Episode 1 — Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: The Engine That Never Stops
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." — Colossians 2:8
Introduction: Why Begin with Hegel?
This series follows the framework laid out by David W. Breese in his book Seven Men Who Rule the World from the Grave. Breese’s central insight is simple yet sobering: men die, but ideas do not. Some ideas become so embedded in culture that they continue to govern nations, institutions, and even churches long after their originators are buried.
We begin not with the most famous or the most quoted, but with the most foundational. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is not the loudest voice among the seven—but he is the engine. His ideas power the systems that follow. If you understand Hegel, you will recognize his fingerprints everywhere.
Hegel in Plain Terms
Hegel taught that truth is not fixed, but develops through conflict. Reality, according to him, advances by a process often summarized as:
Thesis
Antithesis
Synthesis
In this system, contradiction is not a problem to be resolved—it is a necessary tool. Truth is not discovered; it is produced. Stability is not a virtue; it is an obstacle.
This is a complete reversal of the biblical worldview.
The Biblical Collision
Scripture does not present truth as fluid or negotiable.
"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." — John 17:17
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." — Hebrews 13:8
Biblical truth is revealed, not manufactured. It does not evolve. It does not improve through contradiction. It stands, whether men agree with it or not.
Hegel’s system, by contrast, trains the mind to accept change as progress and conflict as virtue. Once this principle is accepted, authority quietly shifts—from God’s Word to whoever controls the process.
Hegelian Drift
This is where the danger becomes practical.
Hegelian drift occurs when:
Absolute truth is replaced with ongoing dialogue
Moral clarity is dismissed as rigidity
Contradictions are praised as balance
Conclusions are always provisional
Once truth becomes a process, the process becomes god.
"Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." — 2 Timothy 3:7
How Hegel Rules from the Grave Today
Hegel’s ideas did not stay in philosophy classrooms. They migrated.
Government
Crisis → reaction → solution
Conflict managed rather than resolved
Policy justified as historical necessity
Culture
Words redefined mid-argument
Moral reversals framed as enlightenment
Opposition portrayed as outdated
The Church
Doctrine softened into discussion
Clear biblical lines labeled divisive
Faith reduced to personal interpretation
Hegel does not need to be named. His method operates quietly, shaping how people expect truth to behave.
David Breese’s Warning
Breese did not argue that Hegel was uniquely evil. His concern was more subtle—and more serious. Hegel’s system works with or without God. It teaches people to accept contradiction as wisdom and change as authority.
When this mindset takes hold, discernment erodes.
"Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God." — 2 Corinthians 10:5
That verse is not abstract. It is a command for intellectual vigilance.
A Simple Discernment Test
When you hear an argument, ask:
Is truth being revealed—or negotiated?
If it is being negotiated, you are watching Hegelian drift at work.
Conclusion
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel has been dead for nearly two centuries, yet his ideas continue to govern how the modern world thinks about truth, progress, and authority. He rules not by decree, but by method.
This is why we begin here.
Coming Next
If Hegel built the engine, Karl Marx put it to work.
In the next post, we will examine how dialectical philosophy became economic ideology—and why Scripture anticipated both.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." — 1 Thessalonians 5:21
Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain... - Revelation 3:2
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