The USA and the Roman Empire

From an Article titled, WHY DID THE ROMAN EMPIRE FALL? This is noteworthy for repeat wherever we may do it.

The events which led to the collapse of the Roman Empire are startling similar to the events which are occurring in our nation today.

Historical Sequence

1.Strong Families: Rome was founded on high moral standards. Each father was respected as the head of the family. In the early republic, the father had legal authority to discipline rebellious members of his family.

2.Home Education: The education of the children was the responsibility of the parents. This further strengthened the children’s honor and respect for their parents and also deepened the communication and understanding between parents and children.

3.Prosperity: Strong Roman families produced a strong nation. The Roman armies were victorious in war. The wealth of conquered nations increased Roman prosperity and prestige.

4. National Achievements: Great building programs began in Rome. A vast network of roads united the empire. Magnificent palaces, public buildings, and coliseums were constructed.

5. Infiltration of “The Lie”: As Roman families prospered, it became fashionable to hire educated Greeks to care for the children. Greek philosophy, with its humanistic and godless base, was soon passed on to the Roman families. Women demanded more rights and, in order to accommodate them, new marriage contracts were designed, including ‘open marriages’.

6. Big Government: By the first century A.D. the father had lost his legal authority. It was delegated to the village, then to the city, then to the state, and finally to the empire. In Rome, citizens complained about housing shortages, soaring rents, congested traffic, polluted air, crimes in the streets, and the high cost of living. Unemployment was a perennial problem. To solve it, the government created a multitude of civil service jobs, including building inspectors, health inspectors, and tax collectors.

7. Decline and Persecution: The problem of big government only multiplied. Meanwhile, a flourishing New Testament Church was established in the Roman Empire through the preaching of the Apostle Paul and others. The final act of the Roman Empire was to bring great persecution to these Christians

Rome was quite tolerant of all religions except Christianity. Christianity was banned and Christians were persecuted, burned, and thrown to the lions. Why? Because the very nature of Christianity is intolerant of “the lie” of Satan which is the basis of every other religion.

The above was taken from the book titled THE REBIRTH OF AMERICA, published in 1986 by the Author S. Demoss Foundation.

Can we not see the simlarities in these things and the evil that is taking place in our nation today.

From August 06, 2007

Moral Providence

The Lord willing this will be my final quotation from the Peter Marshall/David Manuel books. I pray you have found them inspiring, and uplifting as well as helping inspire a patriotic heart for God and our nation.

The biggest difference between the self-styled prophets of the New Israel and those of the original chosen people was that the Old Testament prophets invariably included an if: If God’s people repent, humble themselves, and obey Him, then will He forgive them and bless their land. But if they do not obey His commandments, then will His judgment come upon them. Very few nineteenth-century visionaries speaking of America’s Manifest Destiny mentioned the negative alternative. Lyman Beecher, however, was one:

If this nation is, in the providence of God, destined to lead the way in the moral and political emancipation of the world, it is time she understood her high calling, and were harnessed for the work. For mighty causes, like floods and distant mountains, are rushing with accumulating power to their consummation of good or evil, and soon our character and destiny will be stereotyped forever.” From “FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA” p. 371 paperback

There is great need for this realization today. If, it is not too late to turn around.

From July 06, 2007

The Summer of 1812

At a time when some of the States of the Union were considering secession this Nation was being attacked all around. It is usually so even in 2007. When any nation is divided she will fall. Here are the words from, “FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA” by Peter Marshall and David Manuel;

“In the South, while the question of slavery no longer had a place in the front-page news, it had hardly died away. Southerners needed only to look to the Northwest and Indian Territories, where most of the immigrants were settling, see the sort of states that would be formed from them — most of them admitted with constitutions banning slavery. How long would it be before they were overwhelmed, in Senate and House? Right now, one of their own, indeed their champion, was imposing his will on the North — how long before the shoe was on the other foot? Jefferson’s embargo was hurting them, too; countless bales of cotton remained piled on the docks and levees, with no place to send them. Something had to be done…’

‘By the grace of God, literally, the republic stayed together. The nation stumbled on, with Jefferson’s protege, James Madison, now at the helm. But the situation was not improving. On the Continent, Napoleon appeared to be invincible. The Austrians fell to him, and the Spaniards, and the Italians, and now he was turning towards Russia; it appeared he was about to add the Bear to his list of conquests. The greater his success, the greater the threat he posed to the island race to his west. And the greater measures Britain took to protect herself. Now any American ship found on the high seas was likely to be taken and her crew impressed. As A. L. Burt put it:”

“The independence of the United States was being frittered away. The country was losing its self-respect, the most precious possession a nation can have, as it failed to command the respect of the belligerents. More and more the feebleness of the American government’s policy had been teaching these embattled giants of the Old World that they could trample with impugnity upon American rights, American interests, and American feelings.”

Marshall and Manuel take up the narrative again, “Finally, by the Summer of 1812, there had been too many ignominies, too many outrages; it was reported that more than 6,000 American citizens had been kidnapped and forced to serve in the Royal Navy, which had to replace some 2,500 deserters a year and simply refused to curtail impressment. If America was to retain any semblance of honor, she had no further alternative but to fight. Crying ‘Free Trade and Sailor’s Rights’, the War Hawks in Congress won the vote for war seventy-nine to forty-nine, and on June 18, President Madison proclaimed that a state of war existed between Great Britain and the United States. The American cause was summed up by the commander of Western Tennessee Militia:”

“We are going to fight for the re-establishment of our national character, misunderstood and villified at home and abroad; for the protection of our maritime citizens, impressed on board British ships of war and compelled to fight the battles of our enemies against ourselves; to vindicate our right to a free trade, and open the market for the production of our soil, now perishing on our hands because the ‘mistress of the ocean’ forbids us to carry them to any foreign nation. ANDREW JACKSON”

There are times we must fight. One of them is when we have been attacked. Definitely we have been attacked again. From the book FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA pp. 131 & 132 paperback