day no. 17,551: atomistic or adamistic?

"We live in an individualistic age, but another way of saying this is that we live in anti-covenantal age." — Douglas Wilson, On Becoming a Responsible Man

The first man was Adam, not atom. He was made to be in covenant with God and with others. This is why it was not good for him to be alone. He was made to belong to others. Individualism is therefore a Christian heresy. It attempts to reduce molecular man to a single atom. Man was made to be responsible for himself and others. Individualism is the secular doctrine of blame-shifting incarnate.

"The reason we kick against this is because individualism has seeped deep into our bones. It doesn’t seem fair to us that a man can be held responsible for the guilt that someone else incurred. But the reason it doesn’t seem fair is because it isn’t. It is covenant unity. Is it fair that when I cut my hand, my whole body has a difficult time of it? The whole body can’t sleep because of it? Again, that is certainly uneven, but it is also just how bodies work." — Douglas Wilson, On Becoming a Responsible Man

Christ embodied masculine responsibility as the new Adam. He took responsibility for sins He did not commit because He was covenantally connected to His people. He was not at fault and He was blameless, but He took the blame by taking responsibility for His people. This is a cornerstone of Christian doctrine. It is the antithesis of individualism. It is the remedy for the societal ill and idolatry of secularism.