is considered to be "every individual's highest moral obligation." She wholeheartedly believes in Capitalism, fighting tooth and nail against a society that is built on "meeting the needs of the helpless." Rand would say that the strength of the human being should never render anyone "helpless."

With the title for her philosophy being Objectivism one could easily conclude that she was a modern thinker, believing in the power of reason. She lived in a time when post-modernistic thinking began taking over in Europe, at least at the intellectual level, but had yet to really make it over to America. This novel is written in light of that and as a warning to what could happen to a society if post-modern philosophy governed it (through politics, education, art, architecture, science, etc.).

Here is one of the most pointed quotes against post-modernism in the entire novel given by a composer named Richard Halley who retreated from the world after giving his greatest performance with his greatest concerto to the main character, Dagny Taggart:

Have you heard the moralists and the art lovers of the centuries talk about the artist's intransigent devotion to the pursuit of truth? Name me a greater example of such devotion than the act of a man who says that the earth does turn, or the act of a man who says that an alloy of steel and copper has certain properties which enable it to do certain things, and it is and does--and let the world rack him or ruin him, he will not bear false witness to the evidence of his mind! This, Miss Taggart, this sort of spirit, courage and love for truth--as against a sloppy bum who goes around proudly assuring you that he has almost reached the perfection of a lunatic, because he's an artist who hasn't the faintest idea what his art work is or means, he's not restrained by such crude concepts as 'being' or 'meaning,' he's the vehicle of higher mysteries, he doesn't know how he created his work or why, it just came out of him spontaneously, like vomit out of a drunkard, he did not think, he wouldn't stoop to thinking, he just felt it, all he has to do is feel--he feels, the flabby, loose-mouthed, shifty-eyed, drooling, shivering, uncongealed bastard!"

He goes on to basically conclude with these words:

"I'll take the operator of a coal mine over any walking vehicle of higher mysteries. The operator knows that it's not his feelings that keep the coal carts moving under the earth--and he knows what does keep them moving."

Now of course I do not agree with Ayn Rand in everything she wrote, and I find many flaws in her philosophy. We work from very different frameworks, mine of course being Christian with God as the foundation, His Spirit permeating through every fiber of life and understanding. But John Calvin wrote, "If we regard the Spirit of God as the sole fountain of truth, we shall neither reject the truth itself, nor despise it wherever it shall appear, unless we wish to dishonor the Spirit of God," so I have sought to filter truth out of Rand's philosophy, and her analysis of post-modernism is dead on, particularly for a woman who wrote against it 30 years before it really began rearing its head in America.

Along with Rand I believe we must fight against this idea that "feeling guides truth" and truth is relative based on perspective and feeling. In reality it is cowardly, requiring very little real thought, although many spend their entire lives developing the philosophy and seeking to work it out "practically." The phrases "whatever is true for you is true for you" or "do whatever makes you happy" are blanket statements of laziness that require no conviction about anything nor care for any individual. Sadly I know so many people that use them regularly. Values, morals, and ethics are tossed out the window with careless, thoughtless, empty words such as these.

I am concerned for us all in how we have allowed this philosophy to creep into our lives. I have given much thought to it as I walk with Jesus--who is the truth--wondering and praying about how much I have sold out His truth for foundation of sand that is post-modernism. I pray that the light of His truth continues to penetrate every fiber of my being. I pray that for us all.

By His Grace...and Truth.