From my perspective an incredibly insightful piece. I do not recall any other recent commentary which so captured my own thoughts on the current status of Western civilization and how we got there. I hope all of you enjoy it as much as I did. Now the question is: how do we change to a more positive direction?
ZitatHow art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! ( Isaiah 14:12)
One hundred years ago the continent of Europe was in the midst of a convulsive, suicidal war against itself, which would ultimately bring in America, South Africa, Australians and New Zealanders, and many other nations which were in any way connected to Europe, such as through colonial ties.
In the years leading up to the war, the West was at a zenith of power, wealth and civilizational confidence.The once feared Ottoman empire was revealed to be the “sick man” of Europe, it the the nations of Western Europe and her colonial heirs which were the future. It was European and British science, medicine, law, and even the Christian religion that seemed to be prevailing and enlightening the darkened “heathen” everywhere it was spread.
Imperial Britain ruled over more than a quarter of the globe, German kingdoms were united to create a brand new nation rich in industry, powerful militarily, and a center of learning and education, being the heirs of a highly developed culture which gave us Luther, Beethoven, Bach and Mozart.France and Belgium, with Britain ruled over much of the undeveloped world,through their colonies, which brought unprecedented wealth into the west.
But Europe has never recovered from World War 1 and the second round, World War 2, which was but an extension of the previous war.Europe was bled white, millions of the very flower of European,American and Russian youth were slaughtered in the highly mechanized and even industrial rate slaughter which occurred.
The senselessness of the slaughter, as well as the naive eagerness with which western people mobilized for the First World War, actually served to demoralize the West in so many profound ways, it is actually hard to comprehend.There are many who have written well on this subject, it something worth understanding, but for our purposes it is enough to be succinct.
In short, Europe and much of the West lost her faith, which was at one time Christianity. A case can be made that the process of the loss of Faith in the west has been occurring for many centuries leading up to the World Wars, since the age of enlightenment, the French Revolution, then Marx, the Higher Critics of Theology, and so forth. But at the turn of the last century, (1900) there was an almost unbounded optimism that Western values, science and yes even a positive form of Western religion was on the advance, bringing light to the world’s darkest corners.
If nations are like human bodies, than World War 1 severely weakened Europe and Russia, calling all of the former spiritual values into question. Where was God? What was the former confidence we once hailed? How could we fall upon each other so readily? What was all of that flag waving joy at the war’s onset?
Another factor which hurt Europe after the first World War was the bitterness ex[pressed in the Versailles treaty, which exacted crippling penalties upon Germany. Before he was elected president of the United States, Herbert Hoover was a self made millionaire philanthropist, who literally fed millions of starving children in France and Belgium. He writes of seeking to send food into Germany, after the war, only to be blockaded by the vengeful allies. thousands of German children starved to death.
When a body is weakened enough, it loses the immunity it once had to opportunistic diseases, and they rush in. In the early to mid part of the last century Europe became very susceptible to Atheistic philosophies such as Communism and National Socialism.These are some of the factors which guaranteed the rise of Fascism, Hitler and Nazism.
By the time the second World War was over, Europe was exhausted, spiritually and morally. The house had been emptied, for the most part, of faith in God and Christianity.
What does one do with an empty house? Jesus warned that a house cannot stay empty forever,(spiritually), either the choice will be made to fill the emptiness with something good and wholesome(a revival of true religion) or the choice will be made for you, (because a non choice is a choice), For the warning is that “Seven worse spirits will come into the house” and the last state will be worse than the first.
In the post war years, there was a sharp east west split, for the world became bi-polar, and Europe reflected this. In the east, Communism, under Russia ruled, atheism was enforced and people suffered. In the west, Materialism flourished. The allies rebuilt the shattered half of Germany, and a miraculous economy roared to life, proving that humanly speaking , free market economy makes more people comfortable than a communistic planned economy.
Many of lived to see the Berlin wall come down and the “western” model prevail. We rejoiced to see (limited) free market principles improve the lot of those who suffered under forced atheism.
But someone wiser than I has told us, man cannot live on bread alone…
Europe and much of the west was still empty spiritually. She embraced “freedom” and materialism, and refrained from the bloody wars which she once was known for, but the cathedrals and churches kept emptying out with every passing year.
One of the tragic markers of this emptiness is seen in the dearth of marriages and child bearing. The major European nations simply do not have children enough to even replace themselves. It is almost as though they have a death wish, and see nothing other than having a nice comfortable life, and hopefully to age peacefully and then die,( if need be in Holland by state assisted suicide).
What is a culture, without a “Cultus”? The core of the word culture, “Cult” is religion. Europe is dying, and the cause is lack of true religion.Europeans have also bought into the atheistic values of “personal peace and affluence”, eagerly entering into the sexual revolution, abortion and other forms of sexual anarchy.
Of course in the lack of true religion , there are always substitutes, and the closest substitute to the true religion which once nurtured Europe is the superstate. Either you will have God or Caesar! The EU superstate came into the vacuum, but it is a god that is failing Europe.The house is till empty.
Because Europeans for the most part cannot be bothered to have children, The All powerful superstate has seen fit to try to fill those empty taxpaying slots in the economy with Muslims. Millions of them.(After all people are interchangeable units aren’t they?)
What is happening in Europe physically through Immigration is a reflection of what has happened spiritually. For the most part the house is empty, this is not to say there isn’t a remnant of Christians in Europe(and America) for there is.
But into the larger vacuum in Europe are pouring hordes of third world , barbarian savages. America is experiencing similar problems, because our leaders are perverse, feet and without faith.
The problem is, the Muslims have a religion which they adhere to. It is a manifestly false, and even satanic religion, but a religion none the less. It turns out , one can’t resist a religion(even if it is false) with non religion. It just won’t work.