Being the Church When Empires Fall
Last week I wrote about how the moral descent of the American “empire” closely parallels that of ancient Rome. In the Roman Empire, as sexual activity increased beyond the confines of legal marriage, sexual profligacy worsened, sexual perversion was normalized, and the social benefits essential to a thriving society that marriage fosters, disappeared. Family dissolution increased—fracturing the cornerstone of society—as a result, crime exploded, productivity and creativity diminished, cynicism and apathy ensued; the Empire began to crumble.
I also pointed out that Roman officials, recognizing the societal danger of such licentiousness, enacted laws in an effort to arrest the sexual extravagance and ensuing social decline. Unfortunately, these laws had little effect as the moral consensus, which was accepting of these behaviors, was well established within the culture at large.
Unlike the Romans, however, we once had a number of laws in place that were designed to protect marriage by penalizing “crimes against marriage” through adultery and fornication laws. Such public policy measures were generally supported by the moral consensus that sex was exclusive to marriage. Over the last four to five decades, these laws have been either ignored or abolished as the moral consensus shifted.
In the sixties, No-Fault divorce was established, ushering in an era of easy divorce, which would eventually produce the highest family dissolution rates in the world. These changes represent both a cause and effect of our increasingly secularized and selfish culture. In the wake of these monumental moral and philosophical changes, marriage has become a “loose and voluntary compact” as it did in ancient Rome. This is particularly true among those under age 35, of which more than two-thirds now cohabitate prior to marriage; the number of unmarried families has increased steadily since the 1970s and children born to unwed parents have reached historic highs.
So, here in the face of redefining marriage to now include couples of the same sex, it seems unlikely that we will be able to arrest the ongoing erosion of marriage, when over the course of the last fifty years we have been systematically dismantling the very protections that have brought us to this point. The current moral consensus simply does not appear to support a return to more modest public policies regarding marriage and the natural family and the church is largely compromised (which I will get to). Despite the present futility, I do believe we should always strive—while we still can—to pass legislative measures that promote the well being of individuals and society.
The Decline Of The Roman Empire - News
Famed historian Edward Gibbon noted in his classic, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, “The dignity of marriage was restored by the Christians” (p. 813). A pressing concern for us today is that unlike our first and second-century
While a sudden collapse similar to the Soviet Union is always possible, I suspect the US Central State will devolve in parallel with the ancient Roman Empire: as the Empire's costs exceeded the surplus generated by its remaining taxpayers,
Roman soldiers: “Although over half of patients had an initially severe impairment of consciousness after TBI, no permanent deficit could be found.” The study does not address the possibility that this helped the Roman Empire survive as long as it did.
Tonight, the decline and fall of the Roman Empire and the future of America. The Roman Empire began as a kingdom in 753 BC, and by 500 BC it had a representative form of government. A few hundred years later came Julius Caesar, a Roman general who
If you don't believe me, then read Edward Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Saint Augustine began writing The City of God in AD 413 after receiving news of Rome being sacked by the pagan King Alaric and the Goths in AD410.
The Fall of the Roman Empire: Is America Following the Same Course ...
The similarities are too many to ignore. Remember God is not a respecter of persons, if he punished one society for their lawlessness and debauchery He is most likely to do the same for all others who follow after the same course. If God destroyed both Sodom and Gomorrah, and the late Roman Empire, America is not immune to his wrath.
There are many in America who have cried out against this debasement of our society, most often they are ignored or worse ridiculed and lambasted. Those who espouse decency are declared extremist and radical while all those who promote the killing of children and immoral sexual debasement are called champions of civil-rights.
Be warned! God is not mocked! What he done before he will surely do again!
The Roman Empire had a twisted view about the value of human life. These views were banished by the ascendency of Christ’s teaching. Infanticide was both legal and encouraged in ancient Rome. Pagan societies, such as the Carthaginians, Romans and Greeks went so far as to kill their children outside the womb, sometimes as a religious sacrifice to their gods. According to Plutarch, the Carthaginians “offered up their own children, and those who had no children would buy little ones from poor people and cut their throats as if they were so many lambs of young birds; meanwhile the mothers stood by without a tear or moan.”
Roman views on homosexuality were closer to today’s views than many realize. Pundit Nathaniel Blake characterizes it this way: “But, the Roman conception of same-sex relationships was very different than that of the modern West. The most important factors in the Roman view seem to have been the status and role of the partners. The Romans did not consider homosexual or heterosexual identities as exclusive from one another. While bisexuality was common, strict homosexuality was all but unknown. Unlike the modern view, social class mattered a great deal in the acceptability of homosexual relations. The upper classes were much more likely to indulge in homosexual acts, and masters had the sexual use of their slaves.” It was common to see an older man who held dominance over a younger male, using him for sexual pleasure.
His final contribution rivals the Federal Reserve. The silver denarius was an innovation in sound money introduced by Emperor Augustus. It was 95 percent silver like America’s pre- 1964 coinage, and the denarius lead to greatly improved honest trade around the empire. Caracalla, in his drive to increase spending, changed it to a coin with only 50 percent silver.
The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: 
The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 4: The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roma... 
The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: 
The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire with illustrations and links to download FREE audiobook 
The CN Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: Volume 2 (Allen Lane History): The Decline Of The Roman Empire - Bookshelf
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Decline of the Roman Empire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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