Rethinking How We Christians Respond to the Majority Secular Society's Attacks and Bigotry

I get this sense of doom, about Western Civilization, America’s constitutional republic, and Christianity. The end game is here, we’ve past the tipping point, we’re past the point of no return. The goodness of all these things have their foundation in Christianity. I read a comment a few months ago that Christianity has been in worse positions, and we will survive this too.

We bemoan that traditional religious practices and churches are fading away. Well, there are a lot of them still going strong; let’s acknowledge that. For the rebels among us, what could be more rebellious or revolutionary than being a practicing, churchgoing Christian these days? Nearly half or more of Americans are hostile to and attack Christians. Much of it is government sanctioned.

I get so caught up reading, writing, talking about this hostility that until the past few days I hadn’t thought about the antidote. I rail about the zeitgeist of victimology, and it dawned on me that constantly laying out the attacks and things against Christians, that I was seeing myself and fellow Christians a victims. That’s not good.

I ask myself, who or what are examples of how to maintain one’s religion during times of persecution (though now in Amerika persecution is exercised through prosecution). Think about what practicing (or Orthodox) Jews have put up with; way more than we Christians, even taking into account the things ancient Christians suffered.

Those Jews were and are practicing their faith, living their principals, acting in accordance with Scripture. We Christians must do the same. A majority of Jews in America have put the State, worshipping it, before God. It looks to me that some, maybe a majority of American Christians have done the same (which I've railed about several times in this blog). Yet Jews through pogroms and the Holocaust remained steadfast. Scriptural Christians must do the same.  

I started this essay about the sense of doom because so much is aligned against us. Part of the answer is from a Theodore Roosevelt speech, and many have heard this part:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

A must read if you’ve never read the whole thing here "Citizenship in a Republic".

Christians must be in the arena. We must be sure too that we live by Holy Scripture. Spending ourselves in a worthy cause does no good if we don’t live according to Holy Scripture, we only leave ourselves open to critics.

Our religious liberty is partly diminishing because we aren’t standing up to criticism and attacks. Those external forces attacking us are a part of it, but our playing the victimology card is not any part of the answer. The victimology card is what much of our culture plays now.

From scripture, James has some helpful observations. “Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.”

When we deviate from Scripture: “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever. And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.”

Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.

So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? And also,
“If the righteous are barely saved,
what will happen to godless sinners?”

So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.”

“But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.”

I have friends saying what’s the point of the fight? Major jerks gain wealth and power, which is always true since forever. But we have a constitutional republic here, and if enough of us reject the ‘we are doomed’ victimology, not all those voted into public office will be of the sort we have now. If enough in our personal lives publicly walk the Christian walk, we will influence enough people to turn this mess around.

What we are experiencing, mostly from outside the Christian community (and a little from within by those who listen to Screwtape), from James: “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”

Pretty much describes our culture and politics doesn’t it?

Let’s change how we respond to that meme.

Peter: "For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.
He never sinned,
nor ever deceived anyone.
He did not retaliate when he was insulted,
nor threaten revenge when he suffered.
He left his case in the hands of God,
who always judges fairly.
He personally carried our sins
in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
and live for what is right.
By his wounds
you are healed.
Once you were like sheep
who wandered away.
But now you have turned to your Shepherd,
the Guardian of your souls."

And this is the way, tough as it is, to turn this hot mess around.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “It is more sensible to be pessimistic; disappointments are left behind, and one can face people unembarrassed. Hence, the clever frown upon optimism. In its essence optimism is not a way of looking at the present situation but a power of life, a power of hope when others resign, a power to hold our heads high when all seems to have come to naught, a power to tolerate setbacks, a power that never abandons the future to the opponent but lays claim to it. Certainly, there is a stupid, cowardly optimism that must be frowned upon. But no one ought to despise optimism as the will for the future, however many times it is mistaken. It is the health of life that the ill dare not infect. There are people who think it frivolous and Christians who think it impious to hope for a better future on earth and to prepare for it. They believe in chaos, disorder, and catastrophe, perceiving it in what is happening now. They withdraw in resignation or pious flight from the world, from the responsibility for ongoing life, for building anew, for the coming generations. It may be that the Day of Judgment will dawn tomorrow; only then and no earlier will we readily lay down our work for a better future.”

