500 years of rejecting authority

Summary of class discussion (or maybe just the prof and me, but done in front of the class, anyway) last night in TS503:

for the first 1500 years of the church's history, what Jesus taught the apostles (the apostolic deposit of truth) has been codified and expounded and (dare I say) augmented by theologians from Augustine to Aquinas, developing into an authoritative "Church Tradition."

About 500 years ago, the Reformation came along and rejected the authority of Church Tradition by asserting the authority of Holy Scripture over it.

200 more years passed, and Rationalism had rejected the authority of Holy Scripture by asserting the authority of Human Reason of it.

Another 150 years, and Romanticism rejects the authority of Human Reason by asserting the authority of Subjective Experience over it.

Since World War I, the human atrocities of the 20th century have built to a point where Post-modernism has rejected the authority of Subjective Experience by asserting the authority of Randomness and Meaninglessness over it.

Randomness and Meaninglessness leads to despair (just read Ecclesiastes for a detailed explanation of how this works.)

What is next after despair besides the black void of non-existence?

Perhaps a return to tradition? Already the Gen Ys and Millennials are finding value and meaning in long-abandoned traditions, especially traditions that build community. Can finding purpose and authority in those be far behind?

Maybe this is a cyclical thing. Looking where this rejection of authority has led (and this, coming from a child of the 60s who learned to question authority with gusto), it almost *must* be cyclical.

Otherwise...

:(