This article by Christian scholar David Chilton provides an excellent synopsis of professor James H. Billington's book "Fire In the Minds of Men" published in 1980.

"One of the major theses of his book is that the 'revolutionary faith' originated... in the blatantly occult romanticism of secret societies... The dream of a totally secular order -- a world ruled by Man as God -- is the most basic lure of the revolutionary faith."

In Jan, 2005, President George W. Bush was sworn in for his second term of office. In his inauguration address, he said:

"By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well - a fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world."

For easier online reading, section indexes have been added. The original text is available at the author's website.