Leftist "Feelings" vs What Works

When I was way young and liked a book or movie, got all excited about it, I was often stunned that someone didn’t like it. I just couldn’t believe how misguided, uninformed, dumb etc. a person was that didn’t have my taste or belief. “What’s wrong with these people”?

Of course I’ve grown up and out of that. When people ask me about a book, movie, restaurant, I’m reluctant to say they’ll like it. I’ll critique, but not think to push the idea that the person asking will like it. The exception is if it’s a good friend of a long time and I know their tastes.

That’s what I see Leftists as; immature people that don’t understand that others don’t want to live in a Statist world, top down control of economics, class, culture.  They don’t understand or accept there are valid differences of taste and opinion. If one doesn’t think like them there is something wrong with the person that thinks differently.

I get frustrated and sometimes angered when Leftists are presented with cold hard facts and refuse to accept them. Show unemployment stats from the Labor Department that we don’t have 5% unemployment, it’s much higher…well, how can you possibly believe that? Published emails and leaked reports that “global warming” studies were modified to support the idea that we humans are raising the temperature of the planet don’t change their ‘feeling’ that there is global warming. When the false statement that religion is responsible for more deaths than any other entity, and one tallies those slaughtered by governments in just the 20^th century is proof positive of the lie, well, how could one believe that? It just doesn’t feel right.

That slaughter was brought about primarily in Europe. They love Statism there; the Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, Napoleonic domination by France, now the European Union. Centralized obedience to self-important knuckleheads that leak out of ivory towers with a lust for power and a rejection of those things that we know work. They reject what works for what makes them and their supporters feel good. So the Left here sees Europe as superior to the US since it ‘feels’ it is enlightened.

What ties that together is conformity. Groupthink. Europe is good despite its bringing us World Wars, Communism, Hitlerism, Nazism, Fascism, Stalinism, Socialism and all the rest of the Statist isms. All these claimed to be for the people, they’ll take care of them with universal health care, family leave, help the poor, and in fact they don’t. Claiming these perverse ideologies are feel good thoughts somehow make them superior to people desiring Liberty of thought and action. It feels good to support, top down, Statist conformity, to have socialized medicine, poverty programs and all the rest. No responsibility there, someone else is legislating that, so nothing personally has to be done.

Part of this is generational too. I came of age in the late 1960’s -1970’s. Marxist ideology ruled the day, along with sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll. Protest and speak against cops, corporations, capitalism, religion, and the rest. Most of us still ended up not only working for “the man” but becoming “the man”. That boomer ideology was brought into the institutions, weakening the things that created the most successful civilization in history.

We have ended up crony capitalism as bad as the day when railroads were stretching across America, or JP Morgan essentially bailing out the government…now the government bails out banks and financial institutions. Payoffs and payouts because a rejection of accountability, responsibility, rejection of Christianity and the embracing of Secularism, and the resulting top down Statism. Legislation is being passed, forced upon regular people that actually work and produce something. Legislation now is more about values and attitudes, enforcing intolerance and prejudices that produces conformity, rather than law that keeps people safe, structured and ordered.

Media, entertainment, education, government, business, even Church (both Protestant and Catholic) have devolved and embraced the Leftist “if it feels good do it” uniformity and conformity. Coming back around to my opening, all this conformity lends itself to groupthink, that differences are not to be tolerated, and speech must curtailed to fit the Leftist view of the world, in all human endeavors.

Like the immature young, how can you not like what we like? How can you not believe global warming is real, that Whites are all racist, that White cops are running around killing unarmed black men, that Christianity is evil, that government is good and the solution to the world’s ills? Thus the “safe zones” on university campuses that protect the literally young from any kind of different thought. It doesn’t feel good to have someone express a different idea. It doesn’t feel good to be criticized. It doesn’t feel good take responsibility for a mistake. It doesn’t feel good to be accountable.      

