Western Civilization owes its very life to the influence of the Christian church (in the sense of the catholic–not Catholic–church). And that is probably why Western Civilization now appears moribund: the Christian influence which has been so strong for most of the past two millennia is now waning. As Dr. Chris Hook, a medical doctor, put it in an article on bioethics for Reformation Online,
This year, the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain, has at last brought back to the Church’s attention of the life and work of William Wilberforce and the his colleagues in the Clapham Community. Wilberforce has long been one of my personal role models, his memory spurning me onward in my work in bioethics, when otherwise I have despaired and wanted to leave it all behind. It is my hope that this recent attention will illustrate what God can do with communities of committed Christians who bring together expertise from various fields and financial and social resources and influence to change society. Slavery was but one issue this group faced and hoped to reform, and they faced similar opposition to what those wishing to defend human dignity today face: the power of commerce, government, academy and a lifeless, bloated and self-centered church. Yet with God’s guidance they were able to collect their joint resources and changed an empire, in spite of itself, and the world.
Of course, the “Wilberforce effect” is simply the kind of blatantly obvious effect genuine Christian communities have had upon Western Civilization in the past. Other, more fundamental processes, seem utterly hidden from most folks’ (including politicians *spit* Mass Media Podpeople and soi disant historians) eyes. Nevertheless, it is the loss of Christian influence, largely as “Christian” churches lose their Christianity, that has resulted in a society with no integrity, no heart, no soul–a society with no reaon for existence but greedily and foolishly seeking instant pleasure and wealth with little or no thought for tomorow.
Hence, we have politicians *spit* and Mass Media Podpeople and Academia Nut Fruitcakes advocating measures for our society that, like the recent Senate shamnesty bill, are immoral, shortsighted and foolish. We have a citizenry that has collectively sold itself into slavery to indebtedness for its whole lifetime and the lifetimes of its grandchildren. We have “artists” expressing the heart and soul of our society in “art” that is either literal or figurative shit.
And yet. Perhaps there is a remnant. Perhaps, as was shown in the public outcry about the recent Senate shamnesty bill, there are still enough people sticking their fingers in the many holes in dikes holding back the barbarian waters… perhaps.
One can only hope.
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