Religious ground motive (RGM) is a conceptual construct of the reformational philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd. Dooyeweerd saw four great distinct value-systems that contested the general formative power over Western culture and civilization for within - in comparison, say, to an Islamic RGM. Also, there are minority RGMs that never gained the formative role over a vast population and cultural zone, but which produced remarkable achievements in smaller zones and diasporas. Among these, Judaism and Gnosticism could be cited.
However, regarding the main RGMs in the West, according to this conceptual construct that seeks to amass and interpret in embracive yet empirical terms, there are only four such dominant RGMs over time in the Western tradition that set the tone for all minorities seeking to maintain their distinctive RGM in the surrounding context. The four are: (1) the Form/Matter RGM of the Greeks; (2) the Synthetist RGM of the slowly Christianizing Roman Empire leading up to Emperor Constantine the Great's official toleration and then establishment of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Imperial State and its aftermath; (3) the Nature/Grace RGM of the Western Middle Ages; and (4) the Nature/Freedom RGM of the Enlightenment.
Read more about Religious Ground Motive: The Form/Matter RGM of The Greeks, The Synthetist RGM of The Slowly Christianizing Age, The Nature/Grace RGM of The Latin Middle Ages, The Nature/Freedom RGM of The Enlightenment
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“In using the strong hand, as now compelled to do, the government has a difficult duty to perform. At the very best, it will by turns do both too little and too much. It can properly have no motive of revenge, no purpose to punish merely for punishment’s sake. While we must, by all available means, prevent the overthrow of the government, we should avoid planting and cultivating too many thorns in the bosom of society.”
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