For decades, Christian writers have warned us about the decline of Western – and, more particularly, American – culture. “The barbarians are coming,” conservative evangelical theologian Carl F.H. Henry cried in the 1970s. He repeated the pronouncement again in 1988, writing, “We live in the twilight of a great civilization, amid the deepening decline of modern culture.” His was a stark message, but he maintained hope.
Last month, Peter J. Leithart, president of the Theopolis Institute, said Western civilization “isn’t sick,” but “dead.” He writes, “It’s hard to identify a single sector of Western society where the Christian convictions and instincts that … (are) the core of the West survive.” Citing an article by essayist Paul Kingsnorth, he asks, “What’s to conserve?”
My answer: There are a good many things in society – both great and small – that are still worth conserving and handing on to the next generation. But, in sum, we must conserve the truth. As author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who endured the decadence and deceptions of the Soviet Union, famously put it, “Live not by lies.” In our homes and in our churches, we must stand for truth.
After all, though politicians rise and fall and though progressive agendas flair up and fizzle out, we can say (in the words of 16th-century Anabaptist theologian Balthasar Hubmaier) that “Truth is immortal.”
Also, truth doesn’t depend on majority opinion for its preservation or strength. After all, the human race survived a global flood, by God’s grace, because one family alone stood for truth, and the world was transformed when 12 “ordinary men” proclaimed the gospel truth by the power of the Spirit. Followers of Christ today have been called, likewise, to depend on God’s Spirit and proclaim the truth of the gospel. Only God knows what could happen if we commit to this purpose with all our hearts. The results are in His hands; we’re simply called to faithfulness.
On this note, refusing to live by the lies of the LGBTQ+ “Pride Month,” Princeton University law professor Robert P. George recently invited men and women to celebrate faithfulness, rather than pride, during the month of June. He even created a website (fidelitymonth.com) and a symbol, shown here, for the celebration.
George wrote last month on Facebook, “You may have read about the rather disturbing recent WSJ (Wall Street Journal) poll indicating a precipitous decline in our fellow Americans’ belief in the importance of such values as patriotism, religion, family, and community – the values that used to unite Americans despite our many differences. There are a million things we can and should do to restore the faith of our people and begin to heal the dreadful division in our county, but I would like you to join in one small one.
“As my Facebook friends know, by the authority vested in me by absolutely no one, I have declared June to be ‘Fidelity Month’ – a month dedicated to the importance of fidelity to God, spouses and families, our country, and our communities.”
Truth and fidelity – both are worth celebrating and conserving for the sake of future generations.