With the iPhone, FaceBook, and what Thomas Friedman called a "technological supernova," but the rest of us call "the cloud, "coming to fruition at the same time, I wonder if we can look at 2007 as the beginning of the end for our culture. Historically, we are nearing the length of empires. Morally we are more Corinth, Ephesus, and Rome than the great nation of thinkers that founded the US, something made evident with shows like "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," which also premiered in 2007. It's a long way from The Federalist Papers to the Kardashians. Paul Anleitner posted on Twitter/X:
We're in the beginning stages of a seismic cultural shift, but it's going to happen quicker than we're accustomed to. Social media acts as an exponential accelerator to the exchange of information and ideas, and as a result, we are going to experience significant philosophical and cultural shifts that once took place over centuries happening in years or decades. (2023, August 14)
The philosophical and cultural shifts since 2007 are increasingly evident with social divisions among races, classes, genders, and identities, both inside and outside the Church writ large. Blue states and red states battle for supremacy, not in excellence, but in control of the national narrative. Long-standing institutions that were once respected by most people are now suspect because of misinformation, disinformation, and flat-out lies. Universities, once places where free-thinkers held civil discourses over ideas are largely now expensive gathering places for liberal elites. Diversity of ethnic backgrounds and gender identities is applauded. Diversity of ideas is not welcome and is often shouted down by activists backed by school leaders who are supposed to defend the integrity of rhetoric. Legacy or mainstream media no longer balances news but rather chooses stories to air based on what sells advertising. Audio Chuck produces a podcast about stories that have been killed for not maintaining the required narrative position. National health institutions are suspect, especially after the mistakes (some honest, some not) made during the COVID pandemic. Activists are heralded to near sainthood, even though they may represent a fraction of a percent of the general population. Medicine and pharmaceutical companies are guilty of pushing products and procedures without sufficient research or testing.
The changes in culture come faster with every iteration of technology. Apps target specific groups and are designed to be addictive. Discoveries in science and medicine move quickly when the money comes rolling in, so well-financed and potentially profitable treatments push to the forefront, rather than the things that may do the best for the greatest number of people. Corporations, accountable to shareholders and not customers, drive politics through lobbying. The planet's climate changes (whether in a cycle, man-made, or a little of both) and the answer is to drive consumers to products whose components are harvested in inhumane conditions in third-world countries by the poorest people in the world and their children. The suicide rate for teenagers (currently Gen Z) doubled between 2007 and 2019; for young adults, the suicide rate grew by 41% in that same amount of time (Twenge, 2023, p.397). More disturbingly, the number of children ages 10-14 who committed suicide tripled between 2007 and 2019. Increasing violence, empty justice, and a general feeling of helplessness seem to point to the inevitable collapse of the United States. The two key causes of our destruction, especially since 2007, are these:
Progressive change and advances in what we know and what we can do.
Progressive moral destruction and ethical failure as we make ourselves our own gods with our own truths.
While the United States is not a traditional empire, its reach across the world as a "defender of democracy" compares to colonizing empires of old and so historical lessons still apply. The consensus for the decline of empires happens after about 250 years. Ancient cultures may have lasted longer, but the power of an empire often peaks at two-and-a-half centuries. The reasons empires fall vary, but as Hamilton's King George sang, "Oceans rise, empires fall." It is inevitable. Edward Gibbons postulated eight causes for the fall of Rome, most of which apply to the end of most empires: a decline in morality, public health crises, political corruption, unemployment, inflation and a reliance on imports, urban decay, inferior technology, and military spending. Harold Perkin (2002) asserted that how a country uses its surplus income and natural resources is a key predictor of longevity for an empire. However, those who control the money also control the future of the culture, for good or for collapse. Military leaders historically turn conquest into personal wealth and wealth for their cronies, merchant classes who dominate a culture become "influencers" and line their pockets. Corrupt religious leaders rule by fear and obeisance and they increase their power and political influence. What begins as a collection of people wanting something better for their families ultimately becomes a behemoth of institutions and systems all vying to increase and maintain power, influence, and money. What Gibbons and Perkin said still holds with one caveat: what used to take decades or centuries now takes just a few years or even months.
The progressive changes in and to our culture include increasingly extreme rhetoric on everything from AI to zoology. Race, gender, and ideology fuel arguments on both the far right and the far left. The legacy media and social media platforms push extreme ideas because they engender clicks which lead to revenue. No one is immune from the temptation to react in haste instead of thoughtfully responding or staying quiet. Scientific advances in medicines and treatments move faster than ever, and very few stop to consider the consequences or ask the question of "just because we can, does that mean we should?" Mary Shelley's Frankenstein has found its home in the US medical community.
If this culture is on its way to the history books, how should the Christian respond? Is the Church in danger of losing its influence with the rise of the "nones" in the U.S.? Will Christians be caught up in making gods of themselves and collapse into moral destruction and ethical failures that brought down every previous empire?
The answer to the last question is, yes. The rise of nationalism connected to evangelicalism is a dangerous movement that ultimately makes the State a god, which is exactly what happened to Persia, Rome, Byzantium, Mongol, Ottoman, Spanish, Russian, and the British Empires. When a nation becomes a center of worship, the divine diminishes. It doesn't matter whether the religion is Christianity, Islam, or a multiplicity of lesser gods, when humans make themselves above God and when a government is also the religion, the empire is destined to fall.
