The
following quote is taken from Francis A. Schaeffer's book How
Should We Then Live?
"Edward
Gibbon (1737-1794) in his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
(1776-1788) said that the following five attributes marked Rome
at its end: first, a mounting love of show and luxury (that is,
affluence); second, a widening gap between the very rich and the very
poor (this could be among countries in the family of nations as well
as in a single nation); third, an obsession with sex; fourth,
freakishness in the arts, masquerading as originality, and
enthusiasms pretending to be creativity; fifth, an increased desire
to live off the state."
The
Romans had a system and the system was based on structure. In the
short run most any structure with some semblance of inner integrity
can survive. That is, persistence and consistency together can
provide a certain momentum. But is the firm belief of many, including
me, that organizational structure is not amenable to relativism. That
is, given the nature of mankind, not any and all systems will do. And
not only the nature of man is at issue here, but the nature of man
within what can only be called a context of organizational physics.
These principles of organizational structure are indeed in the end
ineluctable.
Whether
one is a believer in God or not (or as some would fancy a grandfather
in the sky) is in this sense quite beside the point. A people I
suppose do not have to believe in a supreme being so long as they
humble themselves before the sanctity of structure – not any
structure, but the only tenable structure with long-term durability
for human interaction – a structure built upon love. For the human
being, not just any nest will do; for nurture has its requirements.
As
a Christian I must revert in this discussion to my concept of a God
of love. Now love has implications – an ineluctable set of
disciplines. Throughout Scripture we see repeated failures of
societies that forgot this and erect idols of their own choosing. In
other words, they forget the disciplines of love that require
structure imposed by organizational physics and in one form or
another try to escape the inescapable. They strive to escape the hard
fact that only organizational structure based upon the disciplines of
love can long endure.
All
addictions are at base attempts to escape reality – to escape the
truth. In the Bible we learn that money is not the root of all evil,
but the love of money is the root of all evil. Likewise the Romans
desire for affluence was commendable for it represented a society
that wanted to achieve a good measure of material abundance. But
never must affluence be lusted after at all costs. For then affluence
becomes an idol that supersedes and usurps the unsentimental
necessity and requirements and disciplines of love. An obsession with
sex rather than love is one of the oldest forms of escapism seeking
to flee from bedrock emotional reality and human responsibility.
Likewise, the fundamental basis of art is creativity (and by art I
refer not only to the fine arts but to the scientific and industrial
arts). People can become so recalcitrant vis-à-vis creativity that
they substitute for creativity its very opposite – disorder, death
and destruction. Mankind has certainly had its share of nightmares in
this regard.
I
have written elsewhere regarding the persistent attempts of mankind
throughout history to escape the plain fact that the doctrine of
man’s own devising regarding the distribution of wealth – namely,
that possession is 9/10 of the law – is a craven and reprehensible
form of escapism. (The Bible teaches us that in the last analysis we
don’t possess any material thing.) The undeniable reality is that
wealth has widespread sources but tends to be filtered into a
relatively few hands. Mankind will never ascend beyond the plagues of
war and social upheaval until it looks this fact squarely in the face
and deals with it within the resources supplied and required by the
disciplines of love. I have said it before and I will say it again
with some national pride, that America will be the one to transcend
this Gordian knot for it is a nation in which love and respect is
extensive and persistence and patience embellish goodwill. It has not
yet “grown-up” and cynically given up its earnest desire for
justice – both social and economic. But it must turn from escapism
in all its forms (which can be quite sophisticated and intimidating
in appearance) and humble itself before Providence – the Providence
that was instrumental in the nation’s initial creation. Will
government play a role – a big role – in the redistribution of
wealth to more clearly reflect its sources? Of course it will; it is
its sacred duty to do so. Controversy will swirl aplenty for the
idol of capitalism will always tempt us with the excesses, delusions,
and the overreach of doctrinaire egocentrism.
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