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Originally Posted by DAWN MARIE
As far as comparing ourselves to Rome and the debauchery of Roman culture I don't think we have to go very far to see we are practically there. Just read the news. Also, we are killing unborn babies in the womb and the sanctity of life in general isn't what it used to be. Think how far we've fallen since the Puritan days here in our own country. We are continuing the slide downward. Why? Because we have lost faith and the desire to wait for our leader to come back.
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First, I abhor abortion and think you make a good point.
However, your reference to how far we've fallen since the Puritan days ignores certain facts in our history. The Puritans arrived in the New England area in 1620. Prior to that time the Jamestown, VA, colony was established in 1607. In 1619 the captain of a Dutch slaver ship exchanged his cargo of African slaves for food at the Jamestown colony. So you see
the institution of slavery in our country predates even the Puritans.
And, as more European settlers came to America and the westward expansion developed, the settlers killed native Americans nearly to the point of extinction. Those who survived were relegated to "reservations" where they were neglected and exploited.
Both slave owners and Indian fighters claimed to be Christians, and in fact there was denial by many Christians that the African slaves were actually human beings.
The Civil War began for economic reasons but escalated to become a war to free the slaves. Christians, notably Quakers, were leaders in the abolition movement.
Indians are no longer restricted to reservations. In areas such as Oklahoma and Washington State many tribes participate in great financial wealth that comes from their land. Other tribes are permitted to operate and gain wealth from casinos that non-Indians are prohibited from operating.
In that perspective our culture has not declined, but has improved. No one can argue that an era of non-slavery is not superior to an era of slavery.
This has been more about American history than the alleged decline of Christianity, but the point is that the time of the Puritans was not a golden age to which we should compare modern times.
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