The Evangelical Universalist Forum

A seminal essay by Vaclav Havel

“Power of the Powerless”. Havel was a Czech political prisoner, dissident and playwright, with a deep insight into “non-political politics”. He died in 2011
http://chnm.gmu.edu/1989/archive/files/havel-power-of-the-powerless_be62e5917d.pdf

Havel was impressive and thoughtful, though my impression in recent Czech visits, is that his nation has left him behind.

Czech visits? Very cool.
In what way has the nation left him behind?

Yes, we’ve supported missionary friends there for many years, and visited them a number of times in Praha. My impression is that while Havel was not an outright orthodox Christian, he challenged Czech about transcendent Christian values in the early years of throwing off Communism. But years of sowing atheism in a land that had had a terribly corrupt church (e.g. persecuting the early reformer Hus) has meant that secular unbelief is deeply rooted there. And in recent years the controversial challenge of helping absorb some of the refugees from the Middle Eastern wars has reinforced a strong nationalism that is inclined in a more authoritarian and less gracious direction than Havel would have encouraged.

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