This devastating idea has not been around for very long. Up until the era of the Enlightenment, belief in some sort of divinity was pretty much universal. It was unthinkable for any intellectuals or political leaders to say with any amount of public support that there was nothing, no God. That is until the so-called "age of Reason," in reality the death of reason, which was brought about by the dissent encouraged by the Protestant Reformation. If the Catholic Church could be questioned, then why not question belief in God as well?
Some of the most famous Enlightenment thinkers were either explicit atheists or at least toed that line: Spinoza, Hume, and Kant just to name a few. It should come as no surprise then that the greatest expression of Enlightenment thought, the French Revolution, was so profoundly atheistic. Voltaire, who laid the foundations for the Revolution with his writings, was militantly anti-Christian. Indeed, the persecution of priests and other clergy was characteristic of the Revolution. The French Revolution replaced God with the State.
This trend, the aggrandizement of personal power through the "elimination" of God, continued. We cannot forget the godlessness nature of the Nazis, Bolshevik Russia, and Pol Pot's Cambodia, all responsible for horrific crimes against humanity. This is especially evident in modern China where churches are bulldozed and their pastors mysteriously disappear.
And indeed, the war on God is not limited to totalitarian regimes. Today, in America, there is a decided "bloodless" and "polite" persecution as Archbishop Lori so aptly called it. Christian values are under attack. Think about it. Roe v. Wade and the legalization of abortion on demand, the normalization of homosexuality, the de-stigmatization of promiscuity, and a culture of divorce have led to the breakdown of the family. Atheist groups with their litanies of "freedom of religion" and "separation of Church and State" attack that very freedom by silencing any mention of God and attempting to erect an atheistic government. Say the name of God in the public sphere and they might just try to arrest you. Proclaim the absence of God and you will be applauded.
Now beyond the existence of this war on God, which is undeniable, I want to look at the effects this has on our way of life. What does a world without God look like? It is not very hard to imagine because we are at its threshold! Look at how Planned Parenthood and its murderous ilk have convinced us that life only begins when we want it to. Look at how the media loses its mind when a gorilla is shot to save a child, but not when children are shot without cause. Look at how armchair philosophers sit in their penthouses and decry the existence of poverty and proceed to do nothing to stop it. Look at how homosexuality and transgenderism is applauded, encouraged, while traditional marriage is belittled. Virtue has become vice and vice, virtue.
For a hellish glimpse into the future of a world without God, we need only read the works of "ethicist" Peter Singer. Not that I am recommending so much as picking up anything that he has written. In fact, quite the opposite. His ideas are incredibly dangerous. In his seminal work, Practical Ethics, Singer begins innocently enough, with the topic of equality. It's hard to disagree with his conclusions, all he seems to want is for everyone to be treated fairly. At first. Then he takes it too far. Applying his godless utilitarian philosophy, Singer makes the argument that we ought to treat animal interests as having the same weight as human interests in the sphere of ethics. To do so, he frequently uses the example of newborns and the mentally disabled as human beings who are closer to the level of animals. "Killing a snail or a day-old infant does not thwart any desires [for the future], because snails and newborn infants are incapable of having such desires." (Practical Ethics p.90) You can't make this stuff up!
Singer goes on to argue that, because of his principle of considering only the interests involved, not only is abortion justified, but so is infanticide - "on purely ethical grounds, the killing of a newborn infant is not comparable with the killing of an older child or adult" - and euthanasia. He goes so far as to walk up to the precipice of justifying involuntary euthanasia, but falters.
These are dangerous ideas. And if you reject God, they are hard to argue against. That is because without God human life immediately begins to lose its value. If we were not created by a loving, all-powerful God (as we were indeed created!) then we are no longer men but beasts. Despite Singer's assertions to the contrary, this means that we are lowered to the level of animals, not that animals are raised to our level. And just like animals, we can be put down when it is convenient. Dostoevsky was all too accurate when he wrote that "If God does not exist, everything is permitted." I do not think that it is too outlandish to envision Singer's fantasies becoming reality in a world without God, and even involuntary euthanasia becoming accepted for the sake of the collective "good."
When I imagine a world without God, I see a world where human life is meaningless, where love is reduced to sexual sensation found as easily in the Internet as in human interactions, where the very terms "men" and "women" have become offensive, and where people of faith are persecuted.
This is not the kind of world that I want to live in!
Brothers and sisters, we must bring back a Godly culture of Truth! Where life and true love are valued!
How can we do this? It might seem that a monumental effort is necessary, something that will shock the world back into reality. In truth, it is the little things that will change the world and overthrow the very foundations of our godless culture of death.
First, we must love. It is easy to be angry with the way the world is headed. It is even more easy to hate those that are pushing it along the road to hell. It requires courage, however, to love them. Remember that as St. Theresa of Avila says, "Christ has no body now on earth but yours." Jesus did not condemn sinners, he lovingly rebuked them. Christ did not say to Matthew the tax-collector "Do what makes you happy." But he also didn't say "You're going to hell Matt." He said "Follow me" (Matthew 9:9). Jesus, the only one who was without sin and could therefore throw a stone at the adulterous woman, didn't. Instead, he said "Neither do I condemn you. Go and from now on do not sin any more" (John 8:11).
To turn back this culture of death, I firmly believe that we must fully commit ourselves to the pro-life cause. I'm the president of my high-school's Students for Life of America club (a most excellent organization) and I also run its blog. Now it would be excellent if everyone could start or become active in local pro-life groups, but you don't even need to do that much. I have already written a list of ways you can be a Pro-Life Warrior. In short, the war on abortion is largely a war of information. Simply spread the word about the ugly realities of abortion. Lies told often enough often become half-truths. Planned Parenthood has convinced people that developing babies are just "clumps of cells" and that abortion has no psychological effects on women, both of which are patently false!
Very simply, you can help to create a culture of God by being men and women of God. Pray as often as you breath. Attend Mass whenever possible. Venerate the Blessed Mother. Pray the Rosary, our primary weapon. Stand up for your beliefs. Be an example to the world, your friends, your family. Raise your children in the faith.
The future of a world without God may be bleak. The future with God, however, is filled with hope and grace. Rise up and join the Crusade for Truth!
DEUS VULT!
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