Recent political events in the West have left Christians despairing. Marriage, for example, is now being officially redefined to include same-sex couples. Much like George Orwell predicted, our language is being changed to suit a political movement that wants to control our future.
But as bad as things look, there is no reason for us to despair. Because the worldview underlying these movements and changes is false, it will ultimately fail. Societies based on blatant falsehoods about human nature cannot last.
USSR RIP
Just think of the Soviet Union, which was also based upon falsehoods and ultimately collapsed. The Communist movement took control of Russia in 1917, and for the next few decades Communism continued to spread around the world. The Soviet Union subjugated Eastern Europe at the end of World War II, and China fell to Communism just a few years later, followed by North Korea. Cuba went Communist in 1959, and during the 1960s and 1970s a number of Third World countries embraced Communism, or at least Communist rhetoric. By the late 1970s, with the weak-kneed Jimmy Carter as President of the United States, the ultimate worldwide triumph of Communism seemed a real possibility. But underneath the outward success was inescapable decay. Communism is based upon a false view of human nature, and the society it builds cannot, therefore, last. Rather suddenly, the Soviet empire began to crumble in the late 1980s.
It seems to me that the apparent success of Soviet Communism, followed by its collapse, provides a good indication of the long-term future for the social Left in Western countries. Since the 1960s the social Left has been going from strength to strength with significant political victories such as the legalization of abortion, adoption of laws that make divorce easy, and now the implementation of same-sex marriage. The Christian and traditional conception of family and social life is being systematically uprooted and openly scorned. Can this process go on indefinitely?
No, it cannot. Each victory the social Left wins only undermines its own cause in the long run.
Bouncing Baby Ballot Box Stuffers
Start with abortion, the most obvious example. Abortion is not compulsory, so the women who have abortions have volunteered for this procedure. Will conservative family-oriented women ever choose to kill their own children? Certainly not. The women who have abortions will likely be those who agree with the social Left about "reproductive rights." So, generally speaking, the social Left is killing off many of its own offspring, while traditional family-oriented people continue to reproduce.
What about homosexuals? How many of them have children? By natural means, not very many. It seems reasonable to conclude that few homosexuals will leave progeny to carry on the "human rights" crusade that is so powerful in Western countries today. But, again, traditional family-minded people are raising families. In terms of natural breeding, these latter families are laying groundwork for a future that homosexuals don't have.
Feminists largely have the same problem as homosexuals. They don't want to be tied-down taking care of children in the home. They have much more important things to do, pursuing their careers. Thus feminists usually have only a small number of children, if any. Generally speaking, feminists see children as a burden to be avoided, rather than a blessing, hence their support for abortion. And while they are hard at work, advancing their careers, "old fashioned" women are at home, raising families. Starting to see the pattern? The lifestyle choices of the social Left cut off their own future.
God's Blessings for This Life
Evolutionists like to talk about "natural selection" whereby certain creatures with biological advantages survive and reproduce, while other creatures not as well suited to the environment die out over time. Our society seems to have some sort of "natural selection" at work, with followers of the social Left selecting themselves for ultimate extinction. Traditional family-oriented people, on the other hand, are building for the future. In the long run, time is on our side.
In the Bible God tells us how to live our lives properly. He mandates certain social institutions, like the traditional family, and prohibits certain activities such as homosexuality and abortion. God's commands are meant for our well being, they are not just arbitrary rules to confine us. Those who reject God and his commandments are not doing themselves a favor. They are turning away from guidelines that point them towards the best form of life that humans can live. Abortion, homosexuality, and feminism all have a natural tendency away from human reproduction. Perhaps they demonstrate the truth of Proverbs 8:36 where Wisdom says "all who hate me love death" (ESV). There is no long-term future for them.
In sum, then, the various movements comprising the social Left will be the architects of their own demise. The worldview underlying their perspective is based on falsehood and therefore they cannot ultimately succeed. In fact, each political victory they achieve brings them one step closer to their final end.
Note: This article originally appeared in the January 2004 issue of Reformed Perspective, www.reformedperspective.ca.