Welcome to Breakpoint, a daily look, and an ever-changing culture through the lens of unchanging truth.

For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street.

The 20th century could be called the century of utopian fantasies, whether through economics or

military force or eugenics. Thinkers that abandoned the idea of sin and rejected the providence

of God believe that they could

really fix the world. They all failed, of course. In fact, it's more accurate to think of the 20th

century as the century of failed utopian fantasies, and millions paid the price for their bad

ideas. Understanding this history, including the many casualties of these false

worldviews and the bad ideas that still threaten our world, is crucial, especially for Christians.

After all, despite the legacy of world wars, totalitarian regimes, and technological hubris,

humanity is still tempted by these visions. We're still tempted to try to fix the

world without God. My friend Tim Gagline, vice president of government and external relations for

focus on the family, has recently written what I think is a definitive treatment of the

utopian myths that shape the 20th century and still define the modern progressive

movement. I asked him to describe what he has learned and is communicating about utopia in his new

book. Here's Tim Gagline. In 1516, Sir Thomas Moore published his book Utopia, comparing European social and economic conditions

with those of an ideal society on an imaginary island off the coast of the Americas,

which he called Utopia. He sought to imply that the perfect conditions on his fictitional

island could never exist. For centuries since

more coined the word, men have sought to create their own utopias, places that possess highly

desirable or near-perfect quantities for its members, a heaven on earth, where everyone would

get along, and there would be no poverty,

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