Tomorrow, April 15, is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, a ship many believed to be “unsinkable.” How appropriate then, to take a look at another “ship,” a ship of state we call the United States. We are a ship that many also apparently believe to be unsinkable. I say “apparently” because though our problems are well publicized – our debt, our out-of-control fiat money system, our constantly degrading morals, and our ever more secular and unbelieving society – they do nothing to change this and actually seem to promote it. Truly the majority of people in this country today believe in the “invincibility” of the USA, though history and the Bible prove this to be as big a myth as Titanic’s supposed inability to sink.
Our debt. Do you realize our debt is so large, so impossibly great that:
- People cannot truly fathom it’s size – trillions of dollars is beyond conception for almost everyone. It becomes just a word, with no real meaning and therefore dangerous as its massive size is effectively ignored.
- It is actually impossible to calculate accurately. There are so many estimates of our total debt running around (all different because the groups providing the estimates have different political goals). However, regardless of which amount you use, they are all astronomic. The largest amount is the one many organizations choose to ignore – unfunded medicare and social security requirements that are going to shoot through the roof as baby boomers continue to hit retirement age.
- It is impossible to pay off. Our debt – the one we have today (not including future amounts as noted in 2) is around $15 trillion (and growing constantly). This is close to 100% of GDP and is expected to pass 100% this year (if it hasn’t already). You can go here to see some scary figures: http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/. Be sure to note what the share of every American is today and this is also increasing hourly.
Fiat money. Another historical fact that most people are completely unaware of and our elected p0liticians refuse to acknowledge. A fiat money system, one based on nothing but the supposed ability of the people to pay (i.e. through taxes) has NEVER survived and ALWAYS led to the downfall of a nation or country – frequently rather drastically. In our own history, several of the colonies tried using fiat money with disastrous results. Our founding fathers were painfully aware of this, which is why they did not create a central bank and specifically included minting and controlling weights and balances in the constitution as Congress’ responsibility.
Our money was initially established on a dual metal (gold and silver) basis but over time, it shifted to just gold-based (though this also impacted the price of silver). When Nixon took us off the gold standard, he did one of the greatest disservices to our country in history. With no standard to rein in spending, our debts have continuously increased and now are sky rocketing. If your money is based on a standard such as gold, effectively you cannot print more than what you hold. Today, the Federal Reserve prints money out of thin air to satisfy our gluttonous demands for services and support.
Why have we not experienced massive inflation…yet? I believe it is for a couple reasons. Of course the real reason is because God is 100% in control and it is His sovereign will that directs everything. But on the “earthly” plain, I believe it is in large part because the dollar is the world’s reserve currency. Governments stockpile dollars (by purchasing treasuries) which allows us to build a greater debt. Also, since the deal was made with Saudi Arabia back in the 60′s, I believe, all oil purchases are conducted using dollars. Both of these have helped keep our economy humming along and allowed Congress to get us ever deeper in debt with no consequences. This is about to change.
Though significantly under-reported in the general media, many countries are making deals to conduct trade in their local currencies or even gold. For example, the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) recently made a deal to trade using their local currencies – not dollars. This is a growing trend and one that will eventually lead to either another country’s currency becoming the standard or possibly some new international coin being developed (as the UN is constantly pushing). When the dollar is no longer the world reserve and oil is no longer traded in dollars, what will happen in this country will make the Great Depression look like a picnic in the park.
Degrading morals and increasing secularization. Actually, the above two points are merely symptoms of a much greater problem – the continuing secularization and “humanization” of our culture. Like all culture changes, it has been slow and almost invisible sometimes, but when we look back to how things were in our childhood (for me that would be the 50s), we can see that there has been a drastic change.
One of the most insidious developments has been the growth in the belief in moral relativism. The devil has always used this as a means to play on our pride and selfishness (truly the root of almost all our sin), but today it is actually acknowledged as a worthwhile philosophy. How sad and disgusting.
God’s law, as given us in His holy bible, is absolute. Our constitution also contains nothing but absolutes. Moral relativism postulates, among other things, that the end justifies the means. Unfortunately, this is almost always short-sighted as the end is frequently short-lived while the consequences are long term and all too often, not readily evident.
But perhaps the greatest danger of relativism is the very fact that it undercuts and diminishes the absolute truth of our God. You cannot hold both beliefs, yet so many liberal churches in America today try to do just that and, as a result, are doing great damage to God’s church and to our society. For example, it is absolutely wrong to practice homosexuality. There is no doubt of this; it is an act condemned in both the Old and New Testaments. Yet modern churches frequently choose to play the relativistic game of saying, “Well, Christ told us to love everyone and He came to earth to die for us all and therefore, if they say the sinner’s prayer and come to church, they’re OK and saved.” This completely ignores God’s word and what He says about the practice. It is utterly contrary to the way and order that God created – one man and one woman, together for life. (I will refrain from talking about divorce, another great sin and example of relativity in America.) But this is an absolute and in our society today, sadly, something that is abhorred.
If we continue down our current path, the America we knew and loved is going to die. Nothing can save us but a complete refutation of our current beliefs and lifestyles. As born-again Christians, it is our responsibility to share God’s word with everyone. Only if we become a more Christian nation once again, taking responsibility for our actions following the absolutes of God’s law, will we avoid the terrible pain and suffering that is going to occur.
If this is God’s will, then obviously it will happen, but we, as born-again Christians, are called to share the Gospel regardless. Maybe, if we start doing more, sharing more, and praying more, we can institute a new revival and at the same time save our country from a titanic sinking. Let us pray for it and let us work for it. (Notice I said, “us.” I include myself as I have certainly not been as active as I should.)
