Darrow Miller and Friends

As Freedom Dies, Is It Time for a Remnant Movement?

  1. As Freedom Dies, Is It Time for a Remnant Movement?
  2. The Remnant of Israel: A Model for Today
  3. A Remnant: 7 Defining Characteristics
  4. A Remnant: 7 Defining Characteristics, part 2
  5. The Song of the Remnant
  6. Song of the Remnant, part 2

Freedom is dying in the West. Western culture is in the last stages of a shift from Judeo-Christianity to neo-pagan barbarism. It may be time to move from resistance to remnant.

Vishal Mangalwadi warns loss of freedomIt was Vishal Mangalwadi that proclaimed that the fall of Enron in October of 2001 was more significant for the United States than 9/11. The latter was an external attack, while the collapse of Enron was a sign of America’s growing moral and spiritual bankruptcy.

As Abraham Lincoln said, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedom, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”

One’s culture is derived from one’s cult (worship). As worship dies, culture dies. Politics, economics and social institutions are downstream from culture. So as the culture dies, the institutions of society begin to fail and society begins to unravel. Eventually nations die.

President John Adams spoke of this phenomenon.

We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge … would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

Historian Will Durant said, “There is no significant example in history, before our time, of a society successfully maintaining moral life without the aid of religion.”

Some have supposed that free nations may be maintained without the foundations on which that freedom is built. They have sought to change the foundations without consequences. In the early years of the 21st century, we are observing the unintended, yet logical, consequences of the shift from Judeo-Christian Theism to Atheism.

We are witnessing the death of nations in Europe and now in the United States.

I have known that we were approaching a tipping point, the place of no return. As a citizen of my country, I have done what I could to resist the march of fundamentalist atheism, of moral and cultural relativism and the growing tyranny. For many years, I naïvely hoped that the majority of Christians had a clear vision of the need to repent and worship the living God again and anew. The 2016 primary presidential campaign has convinced me otherwise. Given a clear choice between a moral, religious, constitutional conservative and an unrepentant demagogue, people who profess Christ chose the latter.

It was at this point I realized that the soul of the country had died.

Christ died to secure our freedomHowever, in the midst of this pessimism, I remain optimistic. We know who won the battle at the cross. Christ is the unconquerable king, and because we know He is coming back with the fullness of His kingdom at the end of history, we may have an optimistic outlook. Because Truth, Beauty and Goodness are the stuff of creation, they are self-authenticating and will win the current and cosmic conflict.

But we are entering a new season. We are moving from a period of resistance against the onslaught of tyranny—with the hope of reversing the tide, to the season of the remnant—living in the reality of a new, more pagan order.

The current status in the West is marked by moral, cultural and spiritual rot. Concurrent with the slow breakdown of society is growing state tyranny.

The state will determine what freedom is

Among other things, the state is dictating the terms of religious life and discussion. The broad concept of freedom of religion (and conscience, speech, press, assembly, etc.) is being replaced with the narrow “freedom of worship.” The former concept promotes free expression in the marketplace and public square. The latter restricts “freedom” to what happens within the walls of a church or synagogue, the walls of one’s own home, and most narrowly, inside one’s own heart.

Statists are mandating “secularism” as the religion of the market place and the public square. There is but one absolute in this scheme and that is “tolerance.” Creedal Christianity with its moral and metaphysical absolutes–Truth, Beauty, and Goodness–must be condemned as “non-loving” because it opposes moral and cultural relativism. The church is removed as a mediating institution between people and the state.

Moral relativism means that evil may be promoted and those who speak for moral absolutes are labeled puritanical. Cultural relativism leads to labels such as Islamophobia, transphobia, homophobia, arbitrary labels applied to people who may not agree with those issues of political correctness.

It seems that the “war” for culture has been lost. The minority who worked strategically and tirelessly have won the battle. Some Christians have given up. Some were never engaged in the conflict in the first place. It seems to be time to move from the resistance to the remnant.

