now what for America?

Why is our country in so much financial trouble. Chuck Colson's recent Breakpoint column offers an insightful response. As Alexandr Solzhenitsyn said, "All this has happened because we have forgotten God." Chuck says:

We have also forgotten that American democracy—indeed Western Civilization itself—is the product of the Judeo-Christian understanding of God and humanity. Without that revelation that man is created in the image of God, our founders never would have recognized the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Indeed, as I and others like Rodney Stark have argued, modern science and education, liberal democracy, capitalism flourished in Western civilization precisely because of the Judeo-Christian worldview.

. . . Is God responsible for credit markets collapsing around the world? No. We’re responsible. Because instead of worshiping God, we’ve worshipped false idols of the marketplace, credit card companies and cheap mortgages. We’ve put our own appetites over our duties to God and neighbor.

The column closes with a challenge which I commend to our mutual attention: "So this is no time for Christians to go into the bunkers. No time to wail or moan over our retirement plans. This is a time to repent, to pray more, to give more. It's time for Christians to lead, encourage, and minister to a faltering country in a faltering economy."