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by Chuck Baldwin April 28, 2006 An upcoming birthday reminds me that I have lived to pass the half-century mark. During those years, I have seen people at their best and at their worst. I believe I am also witnessing the impact that a vast cultural revolution is having on people. There is always an ebb and flow to people's lives and to the life of a nation, for that matter. However, if I were to report on the general state of people's lives today in meteorological terms, I would say a ubiquitous low pressure system envelops the entire country. By low pressure I mean the daily emotional, psychological, mental, and spiritual stress brought to bear upon people. In fact, it seems that the stress (low pressure) with which people are daily engulfed these days could be categorized as a hurricane of Category 5 proportions! I've never seen anything like it! For the most part, family life is as turbulent as ocean waves in the midst of a storm. In fact, stormy would be a very descriptive word for most modern families. Pervasive divorce has alienated children from parents and parents from children. Children seldom have the luxury of growing up with biological parents, much less grandparents. Fathers are seldom the disciplinarians at home. Before the average American child is a teenager, he or she has become thoroughly spoiled, selfish, and sinful. Furthermore, the lust for material prosperity seems to burn far stronger in the average parent's heart than the desire to teach and train their own offspring! Add to family stress vocational and economic uncertainty. How many people across our once great land clocked out on Friday evening only to return Monday morning to a job site with empty buildings and locked gates? How many have seen their pensions and insurance plans disappear overnight? How many have worked their whole lives for a company only to have the management abruptly say, "Sorry, we're moving to Mexico. You're on your own"? Then, of course, there is the heavy spiritual stress that people of faith, especially Christians, are currently subjected to as their country's institutions (at every level and at every turn) are progressively intolerant and hostile to their values. How many people have lost jobs or promotions because of a perceived "politically incorrect" (but Biblically sound) point of view? How many Christian children in our public schools are ridiculed, scorned, and humiliated by teachers and professors because they will not submit their hearts and minds to godless evolution and other humanistic philosophies? How many churches are staggering under the burden of restrictive and punitive rules and regulations which serve only to choke the life out of spiritual service and commitment? However, Americans of every generation have faced, fought, and defeated these kinds of enemies for over 300 years. Yet, it seems to me that something much different is in the air today. The stress to which I allude is much deeper, much more sinister, and much more prevalent than anything this nation has ever faced before. It seems to me that people of faith in America are now at the same place that the Pilgrims were at back in Europe in the 1600's. Those people were enduring such intolerable circumstances that they had to make drastic decisions: Do we stay and endure increasing hostility, resentment, and even persecution, or do we move to another land in search of peace and freedom? I was speaking to a missionary from Central America recently, and he told me, "Chuck, you would not believe how many Americans (especially Christians) are moving to Central America. They have had it." He further said, "And Chuck, you might be surprised to learn that for the most part, they are finding more peace and more freedom than they had in the States." Has it come to that? Has it come to the time in America when Christian people must again entertain the idea of becoming pilgrims? Perhaps it has. Remember that America was born in the spirit of Christian revival. The Protestant Reformation in Europe and the Great Awakenings in America gave birth to this land of liberty. However, America rejected the faith of our fathers long ago. Multiculturalism is the new national religion in America. Wealth and power is our new god. We have lost our Christian culture and our national identity. Furthermore, America has lost its borders and is fast losing its language. Politicians from both parties are about as corrupt, contemptible, and criminal as they can possibly be. And the greed and corruption within big business staggers the imagination and strains the conscience. I tell you the truth, it's getting harder and harder to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys, and that includes our religious leaders! Remember, the reason the Pilgrims came to America was two-fold: to find a quiet and peaceful place in which to raise Christian children and to find a place where they could freely proclaim the Word of God. Both opportunities are quickly disappearing in America! And, personally, the only light I see at the end of the tunnel is the light of an oncoming train! One thing is certain: God can (and will) accomplish His will in the world with or without the help of the United States. God doesn't need America; America needs God! And if God wants to disperse the Christians of America into a world more eager to receive the truth of His Word, He is certainly able to do it. After all, England was once a hot-bed of revival and evangelism, and now it is as dead as four o'clock in the morning, spiritually. The same thing could happen here. Yes, America has certainly changed during my fifty plus years of living, mostly for the worse. However, it is not up to us to judge these matters, is it? As John Quincy Adams put it, "Duty is ours; results are God's." Indeed. It is enough to simply know one's duty. For the Pilgrims, duty meant leaving Europe and coming to America. For the colonial patriots, duty meant fighting for independence. What will duty mean for us? We shall see.
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