I was once a Marxist that actually read and wrote about Marxism, was a political and cultural Leftist, and believed in my mind of minds, heart of hearts, this was Truth. I was a practicing, church going Christian from childhood through teenage years. I left that, then I thought I was a free thinker. Then I realized that I only knew the world based on what people that thought like I did said. I knew politics only by what fellow Leftists said and wrote. I knew the “news” only by what Leftist journalists wrote. I knew Christianity only by what Leftist/Secularists said and wrote. I returned to Christianity in my 40’s, began to understand what works, and now because of that, I’m a free thinker. It set me free. Set my soul free, my heart and my mind free.

At this point I understand Leftists/contemporary Liberals can’t be convinced of anything, regardless of the realities of our world, with provable evidence and facts. They don’t believe in a free society, a people based republic, free thought, free expression. Liberalism is a secular religion that is being offered and accepted as a replacement for traditions that work, Christianity and the personal discipline, sacrifice and personal responsibility that comes with it.

With Liberalism/Leftists it’s what feels good, not what is real and works, that passes for thought.

Pagans, Neo-Pagans & Evangelism

I had written a piece "Don’t dis them that brung ya to the dance" in 2011. It was about how secularists and atheists and such, claim to be all about love, hope, charity, but beat on Christians. I pointed out that such ideas and ideals didn't exist before Christianity.

I came across an article in the magazine "First Things", an article by J. Budziszewski titled "This Time It Will Not Be the Same" this past week that is an extension of that idea. The thought he addresses is the evangelization of the pagans the Apostle Paul and other early Christians faced, and how we modern Christians now face neo-pagans.

His point is the first Christians were presenting something new, entirely different from what anyone had experienced before. Neo-Christians have lived with the concepts and oft times the practice of charity, hope, love and the other ideas and practices of Christianity and have no need, they think, of Christianity to carry through with Christian principles.

Budziszewski points out the big difference: "The pagan made excuses for transgressing the moral law. By contrast, the neo-pagan pretends, when it suits him, that there is not morality, or perhaps that each of us has a morality of his own. Since they had the Law and the Prophets, it comes as not surprise that the Jews took morality for granted. But to a great degree, and despite their sordid transgressions, so did the pagans."

He goes on: "The pagan wanted to be forgiven but he did not know how to find absolution. The him the Gospel came as a message of release. But the neo-pagan does not want to hear that he needs to be forgiven, and so to him the Gospel comes as a message of guilt."

Since Christianity and the Gospel become messages of guilt, Christians are the guilty ones, and all is well with them; they can now create their own morality. As stated on this blog several times, we live in a upside down world. 

I often talk with secularists and atheists, and though they express such things as love, charity, hope as good things, they seem to think this has been something that has always been around. Budziszewski: "The pagan was raised differently. He was brought up in the ways and the atmosphere of paganism, and in order to be converted, he had to be removed from both. By contrast, though the neo-pagan has probably also been taught pagan ways, he may have been brought up in an atmosphere of Christian sentiment. Consequently, he regards the Gospel not as a story of the God became a man but as a sentimental fable for children."

The other thing I've noticed talking with nones, atheists, secularists, is they render all to caesar, not to God. They believe government can eradicate poverty, bring peace, through laws, regulations and rules, and people will act and behave correctly and with charity and love toward all.

The other element talking to these people they only know the bits and pieces of Christianity that have filtered into the culture. They've not read the Bible, let alone studied it, don't have a clue about Christian history other than it's responsible for the Crusades (mostly didn't happen they way we were taught), a couple inquisitions that were responsible for a few thousand deaths over centuries, compared to the millions slaughtered by secular governments, especially in the 20th century. The billions of people through the centuries that have benefited from the institutions, teachings, charity, love, and the Salvation of Christ are completely ignored.  

 Budziszewski notes there's a problem too with those within the Faith, that often accept the secular zeitgeist. The Apostle Paul, especially in his letter to the Galatians, points out this is always a danger. It's always more difficult to live a get along life of the pagans, neo-pagans, and secularists, than by the Word, having the Holy Spirit reside within us, and by the truth of the Gospel.

 J. Budziszewski has a web site "The Underground Thomist". The second half of his article can be found there. The full article can be found at "First Things", but one must subscribe to the web site. I subscribe to the magazine on my Kindle. For a couple bucks a month you can get superb articles like this. Worth it for a cover to cover read each edition.

