One of the many signs of our “age of chaos,” exemplified by, for instance, the hasty tearing down of statues of historic figures, is the re-writing of our ideas about God and the human person, often done with an astounding degree of historical illiteracy. Woke culture arrogantly reframes the past, denying most of it any significance today (except topics like slavery). This dangerous trend has in a short space of time created false hopes and empty goals that amount to a prison, not a path toward human excellence. Sohrab Ahmari, in his new book, The Unbroken Thread, questions these modern certainties and opens up insights from many traditions that have led people for centuries to find wisdom and live heroically. His inspiration came from considering the world his young son will inherit and how to bind him to ancient traditions. Many parents struggle with these challenges as the pace of change accelerates. In lyrical prose, Ahmari presents deep wells of wisdom from famous figures such as St. Augustine, Confucius, Abraham Heschel, and others. In so doing he reveals how flawed the current shibboleths really are. “Science” cannot replace wisdom.

His first set of questions about God throws light on the modern tendency to see religion as a private matter, which undervalues its role in bringing meaning to the common good of society. Is truth to be found only in the latest facts and statistics, or do we have to include a moral vocabulary to understand reality? Does