All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Edmund Burke
Our World Needs Salt and Light
Societal collapse has recurred throughout history and is an aspect of the human condition, which may await all human societies...
The British historian Arnold J. Toynbee, in his 12-volume magnum opus, A Study of History, theorized that all civilizations pass through several distinct stages: genesis, growth, time of troubles, universal state, and disintegration. Toynbee argues that the breakdown of civilizations is not caused by loss of control over the environment, over the human environment, or attacks from outside; rather, it comes from the deterioration of the "Creative Minority," which eventually ceases to be creative and degenerates into merely a "Dominant Minority" (who forces the majority to obey without meriting obedience). He argues that creative minorities deteriorate due to a worship of their "former self," by which they become prideful, and fail to adequately address the next challenge they face.
He argues that the ultimate sign a civilization has broken down is when the dominant minority forms a "Universal State," which stifles political creativity. He states:
First the Dominant Minority attempts to hold by force—against all right and reason—a position of inherited privilege, which it has ceased to merit; and then the Proletariat repays injustice with resentment, fear with hate, and violence with violence when it executes its acts of secession. Yet the whole movement ends in positive acts of creation—and this on the part of all the actors in the tragedy of disintegration. The Dominant Minority creates a universal state, the Internal Proletariat a universal church, and the External Proletariat a bevy of barbarian war-bands. Toynbee's use of the word 'church' through his books...referring to the collective spiritual bond of a common worship, or the same unity found in some kind of social order. There must be a structure in place to maintain order; what that structure is and how it works is yet to be determined!
HOW DID WE GET TO THIS POINT
(The answer is already known, if we want to use it)
Mt 5:13-16 -- You (we) are the salt of the earth..."But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
Eph 5:11-17 -- "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them…But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shin in you. Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is."
John 3:19-21 -- "This is the verdicts: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
Scripture is clear -- if we, as Christians, disengage our society, society has no order and evil will triumph. If good men do nothing, we will have to live with the outcome. We must stop the ripping down of what God originally planned. It is time to stand up and be counted!