  

Thoughts on the First Day of the Year, What We Should Focus On This Year

 A new year begins. Some make resolutions, which are often nothing more than a wish list for wanting to indulge in what is thought of as beneficial behavior. Bottom line is we should always eat healthy, do the best we can at work, treat people right and all the rest as a matter of life style every year. We should strive to do all things better every day. Maybe instead we should look back at the past year, and see what we fell short on, and work to improve those.

My personal life was good last year; only made one bad decision I can think of, and paying a bit of an emotional price right now. My church has spent the last year healing from some bad things that happened the year before. Prayer and good leadership is bringing us about and getting us back on track as far as we treat each other. All our programs this past year that feed the poor, missionary work, outreach and the rest were still taken care of, with a lot of success. That's Love, Hope, Charity at work.

Expanding further, I can only hope some more people come to their senses to refute the bad things happening in politics and culture. Kids being suspended from school for using their thumb and index finger to form a pistol. A five or six year old kid gets suspended for sexual harassment for kissing the hand of his "girlfriend".  Homosexual sex is being taught to elementary school kids, and the heterosexual family is being diminished and diss'd because it's homophobic or something.

The war on men, emasculating them. Pay attention to commercials and it's the male that is always the stupid one, and a child or woman corrects him. Actually in this country (and world wide)  masculine men, traditional family, Christianity, personal responsibility and all the rest are under attack. The State will replace all that has worked throughout civilization. Congress critters and other politicians and their paymasters know better than us how to live our lives. We can see what the destruction of the family, by secularists and atheists, have brought. Lower college entrance exam scores, increased high school dropouts (and monstrously ignorant and stupid "students"), higher out of wedlock births with attendant teen pregnancies, higher rates of violence and juvenile delinquent activity, higher STD rates to name a few things rotting the base of our civilization.

Another note on politicians and their paymasters. They advocate that massive debt to the tune of $trillions is a good thing. We have two or three coming generations being born into debt. There may be times when debt is unavoidable, but having it as a lifestyle or as an economic policy is nothing less that disastrous. The Bible teaches economic policy. Just read the account of Joseph and the principles he applied to get Egypt out of economic disaster. 

The "elites" are no more than bullies, and if you don't "get it" and conform to their notions, they will destroy you. Bakeries and photographers shut down; they tried and shut down Chick-fil-a and Hobby Lobby and several businesses. That would have thrown hundreds out of work if they were successful at closing down those larger companies. It's not enough that one has different values and belief system than the "elites", but you must be destroyed. So much for tolerance. They're still trying and destroy Sarah Palin, advocating shitting and pissing in her mouth, or mocking Mitt Romney's family for adopting a black baby. BTW, let's drop "African American"; it was the sole concoction of racist and race hustler Jesse Jackson. An intolerant hate monger if there ever was one.

Ultimately, Christians need to stand up, be forceful, and advocate for manly virtues, the virtues of heterosexual marriage, good education and the rest. May I be so bold to say we need to educate Leftists, Secularists, Atheists, about what sin is. When I saw the attack on "Duck Dynasty" personality Roberts for his using the term "sin" to describe certain behaviors, we Christians needed to stand up and say what "sin" is. Sins are those things that distance us from God. There are things that work. Happily in this case, there was enough of a backlash to make things right. Roberts got his job back, but more on freedom of speech than on the deeper issue of working to diminish or remove sin from our lives.

I said in my previous post that scripture, Old and New Testaments, are the best guides for living. Here's what scripture says about the family.

"...God sets a father in honor over his children; a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons." (Sirach 3:2). We have pretty much rejected this.

"Wives, be subordinate to your husbands,  as is proper in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives,  and avoid any bitterness toward them. Children, obey your parents in everything,  for this is pleasing to the Lord." (Col 3:19-21) This is a seriously misunderstood verse about women; it doesn't mean what secularists and atheists that are the elites and bullies say it does. Sadly many Christians don't understand either. I guess this is another blog that needs to be written.

"Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another… put on love,  that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts…And be thankful." (Col 3:12-15) This has been replaced by cohabitation and divorce...those are not a solution to relationship problems.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." (Col 3:16) The rules and guides for living found in scripture, a record of things that have worked for thousands of years are rejected and replaced by Elitists that live in the meme, in the moment advocating the materialist values of their anti-Semitic, anti-Christian world view. It doesn't work. It has a 100% failure rate 100% of the time. The things that work bring us closer to God. Reject the natural order of God, the rules and behaviors that work and we get the mess mentioned above.  

When we talk about sin, we know what Leftists, Secularist, Atheists  are rejecting what works, and the  result of that thinking destroys family, faith, hope, charity, liberty. It's destructive and demeaning, mean and intolerant. They think that taking out notions of sin and tradition and replacing it with laws and rules, forcing behavior through those, rather than providing wisdom and guidance for a sinless heart and loving behavior as the best way. No. Fails every time. Some powerful men rejecting the natural order of things with their own laws and rules will always lead to the morass we live in now. Parents and children must find a church so all can communicate with all generations, give and get guidance and wisdom. A counterculture that only benefits. 

As the new year begins this day, Jews and Christians must be more vocal, and push back against the intolerant elitists, bullies and liars that are destroying civilization while saying they are saving it.

Are You Really Free? Thoughts on Liberty

Truly?

I wrote an essay for my first English class in college positing the idea that eventually the explicit graphic sexual writing and descriptions (this was in 1968) would have to eventually fade because it lacked creativeness, anybody could to it. I thought writers that truly loved their craft would stop indulging in that low level of writing. The professor gave me high marks, but wrote the comment "are you serious?" I was, but for the most part I was wrong.

Part of it is our culture has degenerated into easiness and mediocrity; in all things, not just literature. At it's core, this phenomenon has to do with our giving up on liberty, the rejection of it, and replacing it with libertinism. As a culture we've redefined liberty to mean we can do whatever we want without consequence. We can reject the Judeo-Christian moral and ethical values and rules of behavior and replace them with "if it feels good, do it". In our US Constitution we can ignore "enumerated rights" and accept the government can do whatever it damn well pleases, cannot "infringe" doesn't really mean that, and freedom to practice religion and the government can't establish a State religion, is changed to meaning freedom from all religious mention anywhere, anytime, except in church on Sunday.

I had left Christianity and the church (institutional worship and service) for about twenty five years, returned, and when I say that I am more free now, that I experience and practice more liberty now than during the years of secularism and libertinism, I get that 'you're nuts' look, or "what the hell are you talking about?"

During those years I was free not to commit to anything except pleasure  I had to ask myself, how is that good? I found it lends itself to alienation, from people and groups. Now I'm committed to my Church and my friends in a way I didn't understand before, and I'm a better man for it. I also moved from Leftism\Marxism to Conservatism politically, and my political thinking is more clear and true.

At the national level we have a government and culture that ignores fiscal responsibility and have allowed ourselves to be tens of $trillions in debt; an unimaginable number, and think there's no consequences. We accept graphic sex and violence as the norm. Maybe it's only age, but I've lost interest in it. It doesn't tantalize anymore. At the national level look at the $trillions we spend on sex, drugs, alcohol, the things that only provide us with short term material pleasure. I'm all for pleasure still, but it shouldn't be life's purpose. Tithing and giving to charity and missionary organizations is much more fulfilling. 

I think if those libertine things are the most important, is what drives you, then you aren't free. I have to ask, what good is it if what's most important is getting loaded, who benefits? If politicians' greed for money and power, which they get only by taking it from you, is what drives them, not the rule of law, who benefits? The Bible and our Constitution make it abundantly clear there are specific rules and laws that work, for both national and personal behavior. Rejecting those leads to bondage to the State, and personal bondage to things that hurts oneself and others.

I have found that the discipline of Judeo-Christian living is what frees, and the Constitution is based on those principles, and is what has kept us free as a people. Both are being rejected, at our peril, and why those of us that care see more degradation, decay and corruption in our civilization. Since the 1960's we have seen these things continually increase, our problems increase, because we reject what is right for what is convenient and mediocre, comfortable and easy.

