Culture Wars: A Bellwether Nation

by Thomas DeMont

As America systematically removes God from society, Germany can be seen as a bellwether nation when it comes to predicting the future of America.

Americans today live in unprecedented prosperity. However, we must recognize that our generation did not produce all of this wealth. In fact, we’d have nothing today without the sacrifice of others before us. God’s law has always been one of sowing and reaping. God created our world so that we would understand there must be a season of sowing in order to enjoy a season of reaping.
It’s been said if God doesn’t judge America for its sin then God must apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. Certainly there will come a time for the judgment of all nations; however, it appears that during this “Church Age” God requires us to use our faith. We must judge ourselves. We must determine what will be sown and what kind of harvest we desire.
We can look at history and predict the outcome of nations based on their past actions. It appears, for several reasons, thatGermany can be seen as a bellwether nation when it comes to predicting the future of America.

Germany’s Seeds

From the time of the so-called Dark Ages until the 1400s things had been relatively constant in Europe, but that would soon change. In 1450, Johannes Gutenberg invented a machine that would make mass publication of printed materials possible. This would open the world to mass communication and the ability to transport thoughts, teachings and entertainment across all borders. One of the first products of this innovation was a Bible. Within decades, the Word of God reached most every home. People were able to read their own Bibles and interpret without interference.
Soon after the Gutenberg Press, another world-changing event took place in Germany. In 1517 Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the doors of a Catholic church, which began a “protest” movement that produced a renaissance of spiritual and social life, not only in Germany but throughout Europe and the world.
This unparalleled time of revival affected all aspects of life. It was a spiritual arising that changed their community, their worship, their culture, and even their work. It was also a time of great economic upturn. Innovation and invention were taking hold across Europe. Transportation, communication, and production were transformed during this period. This industrial revolution led to the first sustained increase in the standard of living for the masses. Europe was enjoying a time of harvest.

America’s Awakening

Germany and Europe’s revival set the stage for America to be next. While America was established on religious freedom and the escape of persecution, it was still not spiritually ready for God’s assignment. In the mid-1700s two men changed all of that.Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield began revivals that would shake the foundation of America.
Many of the Founding Fathers of America were directly influenced by this awakening. It is reported that over half of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were graduates of either a Bible School or a seminary.
While Germany’s revival brought a new type of religion, America’s revival brought a new type of nation. It was clear that God’s hand of destiny brought both forth. Just as Europe experienced great prosperity on the heels of revival, America did too. America experienced a transformation that eventually exceeded Europe’s and created an economy that led the world. And never before had the Gospel been supported around the globe like it would be during America’s reign.

A Change in Germany

Wherever God blesses, Satan will always try to attack. After this period of revival and the resulting prosperity, a change in Germany began to develop. First, in 1848 Karl Marx finished his Communist Manifesto. He became a newspaper columnist and spread his opinions world-wide. He even had regularly published columns in the New York Daily Tribune. It is interesting to note that Marx came from a lineage of Rabbis. His father converted to the Protestant church because of persecution and Karl was the first of his family to have a secular education. As a result, the thoughts he was taught in school were exported throughout the world.
Second, Sigmund Freud’s work on the significance of the unconscious mind above conscious thinking and his attributions to all things sexual were a significant turn in society’s thinking. His work encouraged sexual discovery and brought down the walls of self-constraint.
Marx had sought to propagandize his Communist Manifesto and Freud was changing the social mores and landscape of Europe. This period of time culminated in two world wars that Germany initiated and resulted in the deaths of over 80 million people.
The four people mentioned in this article (Gutenberg, Luther, Marx, and Freud) were just snapshots on a micro-level of what was taking place on a larger level. If we can look at history to predict the future, we should be able to look at what is taking place currently in order to see what may lie ahead.

