Sometimes this wisdom is spoken from the mouth of the most unlikely sources, like King Nebuchadnezzar, which we see in Scripture, and in recent times, by Jiang Zemin, the former leader of Communist China. Former Time correspondent, David Aikman interviewed the retiring head of state in Communist China in 2002 and asked what Zemin wished for in regard to Chinas future. Zemin’s response shocked Aikman, and much of the world, when he replied:
I would like for my country to become a Christian nation. (Aikman, David. A Report on Christianity in China: A Conversation With David Aikman. Speech at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, September 26, 2002.)
When asked Why? Zemins response was an amazing revelation. He explained how a panel of Chinese scholars had spent 20 years studying why China continually lagged behind the West in science, industry, and culture. After considering every possible explanation, they concluded that it was the religious heritage of the West that had allowed it to reach such heights. The statement of these Chinese scholars was:
One of the things we were asked to do was look into what accounted for the success, in fact, the pre-eminence of the West all over the world. We studied everything we could from the historical, political, economic, and cultural perspective. At first, we thought it was because of a more powerful military. Then we thought it was because you had the best political system. Next we focused on your economic systems. But in the past 20 years we have realized that the heart of your culture is your religion: Christianity. This is why the West is powerful. The Christian moral foundation of the social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and then the successful transition to democratic politics. We dont have any doubt about this. (Quoted from Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity is Changing the Global Balance of Power, by David Aikman.)
When Boris Yeltsin sought to bring democracy and freedom to Russia, one of the first things he realized was that the anti-God atheism of communism had robbed the people of a basic moral compass, so when people were free, crime skyrocketed. So Yeltsin arranged to have Christian teachers come to Russian schools and universities to teach basic moral principles. Now there is more freedom of religion in schools in Russia than in America.
All over the world there has been a turning to Christianity. The positive results where this is happening are obvious and striking. Yet at the same time, when much of the world is waking up to the power of the kingdom methodology promoted by America, America itself has been going in the opposite directionturning from God and our Judeo/Christian heritage, which is the foundation of our greatness. The results of this turning away from our foundations are also obvious. It is amazing that we have continued down that devastating path for so long, but there is a great awakening happening and a massive turning back to our foundations. This turning back is demonstrated in public opinion polls and the many books topping the bestselling charts about our Founding Fathers, the Revolutionary War period, and the Constitution.
When man tries to be his own god, or his own ultimate authority, there will be perpetual discord and there must be totalitarian control to keep the rebellion of man in check. Totalitarian control robs us of our basic humanity because we were created to be free. That is why the Tree of Knowledge was put in the Garden, not to cause mankind to sin, but there could be no true obedience without the freedom to disobey. Likewise, there will be no true worship if there is no freedom to worship. We were created to be free so we could know and worship God from our hearts.
Only when we acknowledge God as the ultimate authority are we free to be who we were created to be. This is why we are told in II Corinthians 3:17, Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Take away freedom, and we will become subhuman machines or automatons. Take away the holy fear of God from the free, and corruption and the debauchery of lawlessness will take us over. Reproduced from Morning Star Ministries with permission.
Post published in: Opinions