Romans 8:21 observes "....because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.' Another way to word that is, what would you rather choose, the fake freedom of liberty of the world, or the world God intended for us? For you secularists, God intended us to get along, not fight, treat others well, and care for each other. Hope, Love, Charity. 

Aging, Civilization: A Look Through Life's Rear-view Mirror

I've worn it out, but I had a tee shirt the color of red dirt found in "red rock" country, that said on the back "Older Than Dirt". Humorous to be sure, but it's how I feel sometimes as I sit on the cusp of the far side of middle age. I'm in my early 60's now, and the world I came into is passing away. It's not just that my body isn't as dynamic as it once was, but the moral values that contributed to a stable civilization is passing out of existence.

I've thought for many years the Victorians had it right, and the morals and values of the mid-twentieth century were correct. There are behaviors the rend the social fabric, but in previous times these were indulged in quietly, behind closed doors. Now we do such things openly with braggadocio. I can't see we are better off for it.

When I was in high school in the 1960's it was a shock when a girl got pregnant. Premarital sex was something most of us didn't even consider; it wasn't a good thing. I recently saw a vid with Ann Coulter and John Stossel in an auditorium filled with young libertarians. Coulter said divorce was too easy, it's violation of a contract. The idea was met with boos and hisses. I think now people enter into marriage no longer viewing it as a sacred relationship and as entirely disposable. The family is all but destroyed since marriage has become that, and we're moving toward marriage meaning a State sanctioned coupling of anyone. Our schools are being allowed to teach first and second graders that homosexuality is a desirable thing. In my school days, we didn't get sex ed until seventh grade, I think. Homosexuality, and I don't care who you're poking, is not normative, yet it's being promoted over cross sex relationships. 

When I was a kid, most everybody went to church. There we were in contact with all ages, and there was continuity and exposure to other's knowledge and wisdom. It's were we were taught ethics and values that formed the foundation of our society. How we were to treat people, how and why to serve others.  That and our families were the focus and center of our lives. Life was in fact more simple then.

Things fall apart. There now exists the idea since these values can't be lived up to, don't even try. If one does try, and fails, you're a hypocrite. I remember studying existentialism in high school and college, and part of that philosophy was nihilism. From Wikipedia: Nihilism is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism, which argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value. Moral nihilists assert that morality does not inherently exist, and that any established moral values are abstractly contrived. Nihilism can also take epistemological or metaphysical/ontological forms, meaning respectively that, in some aspect, knowledge is not possible, or that reality does not actually exist.  [emphasis mine]

From that I ponder if our country, our civilization, is too far gone into nihilism. Any behavior is acceptable, even if it destroys the family (the foundation of civilization), exploits kids sexually (pedophilia is on the rise and becoming more acceptable, parents dressing their daughters like street walkers as examples), and destroys the Church, the foundation of care and charity, the source of moral teaching. Now that schools have become the source of that, the moral teaching is any traditional behavior is to be rejected, religion is to be rejected along with the church, pastors and priests are to be reviled and mocked and replaced by the State and politicians. Politicians are now the priests. Judges wear priestly robes, but ignore the law; interpret it anyway they want. Together they enforce the secular religion of the State.

We have degenerated in moral relativity and nihilism. It saddens me that 5000 plus years of tyranny being the norm of civilization, the United States comes along and rights things with the Declaration and Constitution, providing law based on moral Judeo-Christian foundations, and that is being rejected in favor of returning to tyranny and the embracing of a meaningless existence except pleasing one's self, mostly materially.

Despite all the problems existing in my childhood, life was simpler then, and I would say better. Many of those problems were resolved or at least partially corrected, but it was because of Faith, Family, Communion and Service with each other.

Life was simpler then. This is from the Monkey's song “Only Shades of Gray” and I share this lament (though it meant something different when I was a kid).

When the world and I were young,
Just yesterday.
Life was such a simple game
A child could play.
                            
It was easy then to tell right from wrong.
Easy then to tell weak from strong.
When a man should stand and fight,
Or just go along.
                             
 Refrain:
But today there is no day or night
Today there is no dark or light.
Today there is no black or white,
Only shades of gray.
                             
