Chapter 3: Man as Idea

• Jul, 12 2025

In Chapter III, “Man as an Idea,” R.J. Rushdoony critiques the influence of Greek philosophy and Neoplatonism on Western views of humanity. He argues that by abstracting man into an impersonal “Idea” governed by reason and detached from material and historical reality, Western thinkers have dehumanized man and rejected biblical truth.Rushdoony begins with Claudian’s poem In Rufinum, which wrestles with the problem of evil and the apparent absence of justice in human affairs. This tension between cosmic order and earthly chaos exposes a weakness in Stoic and Neoplatonic thought: if justice is not universally visible, then either God does not exist, or He is indifferent. Claudian’s disappointment with reality leads him to consider atheistic materialism, a philosophy rooted in random chance rather than divine purpose.Rushdoony argues that this intellectual tradition sets impossible standards for God: unless He conforms to Greek ideals of rational, impersonal order, He is rejected. The God of Scripture, revealed in historical acts like the cross of Christ, is thus offensive to such philosophers. Consequently, modern descendants of Plato—especially Marxists and technocrats—seek to replace God and recreate man in terms of abstract reason, destroying real, historical man in the process.He critiques Marxism and modern collectivism as extensions of this error: under the guise of building a rational “kingdom of freedom,” such systems crucify the actual human being in favor of an inhuman, idealized vision of man. Marxist language like the “ascent from the kingdom of necessity to the kingdom of freedom” is, according to Rushdoony, a rebranded Neoplatonic quest that ultimately seeks to abolish man as created.Religiously, this same abstraction is found in asceticism and Gnostic-like theology that despises the body and everyday life. Rushdoony cites Paul’s warning in 1 Timothy 4:1-3 against doctrines that forbid marriage and normal bodily life, calling such beliefs departures from the faith.Ultimately, Rushdoony contends that man as an abstract Idea is a dangerous illusion. Man must be understood as a whole, historical creature made in God’s image, not reduced to a sterile concept in pursuit of utopian perfection.

Author

R.J. Rushdoony

Chalcedon Founder

Narrated by

Nathan F. Conkey

Narrator, teacher, missionary