The Prodigal Nation

      A Brief Christian Commentary on American's Backslide into Secularism.

      By Joseph E. Kent.

      As a Christian looking at the state of American society today, it is utterly depressing to see the extent of our depravity. At one time in history, this country was considered great. Now, it's falling rapidly to the depths of the abyss, despite the forewarnings that God has given us. What forewarnings? Examples: AIDS, uncontrollable violence, increase of natural disasters, Sodomy Rights. Sound familiar?

      This country has become like the Prodigal Son in Jesus parable (Lk. 15:11-32)- wasting its life in riotous living (v. 13)! Will America ever return to God, the true father of this nation? God is waiting patiently for its return Home, but how much longer will God tarry?

      Now, in this article I intend to briefly cover certain hot-bed issues that are affecting our nation. Granted, in each of these areas I could easily spend a lot more time in, but that is not the direction of this thesis. The primary goal here is to show the stupidity of the system in operation.

      Condom Distribution in public schools. Since this bright idea was first enacted, there has been an increase in sexual activity, not a decrease of it. One wonders as to the rationale of our secular educators. What's even more puzzling is that when we who statistically the increase, our illustrious educators say our stats are faulty and biased. Well, aren't theirs also? I mean, how one educates is based on a curriculum based on a foundation, whether it be secular or religious. In today's public school system, it is primarily secular.

      The secular educators actually wonder why there is such a mass exodus of parents taking their children out of our public schools. God knows! The writing is on the wall, as the Biblical cliche goes! If you take God out of our schools, there will be a moral vacuum that will underlay everything being taught. What the educators replaced it with isn't any better. Goals 2000 works like corrosion that eats away at every moral fiber in a child's mind, regardless of what spiritual upbringing one has at home. Through the seeds of self-gratification, feel-goodism and sodomy indoctrination, what sprouts are weeds of discontent, anarchy, confusion and despair. Hard to believe? Just look at Generation X.

      Abortion. Does the mother take full responsibility for the child growing within her? Secular society say, "It is foolish to bring up an unwanted and unhealthy baby into the world. It's best to terminate it because of all the suffering the child will have to endure. Besides, who will take care of it?" Does this really make sense? By terminating pregnancy, both the mother and the unborn child suffer greatly from this travesty, especially the unborn (and unprotected) child that's needlessly slaughtered! It doesn't make a difference if it's by rape or incest. It's not the child's fault it was born. Besides, there is enough childless couples that would gladly take on the welfare of such a child. Isn't that why there are adoption placement centers in existence.

      How can society turn a blind eye to the unborn? It's really simple. We are told that it is a woman's choice and a woman can do what she wants with her body. Well, that's interesting. Since when is a living fetus an actual part of a woman's body? She may feed and nourish the fetus with her blood, but it still isn't her. Besides, it has a beating inside of the first three weeks. Does this mean that the mother has two hearts? Of course not! In most cases, this is just an excuse so women can be rid of the inconvenience or embarrassment. The mother is not responsible, the government is. And the government always travels the road of least resistance-termination. The unborn child's silent cry goes unheard!

      Partial-Birth Abortion. To date, this is the most horrid of abortive methods. This is where the doctor turns the unborn child into the "breech" position (feet first) and pulls the child from the mother until all but the head is delivered. The doctor then forces scissors into the base of the skull and inserts a catheter to suction out the child's brain.1 It is claimed that such a procedure may be necessary to save a woman's life, but this is a lie. According to the testimony of Pamela Smith, M.D., in the U.S. Senate Hearing Report given November 17, 1995 (104-206, p.82), she said, "There are absolutely no obstetrical situations ... which require a partially delivered human fetus to be destroyed to preserve the life or health of the mother."2 President Clinton argues that it's necessary to prevent "serious consequences" to the mother, but this also is a lie. According to the mainstream medical community there is no medical necessity for such a procedure. Dr. Warren Hern, leading authority of late-term abortions of the United States, stated in the American Medical News of November 20, 1995 (p.3), that the procedure is never necessary to preserve a woman's health. (Health, by the way, is broadly termed for, "all factors-physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and social.," as defined by the abortion context.) We are also lead to believe that this method is not as brutal as it looks; but, according to leading anesthesiologists who testified before Congress, this is a lie. Lastly, it is said that's it's rarely done. What can I say, another untruth. According to the U.S. Senate Hearing Report (104-260, p.23) 600 to 2,000 of the abortions are done yearly, and practitioners report that the majority are "elective and the rest are done to prevent the live birth of a child with handicaps." It really is amazing as to how low secularists will stoop to get their way and to deceive the public!