The other questions depend on how Christians whose dedication to doctrine is greater than their love of country respond. Those who take the short view of history may panic about the collapse happening in politics, cultural conversations, and social spaces. But Jesus was clear about the futility of worry. He said
"Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, not about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?...Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matthew 6:25-34, ESV).
Jesus said his followers should seek after God's kingdom, and God's righteousness above all else. It's interesting that Christians in places where immediate physical danger lurks with every Bible verse read seem to have a trust in the Lord that believers in affluent countries like the U.S. do not. They know that their only hope is in the Lord. It is the comfortable Christians who become complacent about faith and begin to expect the government to accede to their preferences. In a pluralistic country, this attitude is both arrogant and presumptuous.
Second Chronicles recorded the reign of King Asa of Judah. He was a good king who came to power in a time when both Israel and Judah had abandoned the true God with His teaching priests and the Law. The people turned to God in distress, seeking Him with repentant hearts. The scribe wrote, "There was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in…They were broken to pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city…But you, take courage!" (2 Chronicles 15).
King Asa heard the prophet and immediately set about fixing his government and eliminating the idols. To be sure, he was a king, and his work was a reflection of the government, but his motivation was to please God, not the citizens over whom he ruled. The people responded by returning to God wholeheartedly and there was peace in the land for 35 years. As long as Asa and the people looked to God for strength and protection, God was there. But human nature is fickle, and pride rears its ugly head too often in life. Asa, in the 36th year of his reign made a deal with the ruler of Syria to protect his territory. He did not turn to God, and it was his undoing. Hanani the seer told Asa, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly" (2 Chronicles 16:9). Asa responded by punishing the seer and some of the people. From that time forward, there were wars. And Asa didn't repent. Even when we became deathly ill, he turned to doctors instead of the Lord. His empire was short-lived because he turned from God to his own devices and his own decisions. This is the danger of the current evangelical nationalism in the U.S. The person in the White House does not save the country; the person in the White House serves the Constitution, a document designed for administration, not salvation.
It is equally troubling to say, "God wins" and take only the long view. Much is lost in caring for the sick, the poor, the needy, and the desperate when Christians ignore their roles in culture, society, and yes, government in the short term. The old aphorism, "Too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good" comes into play for these believers. Yes, there is no doubt that Jesus will return to this earth in his time and He is preparing a place for his people to be with him for eternity (Revelation 1:7; John 14:2-3; Daniel 12), but he called his followers to live lives of action, not hermetic contemplation. Believers are to work with excellence (Colossians 3:23), love with authenticity (John 13:34-35), seek justice (Matthew 25:31-45), pursue peace (Hebrews 12:14), and live lives that honor God by esteeming his people and respecting those who are outside the faith or whose faith traditions are different than theirs. (Romans 14).
Micah 6:8 summarizes how Christians ought to live: do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. The first two require that believers work to make life better for those for whom life has been challenging. It may be feeding the poor, but it may also be voting for policies that allow improved access to services they need. It may be as simple as mowing the lawn of a neighbor instead of complaining to the HOA or as complicated as walking someone through a long-term illness. The calling of God is to look at the future with hope AND live in the present with active love. Working for the glory of God is the essence of walking humbly with him. God-honoring actions are not the precursor nor the price of salvation; God-honoring actions are the result and the response to his salvation of sinners and the process by which Christians are sanctified.
There must be balance in how Christians respond to the inevitable decline of this current empire. Loving God, loving people, and working for the good of the Gospel and the glory of the Father is important for both the short-term and eternity. The lives of Jesus followers need to mimic his time on earth. He cared for the "least of these." He socialized with the lowest members of society (Luke 6:27-32). He healed the bodies of the ravaged who believed and who were called to live their lives as testimony of their Lord (Luke 7:21-23). Others he allowed to remain in their suffering, giving them strength to rejoice and trust that their pain would ultimately be for good (2 Corinthians 12). He turned his community upside-down by showing how to live a life that glorifies the Father and instructed his followers to do the same (Luke:27-38).
The word that most defines these days in which we live may be "unprecedented." Unprecedented change, unprecedented circumstances, unprecedented divisions, unprecedented evil, on and on it goes. The best response in unprecedented times is unprecedented grace manifested by loving God and loving people well. Whether the culture collapses next year or in a hundred years, living in the present while looking to the future allows Christians to recognize progressive change and advances while avoiding the accompanying progressive moral destruction and ethical failures that are inherent to a people who have made themselves gods.
Quick, disjointed thoughts when I should be slumbering.
I recognize the Twenge source you referenced. If memory serves, Jonathan Haidt also referenced her in his “The Coddling of the American Mind.”
Interesting you think 2007 is the shift. Another blogger, neuroscientist Erik Hoel, puts it at 2012. I’ll have to compare your competing thoughts.
My late professor, Peter Lawler, used to say, “things are always getting better and always getting worse.” Earlier tonight I listened to Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire) deliver a speech about how to proceed beyond scientism. He admits the Christian intellectual tradition was been dumbed down in the late 20th Century. His point, which was the point Peter Lawler tired to make less overtly, was that the Christian intellect needs a revival to counter the godless and ultimately self-defeating philosophies of our hyper-modern age.
Thanks for writing, Stephanie!