How Unbelief and Apathy Destroys a Society

"Something we are apt to forget is that (the early Christians) regarded the Old Testament and the Revelation of Christ and the growing New Testament which was growing then, of course, say the first century, was God who has spoken and that God has given truth and as such, they were not caught up in the flux of the relativistic Roman world because it really was relativistic, much like our own day."

- Francis Schaeffer
(1912-1984)


The Christians in the early days had no problem not conforming to the world around them even though it brought death to many of those who stood fast. They were happy to be transformed by the renewing of their minds in spite of seeing their brothers and sisters in Christ eaten by lions, torn in two, or crucified upside down for not giving up their profession of the risen Messiah.

Rome, however, did not believe and delved more and more into idolatry, paganism, and apathy as a result. They relied heavily on their military and dictatorship which will cause any society to eventually decay. Relying solely on the Almighty God, walking in His ways, and loving Him resulted in the early Christians, well, being called Christians. Living against Him and His statutes is a certain way for one to fall. Watching this clip and comparing Rome to much of our country today is frightening.


In this brief clip from Dr. Francis Schaeffer's How Then Should We Live, he examines some of the fallicies that caused Rome to become defunct. We can all learn from history what NOT to do from the mistakes of others, and what we should be doing now from the example of the faithful of that day...

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Tags:

• god
• law
• society
• christian
• apologetics
• emerging
• seeker
• sensitive
• roman

[dompascarella]

Just a spell check: it's 'society*'

Love Schaeffer.

[ProvidenceFX]

Excellent presentation of objective truth, I could use this footage whenever is needed, but mostly to people who believe in relativism they need to watch it. You don't find these kind of high quality, well produced christian documentary films often nowadays.

[meangreen4321]

This video doesn't actually deal with the question of whether Christianity is true, but only that belief in a personal God is necessary for a stable society. The problem is that the Bible's message of salvation and damnation is harsh to our modern ears and it's so very important to KNOW that what we believe is TRUE before we evangelize and dedicate our time and energy to spreading this gospel.

[vieuxnez]

I don't care, I don't believe this for a second.

[SolutionSpill]

I got my proof there is a God, you want proof, follow directions like I did, then you get it, there are no shortcuts. The only shortcut I will give is to tell you truth, which is God is as real as you or I, he revealed himself to me, he is!

[OolTube02]

The problem with Christianity was that it replaced the knowledge of the Classical Age with a thousand years of Dark Ages, in which people were largely illiterate, their lifespans were short, and technological progress came to a virtual standstill.

As for totalitarianism, Christianity only became a mainstream religion because the totalitarian Emperor decreed it so eventually. And it resulted in monarchs, ruling "by grace of God." God himself is an imaginary totalitarian dictator.

[alleygh0st]

Hey!

We are in 2010!

2010 years since what? 2010 years since what?

oh yes!

[Cher22Marie]

Archeological findings have proven that these "gods" of ancient days are false. They have shown statues of these gods with trickery mechanisms to make them look like they talk or move. There is only one true God. The one of the Bible. The One who Is, who WAs and who Is To Come. Scientist & Atheist have been trying to disprove the bible since beginning of time, yet, NOT ONCE, have they been able to falsify the writings of the Bible. The findings only conclude the accuracy of the bible.

[Neweddy24]

How is unbelief equated with apathy? Takes more motivation to question this crap than it does to just accept it.

[xXKaM1KaZe]

@georgeatthecross Why is god so narcissistic that he needs to be praised by billions multiple times a day and if we don't, we get sent to a lake of fire for eternity. Sounds like someone has an ego problem. He needs to get past this whole "I-created-the-universe" thing. If I were to have (or "create") a son and have him praise me multiple times a day every day, I'd be one weird ass person.