Like Rome and Greece, is America Primed For a Fall?
Dr. James Kennedy may have passed away eight years ago, but his words still ring true today, especially in light of Friday’s historic Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage for America.
The founder of Coral Ridge Ministries (now D. James Kennedy Ministries), drew comparisons between the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome prior to the fall of each of their empires. In his 2005 book, Lord of All: Developing a Christian World-and-Life View, Kennedy said:
“In 1947, historian Carle Zimmerman of HarvardUniversity wrote about the ‘Last State of Disintegration’ of the cultures of Greece and Rome before they fell. I want you to notice something: This was written more than fifty years ago, before most of the various pathologies that now plague America had even developed in the 1960s or the 1970s.
“Back in 1947, historian Zimmerman wrote about what happened in Greece and Rome at least 1,500 or more years earlier. Notice, we think we are so modern. But this is what was happening almost 2,000 years ago.
- Marriage lost its sacredness and was frequently broken by divorce.
- The traditional meaning of marriage was lost. Alternative forms of marriage arose.
- The feminist movements abounded.
- There was increased public disrespect for parents, parenthood and authority in general.
- There was an increase in juvenile delinquency, promiscuity, and rebellion.
- There was a refusal of people with traditional marriages to accept family responsibilities and have children.
- There was an increasing desire for and acceptance of adultery.
- Finally, there was a tolerance for and a spread of sexual perversions of all kinds—especially homosexuality.
“Yes, we’re very modern aren’t we? What we have learned is how to destroy a culture and an empire, and this is the way twenty-six former empires fell. I think it’s time we quit listening to the modern gurus who tell us that God’s way is wrong and here is the modern, up-to-date, scientific approach that is going to lead us to a new paradise. In each case they have led us into all kinds of problems.”
Dr. James Kennedy, an American pastor, evangelist and Christian broadcaster, passed away at 77 in 2007.