I remember when the answers seemed so clear
We had never lived with doubt or tasted fear.
It was easy then to tell truth from lies
Selling out from compromise
What to love and what to hate,
The foolish from the wise.
                             
It was easy then to know what was fair
When to keep and when to share.
How much to protect your heart
And how much to care.

 In case you're not  familiar with the Monkees

This lament combined with aging and what comes with it. Once again from much rejected scripture.

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come And the years approach of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them; Before the sun is darkened. and the light, and the moon, and the stars, while the clouds return after the rain; When the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, And the grinders are idle because they are few, and they who look through the windows grow blind; When the doors to the street are shut, and the sound of the mill is low; When one waits for the chirp of a bird, but all the daughters of song are suppressed; And one fears heights, and perils in the street; When the almond tree blooms, and the locust grows sluggish and the caper berry is without effect, Because man goes to his lasting home, and mourners go about the streets; Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken, And the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the broken pulley falls into the well, And the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, all things are vanity! (Ecclesiastes 12:1-8)

Things fall apart. I lament the falling apart of our nation's traditional mores and values, but don't lament my aging. I embrace it. I'm saddened that following generations may not know the sweetness of liberty and making decisions and judgments for oneself. 

Christians Voting for Marxists, Secularists Then Surprised When They Vote to Oppress Freedom of Religion

Goal of Democrat Party for America

I've been saying for years that Marxism, Socialism, Communism, the Democrat Party and the rest of the totalitarian government philosophies and entities are antithetical to Christianity and have sat in wonderment that so many Christians vote Democrat or Socialist.

We had Barack Obama famously comment on those that cling to their guns and religion, directed at Christians here which don't, while he supports the Islamofascists in the Middle East that do. What else not supported are public displays of Christianity. Obama and the Democrats have turned freedom of religion found in the Establishment Clause to freedom from religion  and freedom to worship. Freedom to worship means if you're a Christian, shut the hell up except when you're with you own kind on Sundays.

I've chronicled how government officials have helped the Democrat Party, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), the Communist Party founded ACLU going to schools, colleges and universities, to the middle of the desert, to the deep woods, and anywhere a Cross or Ten Commandments monument or engraving is found, and sue to get them removed. Even to the point of a Ten Commandments monument on school grounds, voted on by the Democrat City Council to be removed. A solution was offered to have the monument moved to a nearby church. That was rejected because it was still in public view. Seriously.

Look for the day when churches will have to remove Crosses if that's the case.

It's the Democrat Party that's forcing the Catholic Church and other religious institutions to pay for birth control, abortion pills, abortion, infanticide according to government dictates, violating centuries of tradition, values and belief.

It's the Democrat Party and other anti Christians that keep Christian clubs forming on Campuses. It's the Democrat Party and other anti Christian intolerant bigots forcing existing clubs to accept and vote into leadership positions atheists and secularists to meet with "diversity" guidelines. It's the Democrat Party that is trying to stop Bible study groups from meeting in homes. Only Christian groups; Islamists are given a pass in the name of 'diversity".

Given all that, many Christians will still vote Democrat. They will vote for the city council members that remove Christian symbols from the public square. The will vote for state and federal Democrat officials that have a history of anti Christian bigotry and belief in the State before God. For example, a Catholic politician voting for abortion and infanticide, using as an excuse they don't want to force their values on other's. It's not a value if you use the power of the State to force others to obey the State and violate Christian practices; that person values the Secularist State over Christianity. He\She values killing babies over saving them. Yet many Christians will vote for these supporters that ignore or turn the Establishment Clause on its head. They will vote for those that oppose Christianity but give Islamists a pass. They will vote for those that ignore Biblical Principles.

The Founding Fathers made it quite clear that there must be a [Christian] religious moral foundation and virtuous people for our republic to survive. Many Christians for decades have voted against Christianity and for the State the oppresses them, then complain when the State, the people they voted for, actually starts removing all public practice and symbols of Christianity from the public square.

"If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My Face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land."  2 Chronicles 7:14 

I can't help but think what happened to the Old Testament Jews every time they turned their back on God. It wasn't pretty.