      What then is the bottom line? Man has put himself in the place of God in regards to who should live and who should die. But, this was never meant to be, for it is God, and not man, that should make that determination. Secularists have ousted God in this area and women are now riddled with guilt and anxiety because of what they have done. Peace of God has been replaced with emptiness of soul.

      Euthanasia. The doctor-assisted suicides by Jack Kevorkian are becoming harder to convict due to poor legislation and confusion as to what the laws actually mean. Thus, any protest made against Dr. Death, for the most part, goes unheard. At this rate, suicide and abortion clinics will someday be sitting side by side. Why do people not wish to suffer? I think Alexander Solzhenitsyn said it best:

      There is a psychological peculiarity in the human being that always strikes one: to shun even the slightest signs of trouble on the outer edge of your existence at times of well-being ... to try not to know about the sufferings of others and your own or one's own future sufferings, to yield in any situations, even important spiritual and central ones-as long as it prolongs one's well-being.3
      In today's society, it's the person's well-being that is paramount in one's life. To suffer in any way is anathema of the human condition. What people don't realize is that through suffering, God uses such avenues to strengthen the suffer and his or her family. Unfortunately, society as a whole recommends the quickest exit from terminal suffering: suicide, the legal way. Despair wins over hope.

      I could go on and on showing numerous examples of how society has usurped God's rightful domain, but let's concentrate on the solution. What is it? Return back to God and His righteousness. Only He can set things right in this country and in this world. If we do not, American society's ills will only accelerate to a point of no return. The death knell of our country is ringing. Let's un block our ears and listen!

      If you think that the Christian Right are the only ones that thought of this, observe the following great statesmen who spoke about the necessity of the grounding of God's Word in BOTH civic and social life:4

      Unknown

      "It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible."

      George Washington

      "Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet-anchor of your liberties; write its precepts in your hearts and practice them in you lives. To the influence of this book we are indebted for all progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future. Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people."

      Ulysses S. Grant

      "Every thinking man, when he thinks, realizes that the teachings of the Bible are so interwoven with the whole of civic and social life that it would be literally impossible for us to figure what life would be if those teachings were removed. We would lose almost all standards by which we may now judge both public and private morals; all the standards towards which we, with more or less resolution, strive to raise ourselves."

      Theodore Roosevelt

      "America was born a Christian nation. America was to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the Holy Scriptures."

      Woodrow Wilson

      "The meaning of the Bible must be known and understood if it is to make a difference in our lives, and I urge all Americans to read and study the Scriptures. The rewards of such efforts will help preserve our heritage of freedom and signal the message of liberty to people in all lands."

      Ronald Reagan

      "Were our past great leaders off the wall, or were they correct in their pronouncements? Some people may laugh or scoff, but look at the fruit of our labors since God was taken out of our schools and government - civil unrest and disobedience, governmental corruption and cronyism. America's ethics have become that which is politically expedient or popular at the time with no moral grounding whatsoever! Secularists insists that the solution is in the programs being enacted. They're concentrating more on the physical rather than the spiritual! Programs are all well and good, but without a spiritual foundation, it will be like putting a small band-aid on a huge cut. The remedy doesn't fit the wound.

       

      The underlying problem is sin - especially selfish pride. So long as we are sitting on the high pedestal insisting upon doing things our way, God will knock us off the top and put us in our place. Right now, God is treating us like wayward children and is giving us the rod of discipline. So long as American society turns a blind eye to the Judeo-Christian ethics that this country was founded upon, God will continue to put us in His crucible of fire. The Fire of God's wrath is already lit.

       

      Do we really want Him to set this country fully ablaze?"

     

    Let me close with a quote by Daniel Webster, the great linguist who made the first American dictionary:

      "If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering and to prosper; but if we and our posterity neglect its instructions and authority, no man can tell how sudden a catastrophe may overwhelm us and bury our glory in profound obscurity."

        Footnotes
      1. 4/5 INFANTICIDE 1/5 ABORTION; Pamphlet put out by The National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
      2. Phillip's Book of Great Thoughts Funny Sayings; Bob Phillips. Tyndale Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, IL. Copyright 1993. Pp. 301-302.
      3. Ibid; Pp. 39, 40, 41, 42.
      4. Ibid; Pp. 40-41.

    This thesis is copyrighted material, © 1997 By Joseph E. Kent. All Rights Reserved.

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