Introduction
During these crazy times, there is one objection that has been made to me on several occasions. It is an objection that I have been thinking about a lot lately. It normally comes up when I am voicing my objection to the current state of affairs regarding the COVID hysteria or criticising the incompetence and wickedness of the fools running the show. The objection normally goes something like this, “Well, at least we aren’t in North Korea” or “Things aren’t as bad as they were during the time of the early church. If you were complaining like this, you’d be dead”.
I want to spend some time addressing these objections, but what I say next will seem unrelated. Don’t worry though, that is just an illusion. It will all make sense by the end.
What is a Worldview?
Part of my job as the Bible teacher at Manukau Christian School involves teaching a course called Worldviews and Western Civilization. Over the past several millennia history has seen the rise and collapse of countless civilizations. As we survey history, for the most part, civilizations and societies have been almost universally marked by dire poverty, subsistence conditions, and malevolent cultural practices. However, the West has been markedly different.
Unlike almost every other civilization to rise up in this world, in the West you can expect to live a life of comparative prosperity and freedom. But why? Across a year-long course I normally show my students how the West has experienced the tremendous blessings of God, and how the Christian worldview has blessed us with the foundations necessary for freedom, economic prosperity, limited government, the rule of law, objectivity in science, moral order, robust education, and countless other blessings.
To understand why this is the case, we must understand what a worldview is. A worldview is an all-encompassing framework through which we see the world. It contains our foundational commitments and assumptions about the nature of reality, the existence of God, truth and its accessibility, and our core beliefs about ourselves. How we answer the big questions of life, shapes how we see the universe. This is our worldview. Is there a God? What is real? What is truth and how can I know it? What is the purpose of life?
Every civilization must be built on some kind of worldview foundation. How we answer the previous questions necessarily effects the shape of society. All the spheres of society, whether family, or morality, or government, must grow out of our worldview. If our worldview is flawed, then the spheres of society will be flawed. If we are nothing more than evolved pond scum, then this will have implications for morality, family, government, and so on.
For example, if you hold to the neo-Marxist assumptions about the nature of reality (the neo-Marxist worldview), and you believe that children are oppressed by the hegemonic standards of sexual performativity, then this will impact your view of education. You will work to “liberate” children from conservative ideals of child innocence and give them the freedom they deserve by educating them about oral and anal sex and you will teach the eight-year-olds how to make an account on Grinder[1].
Worldviews have consequences. The reason why the civilizations of our world have been inescapably marked by immeasurable suffering and evil is because they have been built on worldviews that reject the God of the Bible.
The West is the Best
Now, the West is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. The West has always had issues; however, the West has excelled in countless ways. It has produced unrivaled civilizational success. It has alleviated suffering and curbed tremendous amounts of evil.
The reason why the West has been able to do this is because of the influence of the Christian worldview. If you enjoy free markets, thank the Christians. If you enjoy the rule of law, thank the Christians. If you appreciate the abolition of slavery, thank the Christians. I could go on, but we don’t like to brag.
Termites Beneath the Floorboards
Unfortunately, a filthy rot has gotten into the foundations of the West. Like termites beneath the floorboards, the foundation of all that is good about the West has been hollowed out. In other words, the Christian worldview that built the greatest of all civilizations has been supplanted.
The Christian worldview that has radically shaped the Western view of family, law, politics, education, and art, has been supplanted by secularism. It is no longer the Christian worldview giving shape to the spheres of society, but instead it is the destructive ideology of secularism. The foundation is gone, and the new foundation is in the process of slowly tearing down the previous forms and erecting its own new forms.
We are in a time of transition. The old forms are still recognisable, but you can see the rot working its way through.
A Time for Lament
Our secularist friends are in the process of remodelling the glorious old house that we all live in. Their remodelling involves sledgehammers, rainbow paint, and the smell of piss and shit. Every now and again they get done with another room, and we’re left looking at the remnants of what used to be a beautiful testament to the architect’s skill and brilliance.
God designed the family of father, mother and children to be the core building block of society. The place of education and discipline. A unique government in which small people are moulded into valuable members of society. This is replaced with zim and zer raising their confused theybie.
Tying it all Together
To return to the objections raised at the start of this post, my respondents are wanting to make the accusation that I am blowing things out of proportion. The curtailing of rights that the unvaccinated experience may be bad, but they’re nothing compared to the human rights violations of North Korea or Saudi Arabia. In fact, look at the Apostle Paul, he wasn’t this upset about Nero, yet here you are complaining about Jacinda.
But is that what is going on here? I don’t think so. I agree that we have it better here than the oppressed peoples of North Korea. I’ll even grant that our Prime Minister is doing a better job than Nero. That is not my complaint. What truly upsets me is the amount of light the West has received. We are like a child frittering away his inheritance. A child whose ancestors struggled for generations to give him a comfortable life. A child whose ancestors escaped the entrapments of tyranny, worked, bled, and died so that we could do better. A child who wastes his blessings on cheap whores and liquor.
“Woe to you, [New Zealand] Woe to you, [Australia] For if the mighty works done in you had been done in [North Korea and Saudi Arabia], they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for [North Korea and Saudi Arabia], than for you. 23 And you, [Canada], will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in [Rome], it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of [Rome] than for you.” (see Matthew 11:21-24)
When Jesus was bringing a harsh rebuke against Capernaum it would have been foolish to say to him, “Well, things aren’t as bad as they were in Sodom”. According to Jesus, they were that bad. Actually, they were worse. Sodom hadn’t seen the wondrous works of Jesus the way Capernaum had. I would suggest that we are in much the same position. In the West, we have been privileged to grow up surrounded by the marvellous testaments of the Lordship of Christ. We have been blessed with a rich inheritance bequeathed to us by our Christian predecessors. Their blood, sweat, and prayers have given us prosperity and freedom like no others in the history of this world. Yet many have no ability to see Christ in all of this.
In the last two years, secularism has taken leaps and bounds towards tearing down rooms of the house and vandalising the ancient beauty. To my horror, they have been supported by Christians and cowards who are too afraid to reckon with the results of their work. We are in the process of losing something great. If the secularists have their way, all that will be left is rubble, just like every other fallen civilization.
Sure, there are worse places in the world, but that should be expected considering the millennia of gospel work done in the West. The reason why myself and others are lamenting the current situation is because the measure of light against which we are sinning is far greater than that in North Korea or Saudi Arabia.
A Reason for Hope
Things are looking bleak and there is much to be upset about; however, there are great glimmers of hope during these mad times. In Hebrews 12:27 we read that God shakes things up so that the things that cannot be shaken will remain. As I mentioned in my last post, Steins law says, “If something can’t go on forever, it won’t.”[2] Secularism does not have the power to build a lasting civilization. It can only destroy.
While we certainly are in the midst of a transitional period, I am seeing more and more people recognise the importance of a thorough going Christin worldview. I am seeing students come to grips with the idea that their faith has implications for every area of life. I am seeing young pacific students absolutely reject and despise wokeness and stand boldly for their convictions. As a nation we are seeing brave men like Steve Oliver do what is right regardless of the consequences[3]. Churches are defying the tyrants and opening their doors.
The message of the cross is powerful. Christian faithfulness has sent shivers down the spines of tyrants for two thousand years. I pray that these times will be no different.
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4)
[1] https://www.dailywire.com/news/wisconsin-school-district-provides-sexually-explicit-books-to-third-graders-teaches-students-how-to-use-sex-apps
[2] https://newcriterion.com/issues/2013/1/herb-steins-law
[3] https://thebfd.co.nz/2021/12/24/fined-for-hiring-the-wrong-kind-of-staff/
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