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America on the Decline
By La Shawn Barber
February 26, 2004

In "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," author Edward Gibbon discusses several reasons for the great civilization's demise, including the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home and the decay of religion.

America has been compared to the Roman Empire in secular and religious ways. Regardless of its ultimate legacy, America is a civilization on the decline. A couple of centuries from now (or sooner), someone will write a book called "The Decline and Fall of the American Empire." Historians will lament the loss of a once-great civilization that brought prosperity to the world and tried to make it safer for democracy. The glory that was the United States will lay in ruins, brought down not by terrorists but its own debauchery and complacency.

Even before cultural decay was apparent, a man named Dr. Carle Zimmerman wrote a book called "Family and Civilization" in 1947. He reviewed the decline of multiple civilizations and empires and found eight patterns of domestic behavior that signaled the decline of a civilization:

1) Marriage loses its sacredness; is frequently broken by divorce.

2) Traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony is lost.

3) Feminist movements abound.

4) Increased public disrespect for parents and authority in general.

5) Acceleration of juvenile delinquency, promiscuity, and rebellion.

6) Refusal of people with traditional marriages to accept family responsibilities.

7) Growing desire for and acceptance of adultery.

8) Increasing interest in and spread of sexual perversions and sex-related crimes.

Reads like today's newspaper, doesn't it?

Who can say when the decline of America began? We know that when constructive, productive, traditional values lose their dominance and perversion seeps into the mainstream, cultural rot has begun. For example, our children are lectured, in taxpayer-supported schools, that the deviancy of homosexuality is normal. In the midst of this chaos, homosexuals are now attempting to destroy the foundation of the family by rendering the concept of marriage meaningless.

One of the greatest tragedies in our history isn't slavery but the breakdown of the family, an indicator of a declining civilization. Anyone with the ability to reason knows the optimum environment to properly civilize a child, which takes tremendous sacrifice and effort, is a two-parent family.

As the moral fiber of our society began to break down, the stigma of illegitimacy was weakened. As a result, out-of-wedlock pregnancy is no longer considered shameful, and children are not cautioned about its damaging consequences. The connection between broken, female-headed homes and delinquency, crime, sexual promiscuity and sociopathic behavior is too obvious to ignore or blame on "racism."

For instance, fatherless boys are twice as likely to end up in jail even when race and income are held constant. Regardless of income and race, there is a strong correlation between the number of single parent families in a community and the crime rate. Seventy percent of all prison and reform school inmates come from fatherless homes.

Homosexuals claim they're not out to destroy marriage. So why not be satisfied with civil ceremonies? Because they want to make a mockery of the traditional family and the sanctity of marriage. Their hostility toward Christian principles is apparent.

But it's not just Christians who believe homosexuality is morally wrong. All the world's major religions have always viewed homosexual behavior as wrong, including the "peaceful" religion of Islam. Practicing homosexuals in Muslim countries are often killed.

The Bible is clear that marriage between a man and woman is the only context for the sexual relationship. The whole Bible--Old and New Testament--views adultery, sex before marriage and homosexual activity as unequivocally wrong.

I urge those who profess Christ, yet condone homosexual "marriage", to dust off their Bibles and take a look. God warns, "Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind...Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1:28&32) God's judgment will be swift, perfect and just.

I encourage Bible-believing Christians (as opposed to nominal Christians) to share God's truth with a fallen world. Every moment we remain silent, we participate in America's decline. Silence is powerful. Remember the 43 million babies "legally" murdered since Roe v. Wade?

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Visit La Shawn Barber's (barbersview@yahoo.com blog at http://lashawnbarber.blogspot.com

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.