Newt Gingrich tells Collier audience 'secular, atheist philosophy' is threat to Christianity

The secular philosophy of the left in Western society is at least as grave a danger to Christianity as that posed by terrorist groups such as Islamic State group and al-Qaida, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Saturday night in North Naples.

The Republican from Georgia addressed about 300 people at The Ritz-Carlton for the annual Speaker Event dinner of the Ave Maria School of Law.

“The rise of a secular, atheist philosophy” in the West is "an equally or even more dangerous threat” to Christianity than terrorist organizations that will kill Christians if “they don’t submit,” Gingrich said.



He said religious institutions such as the Ave Maria School of Law in North Naples can serve as “centers of resistance“ to those “two horrendous wars underway against Christianity.”

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The secular philosophy dominates universities and is embraced by newspaper editors and Hollywood, Gingrich said. It represents “a repudiation of everything we’ve learned about the importance of the spiritual world,” he said.

Centers of faith are the bastions that must defend religion against such secular thought, he said.



Gingrich, who was House speaker from 1995-99, converted to Catholicism — the religion of his wife, Callista Gingrich — nine years ago. Callista Gingrich serves as U.S. ambassador to the Holy See (the Vatican).



Newt Gingrich is perhaps most widely known for his 1994 “Contract with America” — conservative proposals that led to the first Republican-controlled U.S. House in four decades.

The split between Americans of faith and those who are secular poses “an enormous danger to the country,” he said after the dinner.



“They are so fundamentally different about the very nature of life,” he said.

“If you believe that your rights come from God, you have a very limited sense of government.

"And if you believe that’s all baloney and your rights come from lawyers and politicians, then you have a different view.”

He said he did not think the two factions in America can be brought together.

“Eventually, it will be resolved, one way or the other,” Gingrich said. “One side will win; one side will lose.

"Either the radical secularists will succeed in controlling the government and driving religion out of American life, or the people who believe in faith will succeed in controlling government and insist that you cannot impose radical values on American people.”



He expressed optimism that the religious side could prevail.

“We’re not going to give up on America," Gingrich said. "We’re not going to give up on God.”



Gingrich represented a Georgia district in the House for 20 years and ran unsuccessfully for president in 2012.

He now is a TV commentator and a supporter and confidant of President Donald Trump.

He told guests at the dinner Saturday night that Trump is bringing the country back in the right direction.

“(But) it’s not possible to have a president of the United States fix everything,” Gingrich said.

Gingrich spoke about the threat of war against North Korea, which he described as “a real danger,” in part because “the North Koreans are not yet convinced that we’re serious.”

He faulted the Chinese and Russians for “not being as helpful as they can be” in trying to curtail North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.



Since leaving office, Gingrich has remained active in politics, serving as a consultant, writing books and appearing as a television analyst.

He was an adviser to Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign.