France Burns: Revolution, Debt & Social Fracture

Public theologian Dr Craig Heilman joins Andrew Urquhart to unpack the unrest sweeping French cities, where protests over crumbling schools and spiralling public debt have spilled into street violence. Dr Heilman warns France's debt, now around 120% of GDP, is a "wake-up call" for all heavily indebted Western nations, including his own Australia, as governments struggle to tax or spend their way out of trouble.

Beyond the economics, Dr Heilman argues the unrest exposes a deeper loss of social cohesion, with disparate and sometimes opposing groups - from genuine protesters to Free Palestine activists and agitators - converging on the same streets. He contends Western governments are likely to respond with increasing authoritarianism and online censorship, and reflects that the real "revolution" of recent generations has been cultural rather than political - played out through the sexual and gender revolutions. He concludes that the most countercultural act available to Christians today is simply to live faithfully, marry, and raise a family.

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