Read Hanne’s The Herland Report.
The contemporary degeneration of American society disintegrating into civil strife and division is a stark reminder of how nations fall. The lessons learned from the fall of the Roman Empire is forgotten, where arrogance, lack of self-discipline, hedonism and injustice caused the collapse of moral standards. The fall of Rome in A.D. 410 happened at the hands of enemies that had long wished for the death of the empire.
Arguably the most famous Christian leader in modern American history, Billy Graham, concluded at the end of his life that America had become a Sodom and Gomorrah. In a 2014 column in Decision Magazine, he warned of dark days ahead:
“Our nation was founded by men who believed in prayer. When our government was being formed, Benjamin Franklin addressed the chairman of the Constitutional Convention meeting at Philadelphia in 1787, saying, “I have lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, it is probable that an empire cannot rise without His aid. Today the world is being carried on a rushing torrent of history that is sweeping out of control. There is but one power available to redeem the course of events, and that is the power of prayer by God-fearing, Christ-believing people.”
As Graham recommended political leaders and the public in general to pray in order to avoid the coming catastrophe, one but senses the condescending smiles from the blasphemous mob that rules the current narrative. One may assume that Billy Graham is regarded as a stupid, silly man to ridicule and belittle, but as holy men before him warned of the coming flood – just like in the days of Noah – the blasphemous laughter ended as the high waters swept away those who had mocked Noah while he built the ark.
“Down through our history, our nation’s leaders have carried their plans and hopes to God in prayer. Yet today we have come to a place where we regard prayer in our national life simply as a venerated tradition. We have no sense of coming to grips with God; we simply use prayer as a formality,” Graham points out, well aware of the laughingstock Christians have become in the current atheist culture.
WND columnist and author Patrick J. Buchanan argues in “Suicide of a Superpower” that it was the very core of Christian spiritualism that held us together as a civilization. The ethics of Christianity was the basis of moral consensus in the West, the moral codex by which the community thrived and its economy boomed. In history, this deep sense of man’s moral obligation toward others has shown itself to translate into solidarity and empathy.
These are the virtues that are evaporating from society today, as the woke culture of leftist atheism legitimizes lawlessness, selfishness and lack of respect for others. Before our very eyes, society is speedily disintegrating, as are many institutionalized churches. One remembers the words of historian Arnold Toynbee who famously said that civilizations die from suicide, not by murder. The fate of civilizations is determined by how they respond to challenges.
Rev. Graham’s stark warning to current political leaders could not be more serious: “Unless the leaders of nations turn to God in prayer, their best plans will fail, just as did the plans of those who built the tower of Babel. Even though America is just as wicked as Sodom and Gomorrah ever were, and as deserving of the judgment of God, God would spare us if we were earnestly praying, with hearts that had been cleansed and washed by the blood of Christ.
“The problems of the world will never be settled unless our national leaders go to God in prayer. If only they would discover the power and wisdom that there is in reliance upon God, we could soon see the solution to the grave problems that face the world.”
The Catholic archbishop in Brussels, Cardinal Godfried Danneels, describes the depressive state of contemporary Western culture in “Handing on the Faith in an Age of Disbelief.” As psychological suffering is spreading like wildfire, Western culture is characterized by melancholy, depression, suicide and mental suffering. Notable taboos accompany any discussions about the metaphysical dimension and the realm of God. Yet the more we move away from the spiritual wisdom, the more we seem plagued by existential sorrows as corruption, civil strife and lawlessness engulf us.
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