The Morality of a Nation

Winston Churchill once pointed out that “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”  This statement emphasizes the fact that, though times change, our inherent human nature remains the same.  Sinful actions and desires may change in deed, but they will never change in nature.  If we are to understand the fundamental beliefs, assumptions, and problems of humanity today, we must examine those of the humanity that has gone before.

Consider the following statements and what time and place in history they describe:

-          People, especially educated ones, have rejected traditional religion. 

-          Astrology is practiced. 

-          Patriotism has declined. 

-          The upper class is consumed with pleasure. 

-          Education stresses knowledge more than character, and produces masses of half-educated people. 

-          Public athletic games have turned into professional contests. 

-          Homosexuality is popular. 

-          The dramas of the day are full of seduction and adultery. 

-          A women’s liberation movement has brought women into active roles in a previously male-oriented culture. 

-          Motherhood is devalued, and the bearing of children is viewed as an inconvenience. 

-          Abortion is commonly practiced.

-          There is fighting and unrest within the nation between people of different faiths and ethnic groups.

-          Willingness to join the military is decreasing.

-          The government is called upon to provide for the everyday needs of citizens.

This list is taken from the first chapter of Assumptions that Affect our Lives by Christian Overman.  These statements, though intended to describe Ancient Greece on the verge of decline, apply sadly and surprisingly to modern America.  We have seen some significant changes in people’s assumptions in America’s past.  For example, it is assumed in today’s society that if a boy brings a deadly weapon to school, mass murder will result.  Fifty years ago, children in junior high brought guns to school for show-and-tell.  They were cool—and for hunting rabbits.  Times have changed.  4,000 unborn children die every day in America, something that would have been unthinkable a hundred years ago.  America is on a steep decline, in all the same ways as Ancient Greece right before its fall.

A Biblical set of assumptions addresses every sphere of life: education, church, government, and parenting.  These may contrast popular thought and culture but are still upheld by a significant number of God’s people.  In Ancient Greece, children were handed over to the state at an early age to be trained up in the service of the nation.  However, education is not the responsibility of the state or the government, but of parents and grandparents who will bring up their children in the way they should go.  The church is not a building only, and not restrained to a specific location; it is the body of Christ’s believers in fellowship wherever they are.  Government is under God and subject to Him, for the purpose of protecting the people’s physical well-being and has no control over their hearts, minds, and religious beliefs.  Parenting is closely tied to education, for every aspect of both education and parenting is essential to a child’s mental and spiritual well-being.

I have several practical life ‘assumptions’ that rest near to my heart.  The first and most significant is the deity of Jesus Christ.  He willingly gave his life to save mine, and his love and joy are inherent to my very being.  All the rest follow this: my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and should be used to his glory.  My family members are my friends, gifts from God that are not to be taken for granted.  My Christian friends are my family: we are to hold each other up through fellowship in the Spirit.  My unbelieving friends are my mission field—I am to be Jesus to them.  Life is sacred, because we are created in God’s image and He loves each of us as if there were only one of us.  Marriage is a gift from God and is between one man and one woman.  My faith in a loving Creator gives rise to my entire worldview.

Unfortunately, many Americans no longer hold to the Christian faith, and so no longer maintain a worldview that treasures life, values marriage, or understands the significance of inter-generational communities, especially parents, to the formation of young people, the importance of performing civic duties, and the necessity of a limited government to the liberty of the individual.  Look again at the list above.  Need I say more?

There must be a way to return America to its moral foundation—the government is even now attempting to do so.  However, requiring positive moral conduct through federal legislation is ineffective and unwise.  All legislation must have the consent of the governed, or it is both unconstitutional and imprudent.  Our founders recognized that it is of the essence of government to tend toward tyranny, which is why they granted as little power to the federal government as possible.  Patrick Henry acknowledged that “the Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government, lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.”  Law can never create morality. 

Where, then, can we find hope?  Look to the fundamental assumptions that shape your own worldview.  Righteousness comes only through faith.  Only Jesus, not the law, can mediate between God and man.  It is not the government’s place to legislate issues of virtue; that is what the government of England attempted to do, and that is what the first Pilgrims fled.  Indeed, our founders knew that “Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.”  We see this sentiment echoed in our own Constitution.  The First Amendment forbids the government from imposing a certain religion on the people or limiting freedom thereof; the Ninth Amendment recognizes that the people may be granted certain rights not specifically listed in the Constitution; and in the Tenth Amendment all powers not explicitly granted to the Federal Government are reserved to the states and to the people.  Thomas Jefferson wrote that “the legitimate powers of the government reach actions only, and not opinions.”  Upon a thorough examination of the Constitution, one will notice that nowhere is the government granted the power to dictate morals.  The government stays out.

 

To build a moral society, we have to start from the bottom, with natural law as found in the Bible, and build up.  If you were to build a house, you would first lay the foundation; you wouldn’t start with the roof and work your way down.  Likewise, we cannot create a moral nation starting with the government and working our way down with legislation.  The foundation is already given to us in the Bible; we only have to build upon it.  Upon this set of assumptions, individuals must build their worldview.  Then, it is upon the individual—upon the collective worldviews of the individuals—that government is formed.  It is our duty, the duty of the Christian citizen, to build upon that foundation through education and evangelization.  America is a great nation; but every other great nation throughout history has come to an end through moral decay and internal struggles.  Let us learn from history, so that America does not meet the same fate.