The Reformation’s ennoblement of the God-created individual has a power that many despots don’t recognize until too late.

This article, delineating the two kinds of freedom found in the tradition of Western civilization, was originally published in Christianity and Crisis on October 19th, 1942. Editor Henry P. Van Dusen clarifies the two strands of freedom that have developed in European thought. One comes from the Protestant Reformation, a freedom that comes as a result of being created in God’s image and the rights that entail; the other comes from the Enlightenment, a freedom that is intrinsic to man’s nature and “self-evident,” something that is somehow apparent to all.

In 2017, there are three anniversaries that are of particular interest to me as a Christian and as a Christian who supports Israel.