Ed Peters on the Perpetual State of Collapse

Ed Peters provides a useful antidote to the pessimism that Rod Dreher wallows in, and it's based on historical perspective as well as Christ's promise about the Gates of Hell. Excerpt:

Consider: Dreher ably traces the unraveling of Christianity in America, as represented in a special way by the battle over “gay marriage”, to a 1993 article in The Nation, springing from forces formally noticed in a 1966 book, in part unleashed by the Enlightenment in the late 18th century. He paints a plausible scenario. But why stop at the Enlightenment?

What was the Enlightenment except an exploitation of the disorder sowed by the Protestant Revolution? What was that religious revolution except a misdirected reaction to corruption in the medieval papacy? What was that papal corruption except a pernicious consequence of Papo-caesarism? What was that unbalanced ecclesiology but a short-sighted way to protect the Church against invasion by civil rulers? What was that regal invasion but . . . and so on and on and on—all the way back to Adam’s choice to believe what was nothing less than Satan’s Lie?

Simply put, the world is always in a state of collapse. Century after century after century. Catholics, or at any rate the Catholic Church, know this.

Then Peters goes on to say that capital-C Christianity isn't threatened by all the gay nonsense and that our marching orders to remain faithful are clear-cut, never mind the odds. Peters attitude is that of the soldier, and it's the one I'm trying to live. It's hard; pessimism is easier. Throwing in the towel is much easier than continuing to throw punches. Peters concludes:

Toward the end of his essay, Dreher holds out some hope for a recovery of moral senses, but it’s not much hope, and it is easy to miss his point. So let me sum up my way: things don’t always turn out as badly as we think they will turn out, and even if they do, so what? Our job is to shoulder on.