OUR FALL FROM GREATNESS
by BROOKS ALDEN
Winston Churchill once said, "the further you can see into
the past, the clearer the vision of the future." If this is so,
and I believe it is, then why do we consistently fail to benefit
from the lessons of history, lessons that for centuries have been
recorded by some of the greatest scholars? One such scholar was
famed historian, Edward Gibbon, who dedicated many years of his
life to a study of the causes and effects of social changes.
Based on this research, he wrote his great classic "The Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire." In it, he recorded the five
primary causes for the fall of that empire. As you read each of
these causes, think about your own particular Israel nation! If
you are as old as many of us, we can look back thirty, forty,
fifty, sixty or more years. Sadly, when we do, we understand the
reasons why our nations are falling from greatness.
* The rapid increase of divorce and the undermining of the
sanctity of the home.
* The spiraling rise of taxes and extravagant spending.
* The mounting craze for pleasure and the brutalization of
sports.
* The building of gigantic armaments and the failure to
realize that the real enemy lay within the gates of the empire in
the moral decay of its people.
* The decay of religion and the fading of faith into a mere
form, leaving the people without any guide.
If you think about it, we stack up only too well against the
old Roman Empire; perhaps we've left them a long way behind. Here
in North America, it has been said that nearly one out of every
two marriages ends in divorce. Everyone who pays taxes, including
the newly designed user fees that are growing leaps and bounds,
realizes what a tax bite is coming out of our wages. In some
Israel nations, it has been estimated the tax bite is nearly 60%.
Imagine how much more money would be in our pockets if God's Law
was in effect.
I'm sure we left the Romans far behind years ago in the
arena of extravagant spending. Of course, we have the advertising
programs of all the lenders to partially thank as they have
enticed us to enjoy today what is so painful paying off tomorrow.
And those escalating taxes have been greatly brought about by
extravagance of governments who have tried to be all things to
all people.
Sports and sports heroes and Hollywood actors have become
the new gods for many in a society wrapped up in pleasure.
Alcohol and drugs are becoming more and more involved in the
fabric of our society and when many of these new gods embraced
them, so did masses of our brethren. We haven't reached the point
where we have thrown people to the lions yet but there is a
morbid curiosity for dangerous sports.
We have developed such armaments of mass destruction that
the whole world could erupt at any time. Where once we Israel
nations used our power for defensive purposes, we have now taken
on an aggressive role and it doesn't fit God's people.
The great false prophet, the media, whips up an image of
whatever it wants us to embrace and the majority of us do. Talk
about sheep. By the same token, our morals are in the basement
and one has to wonder who is orchestrating the decline. I suppose
the thinking is that an immoral society will more readily accept
the pangs of bondage.
It goes without saying that Christian values have declined
and nothing drives this home more than a look back over the past
fifty years. Rock bands have entered the church and programs have
been tailored to fill the pews, regardless of what it takes.
Christ's good name has been denigrated in movies, books and
television and seemingly, there are not enough staunch Christians
left to demand retractions and apologies. Instead, they seem more
interested in seeing who can be most liberal in their views and
dote on love and unity. Preaching has become a business and a job
and no one wants to upset the apple cart, even to the point that
more and more are teaching that Christ is not Divine. When you
look at the wonderful blessings bestowed upon America, Canada,
the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and other lands, one
cannot help but think of Deuteronomy 8:7-14, particularly, "For
the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks
.......A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees ....
A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou
shalt not lack anything in it.... And when thy herds and thy
flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied; and
all that thy hast is multiplied. Then thine heart be lifted up,
and thou forget the Lord thy God..."
The Lord God Almighty gave His Israel people bountiful
lands, we prospered under His guidance and for a long time we
honoured our God and at least attempted to follow His wonderful
Law. Now He has been kicked out of our schools, courts and public
places; His Laws have mostly been discarded; and He is freely
mocked in so many quarters. As I said in a previous article, our
Christian nations and citizens are in debt to our necks, our
morals are in the basement; our will to be great has been
neutralized; most of our leaders appear to be puppets to a world
system; we're being overrun by non-Christians; our beliefs are
being watered down to accommodate the views and religions of
these strangers; millions of our babies are being killed through
abortion; sexual perversion has been legitimized; drug abuse is
running at a rampant pace throughout our entire society; a grow-
ing unchecked violence threatens the nations; our police and
armed forces are being weakened; our churches are being
corrupted; our world is being polluted through greed; and the
terrible evils of high unemployment, inflation and food problems
are devastating the individual. We are reaping the curses of
Deuteronomy 28. Sadly, we have forgotten our God. And so, we have
fallen from greatness.
.....................
From "Thy Kingdom Come" - April 2009 - a publication of the
Association of Covenant People, Burnaby, B.C. Canada.
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