The Frankfurt School

A strange thing happened in Germany after World War I. A group of Marxists philosophers and economists sought to merge the philosophies of Marx and Freud. They sought to explain and determine the health of a nation through Freudian metrics. In short, these Marxists believed that a society’s economic system and its relations of production function was its unconscious “id”; a society’s culture function was its “ego”; and, a society’s legal, police and military functions were its “super-ego.” By analyzing the economics, culture and infrastructure of a country, they would use their Marxist values to determine the value of that society.
This Marxist-Freudian monster came together in 1923 under a group called “The Frankfurt School.” What they sought to do was socialize and hide the teaching of Marx in order to make it more palatable. They knew it would be easier to sell communist principles if it were disguised as social responsibility and assistance.
One of the School’s members was Theodor Adorno, a German philosopher and composer. He is credited as a father of theModernism Era.
Again, the teachings of Marx—combined this time with Darwinism—were brought together to challenge and eventually transform the “traditional” forms of art, architecture, literature, religious faith, social organization and daily life. Their teachings challenged the thoughts of conventional coherence and harmony typical of the rationality of enlightened thinking. Man was no longer special or above any other species but was lowered to become equal with all other animals.
These men also believed that the greatest influence for a child was its parents first and then school. They felt that the opportunity to influence and form ideas during these years was too important to leave to parents and should be coordinated and conducted by the state. Some of the Frankfurt School’s recommendations were:

1. The creation of racism offences.
2. Continual change to create confusion
3. The teaching of sex and homosexuality to children
4. The undermining of schools’ and teachers’ authority
5. Huge immigration to destroy identity.
6. The promotion of excessive drinking
7. Emptying of churches
8. An unreliable legal system with bias against victims of crime
9. Dependency on the state or state benefits
10. Control and dumbing down of media
11. Encouraging the breakdown of the family

“The Frankfurt School” Exported to USA

While America was preparing to fight in a second World War, the Frankfurt School was breaking up. Most of the individuals in leadership at the school found a safe haven in America. So while American soldiers were training for war in Europe, these European Marxists were preparing for new lives in America. While it would eventually reform in 1950s Germany, the transplantation of thought and energy would never leave America.
Many of these Marxists were hired at some of the highest levels of government; some worked for the precursor to the CIA, while others were hired at America’s leading universities; such as Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Brandeis, and the University of Chicago. It was from their respected platforms that these men set out to fan a counter-culture revolution. They didn’t have to sell Marxism as much as selling a new society. Their influence was felt by millions of Americans, with one notable disciple beingSaul Alinsky.

Germany Since WWII

Germany effectively removed God from its institutions and culture. With that systematic change, here are some of the things Germany has experienced in the past 70 years:

• Church attendance down to roughly 5% (1950 Frankfurt 430,000; today 110,000 Protestants).
• Homosexual marriage since 2001.
• Hate crime to speak against homosexuality.
• State collects taxes (5%) for the church—destroys the Tithe.
• No freedom of speech against religions (it is difficult to publicly criticize or Biblically contrast Christianity and other religions).
• Homeschooling outlawed.
• Youth look for bureaucratic jobs.
• Youth have a difficult time dreaming. (People have become more pragmatic. They are averse to risk. They don’t typically dream of jobs, inventions or change.)
• Social care from the cradle to the grave.
• Immigration subsidies, particularly to asylum seekers.
• Gun regulation.
• Secularism (First time the Chancellor did not swear in with a Bible, 1998.)
• Politics is becoming overall more liberal. (The main left and right parties are becoming more liberal and the far right is becoming more extreme.)

Predictions for America

If America continues to systematically remove God from society, here are some of the things we should expect to happen:

• Church attendance will decrease significantly.
• Homosexual marriage and rights will increase in many states.
• Racial tension will increase.
• States will have conflict with other states and secession arguments will begin.
• Hate crimes prosecutions will increase and free speech will be limited.
• Increase in gun regulation and restriction.
• Tuition-free colleges with increased government regulations.
• Government subsidies of the church—increasing government control.
• Increased difficulty to homeschool children.
• Unemployment will rise.
• Dollar will decrease around the world.
• Economic chaos will increase government assistance.
• Political chaos with a further progressive movement.

In order to change the course of history, a nation must change what it is doing. Without a spiritual change of heart, America will have a bleak future. The truth is that the leadership of the church must take a stand and change first. Where were all the pastors in Germany during the systematic gathering and slaughtering of Jews? Where do our pastors stand today?

My prayer is that many voices will cry out of the wilderness and not worry about offending others or being politically correct.