I would like to encourage bible-believing Christians in our community to actively resist the leftist progression in our society through peaceful but aggressive means.
Francis Schaeffer, a famous American Christian philosopher, founded a retreat in Switzerland called L’Abri. L’Abri was a retreat center for young people seeking answers to ultimate questions in life.
In his book titled “How Should We Then Live?”, Schaeffer describes the progression of the secular mind, apart from God, throughout history. Man’s attempt to define his own purpose and identity, apart from God, and to arrive at answers for ultimate questions, eventually fails and leads to despair.
Societal collapse occurs when this despair reaches epidemic proportions, and society unravels. The despairing populace inevitably turns toward authoritarian leaders to define absolutes for them. They are willing to give up freedoms over time to achieve an illusion of peace of mind and relative prosperity.
Ultimately, this authoritarian government never delivers on its promises, and it becomes oppressive. Marxist governments are a good example.
American society has worked fairly well until the Sexual Revolution (1960s) due to the presence of a Christian consensus. Differences of opinion could be managed. However, Schaeffer saw this consensus was deteriorating, and America was headed towards the same fate as other nations.
Americans do not agree on the sanctity of human life in the womb or sexual ethics, for example.
65 million unborn lives have been terminated in the womb since Roe v. Wade (1973). In previous generations, there was a general consensus that unborn lives matter. Not true now.
There is no agreement regarding sexual ethics, either.
Biblical ethics limit sexual activity to one man and one woman, in a marital relationship, for the purposes of raising godly offspring. Nowadays, many other sexual practices are considered normal. In fact, biblical sexual ethics are vilified as archaic, homophobic and transphobic.
School systems throughout the nation are seeking to re-define sexual ethics and to wrench the responsibility for moral instruction from parents. Loudoun County, Virginia is only one of many school systems that are promoting unbiblical values. School systems want to silence Christians from speaking about their faith, yet openly teach neo-Marxist ideology, and provide profane reading materials to students. This movement is not limited to a few school districts in leftist states, either. It is permeating the entire nation. The current presidential administration supports this ideology, so this trend is likely to worsen.
I strongly suggest Christian parents keep an eye on local school affairs. Run for school board positions. Interact with activist groups such as Purple for Parents and Moms for Liberty.
Watch for acronyms like SEL (Social Emotional Learning) and research the program that the district is using. SEL is used in many school districts as a program based on Neo-Marxist ideology teaching all people with white skin tone are white supremacists. Ask your children what they are being taught. Challenge educators, administrators and school boards. Be aware of leftist tactics. Don’t be silenced. Leftist activists try to silence others by accusing them of racism, for example. Be willing to homeschool rather than allowing your child to be indoctrinated into false ideologies. Join a solid, biblical church.
Political solutions are important but not the most important thing. God created man and gives him his identity and purpose. Man doesn’t define his own identity and purpose. The purpose of man, as an image-bearer of God, is to glorify God individually, in the family, in the church, and in society. He represents God in the material world. The absolutes of Scripture guide man in this regard. Fulfilling this purpose requires a new birth and a new mind. These are the most needful things for all to know.
Francis Schaeffer produced a video series called How Should We Then Live? It was produced in 1977 but has a lot of insight to offer regarding events in our nation today. The full series in one long video is embedded below in the related resources section. Additionally, Rod Dreher wrote a book titled “Live Not by Lies”. An interview of Mr. Dreher by Albert Mohler is embedded in the related content section, too.
Robert Sparkman
This post is a more detailed version of a letter to the editor that I submitted to the local newspaper. The letter to the editor is referenced in the Related Content section.
Concerning the Related Content section, I encourage evaluating the content with discernment. Some sources of information may reflect a libertarian or non-Christian perspective and I would not agree with all of their values, but in general I think they offer some worthwhile comments and criticisms. I do not necessarily agree with every comment by every person, but in general, I find them to be valuable or I would not include them.
Unlike most mainstream media outlets, I am interested in truth rather than mere partisan propaganda. This blog post reflects my well-considered convictions on the related issues, and provides support for my assertions. I acknowledge the possibility that my understanding of events and information may need refinement and welcome legitimate criticism. Respectful comments and questions without expletives and personal attacks will be posted and I will respond to them.
Comments? Email me at [email protected] or leave a reply below.
RELATED CONTENT
Francis Schaeffer, a well-known Christian apologist, authored many books related to the Christian and non-Christian worldview. One such book was titled “How Should We Then Live”. The book was used as inspiration for the movie below. It is a little dated, but the contents are still worthwhile. I think the modern viewer will be enlightened by its content.
Rod Dreher is the author of the book “Live Not By Lies”. He discusses the need to refuse to accept demands by the godless to affirm their lies. There is increasing pressure in our society to affirm the lies of the left. An example is the demand for teachers to affirm children identified as transgender by using their preferred pronouns. He discusses how emigrants from socialist countries expressed fear of an impending leftist totalitarian government developing in the United States as they compare current events with their experience in socialist countries.
Note: This is a modified version of a letter to the editor that I submitted to the local newspaper. Some or all of the content is applicable to a general audience. Here’s the original article. The article was written under the constraints of 600 words, which is generous for a letter to the editor, but insufficient to address every nuance or facet of complex topics.