Chesterton observed that in the realm of beliefs, there are those who hold steadfast to notions passed down through generations, while others boldly propose new and unconventional ideas. However, amidst this clash of perspectives, one undeniable truth emerges—the world possesses a definitive shape. Irrespective of personal beliefs, the shape of the world remains constant, enduring long after our passing and persisting even if life had never graced its surface. It is intriguing to witness how Agnostics, often invoking Galileo’s famous phrase, “And yet it moves!” in reference to Earth, paradoxically view truth as mutable across ages, as if the entire world transforms with a mere shift in individual mindset. These progressives, while asserting the ability to control nature like witches, lack the ability to appeal to nature like Galileo, for they lack an unwavering objective reality to which they can turn. By adhering solely to their progressive theories, they reduce Galileo’s astronomy to the same ephemeral existence as Galen’s medicine. Despite their voluminous scholarship in the form of speculations, essays, lectures, and books, they orbit around an idea of a picture, but there is no actual picture. The reason behind this deficiency lies in their reluctance to question their assumptions. Such is the nature of Modern Thought—an unwavering belief in its destination without understanding its origin.
One might be deeply moved when presented with a pattern labeled as a picture. However, calling the drawing a tower does not make it a tower. We must acknowledge that height, or the perception of height, is an effect of architecture. Pictures may possess several qualities reminiscent of a tower—they might depict length and symmetry. They may occasionally stand upright like Giotto’s Tower, or lean precariously like the Tower of Pisa. Sometimes they collapse entirely, tragically falling upon unsuspecting individuals, much like the Tower of Siloam. The realm of abstract musings beckons us onward, but amidst these intellectual wanderings, one unassailable truth remains—it is a truth that resonates with our senses. That drawing is not a tower simply because it fails to tower. Similarly, the progressive’s drawing cannot be deemed a tower merely by calling it such. In the pursuit of truth, it is imperative to navigate beyond the allure of personal beliefs and the allure of ever-shifting thought. The universe maintains its definitive elements, transcending the passing of generations and the fluctuations of individual perspectives. Progressives lack a fundamental connection to nature’s unwavering truths. Their theories, limited by their inability to question assumptions, confine them to a world where pictures lack the inherent quality of towering. Let us not be swayed by the confidence of Modern Thought, which proclaims a predetermined destination without truly comprehending its origin. Instead, let us embrace the pursuit of truth grounded in the tangible realities of the world we inhabit. Only then can we transcend the fallacies that hinder our understanding and truly appreciate the steadfast nature of objective reality.