He demolishes the theory that we have reached the "end of history", the dogmas of secular liberalism, the weaknesses of financial casino capitalism and the limits of energy-intensive economic growth.
The subsequent weakness of secular reform politicians made it that much easier for conservative religious militants, with their anti-American slogans, to consolidate power after the 1979 revolution.
Supporters of a "secular stagnation" story for economic weakness, in which there is excess saving in the economy pushing interest rates down to the zero lower bound, often cite rising inequality as a key mechanism.
The second part of the task may require not only demonstrating the strengths of a theistic explanation, but pointing out weaknesses in rival secular explanations as well.
But the argument challenging aid is likely to resurface, especially in light of Syria's resurgent influence in Lebanon and the relative weakness of the more secular Western-allied political factions.
In Egypt, once politics was reduced to a battle between the Muslim Brotherhood-led parliament and the remnants of the Scaf (the Supreme Council of Armed Forces), the weakness of Egyptian democratic and secular politics was exposed.
In a nutshell secular stagnation is an attempt to explain the weakness of the global recovery in advanced economies since the 2008 crisis.
He might drink whisky rather than the traditional vicar's sherry, and carry a torch for an attractive German widow, but Sidney's faith is portrayed as strength rather than a weakness, which seems almost revolutionary in these secular times.
Psychoanalysis has, and probably always will have, its manifest weaknesses, but it still stands as a distinguished secular blend of literature, philosophy and pedagogy that has the power to help people change their lives for the better.
The modest success of previous community-wide cardiovascular prevention initiatives has been attributed to many factors, including the potency, duration, and penetration of the interventions, secular trends in morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease, and methodological weaknesses.