  • Darrow Miller

 

to be continued

 

 

 

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About 
Darrow is co-founder of the Disciple Nations Alliance and a featured author and teacher. For over 30 years, Darrow has been a popular conference speaker on topics that include Christianity and culture, apologetics, worldview, poverty, and the dignity of women. From 1981 to 2007 Darrow served with Food for the Hungry International (now FH association), and from 1994 as Vice President. Before joining FH, Darrow spent three years on staff at L’Abri Fellowship in Switzerland where he was discipled by Francis Schaeffer. He also served as a student pastor at Northern Arizona University and two years as a pastor of Sherman Street Fellowship in urban Denver, CO. In addition to earning his Master’s degree in Adult Education from Arizona State University, Darrow pursued graduate studies in philosophy, theology, Christian apologetics, biblical studies, and missions in the United States, Israel, and Switzerland. Darrow has authored numerous studies, articles, Bible studies and books, including Discipling Nations: The Power of Truth to Transform Culture (YWAM Publishing, 1998), Nurturing the Nations: Reclaiming the Dignity of Women for Building Healthy Cultures (InterVarsity Press, 2008), LifeWork: A Biblical Theology for What You Do Every Day (YWAM, 2009), Rethinking Social Justice: Restoring Biblical Compassion (YWAM, 2015), and more. These resources along with links to free e-books, podcasts, online training programs and more can be found at Disciple Nations Alliance (https://disciplenations.org).

13 Comments

  1. Carlos Said Pires

    July 28, 2016 - 12:47 pm

    What a great reflection about our society. I ‘ve never thought about the difference of freedom of religion and freedom of worship.
    Thank you Darrow for your article! I will share it to my folks.

    • admin

      July 29, 2016 - 1:43 pm

      Carlos

      Thanks for the encouraging words and thank you for passing it on to your friends.

  2. Chris McReynolds

    July 29, 2016 - 8:01 am

    Darrow, I’m impacted by your clear statement of what’s going on. I’ve known in my heart what we are looking at but, to hear it plainly stated from a leader like you is helpful. I look forward to the follow up.
    God is good.

    • admin

      July 29, 2016 - 1:44 pm

      Carlos

      Thanks for the encouraging words and thank you for passing it on to your friends.

    • admin

      July 29, 2016 - 1:45 pm

      Good to hear from you Chris. This is the first in a series on the remnant people.

      Please share with your friends.

  3. Francelia

    July 29, 2016 - 12:39 pm

    Dear Darrow, I am so deeply sad for what you wrote, because it is true. West is going secular more and more. But, here we stand in Jesus´s Name. I continue praying for all that God is calling to do. I continue trusting that His remnant will continue to battle until the last days.

    Blessings Darrow

    • admin

      July 29, 2016 - 1:47 pm

      Yes, Francella

      He is faithful and he calls us to be faithful.

  4. Peter

    July 30, 2016 - 7:45 am

    “Some Christians have given up. Some were never engaged in the conflict in the first place.”

    I am reminded of boiling frogs – This is from Wikipedia

    “The boiling frog is an anecdote describing a frog slowly being boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is put suddenly into boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is put in cold water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of threats that rise gradually.

    While some 19th-century experiments suggested that the underlying premise is true if the heating is sufficiently gradual, according to contemporary biologists the premise is false: a submerged frog gradually heated will jump out.”

    Frogs may have more sense …But if Modern Christianity is anything to go by it is being slow cooked…….And the change has been so imperceptable over the years very few really have noticed or bothered to stir……even when warned.

  5. Ana Roncal

    August 29, 2016 - 1:58 am

    Thank you Darrow for taking the time to give structure and order to key topics of these times and facilitate our own work. Yes, we see the need for a new Church to arise in the world, and we need to be faithful. May God help us

  6. Teresa Price

    September 19, 2016 - 4:16 pm

    I have read and enjoyed many of your blogs, and received some good insight as well. However, I must voice my opinion regarding this one, and that opinion is that you are basing your observations upon two faulty premises:
    1) The Kingdom has already come and it is in the Body of Christ–Jesus claimed it to be so. Yes, I comprehend that there will be a culmination of that Kingdom’s advancement (which IS occurring, for God’s own Word says that “the INCREASE of His government shall never end.”); however, it is PRECISELY because most people who call themselves “Believers” don’t believe that we have a doom-n-gloom eschatology. If we truly had revelation of what Christ accomplished at the Cross and Resurrection, we would be LIGHT advancing into darkness and seeing it obliterated…and THAT is beginning to happen, also.
    2) Second, just because the choices being made don’t line up with our religious traditions and interpretations does not mean that Father is not in it…there are too many precedents set within Scripture itself where Father SAYS He raised up antagonists to further His own purposes. And Paul himself wouldn’t meet the approved criteria for most of our itinerant ministers or pastors in service today…and let’s not forget his pre-apostle zeal for the Lord worked in direct opposition to Christ –yet God saw his heart. David would not have been anointed king of Israel had the prophet not heard the Voice of the Lord, Who looks on the inside, not the external.

    So, Sir, by whose criteria are you judging who is the appropriate candidate? And, may I say, as a prophetic people, we are to be “calling those things that seem not, as though they ARE”…therefore, rather than indict our nation as wheezing out its death rattle, I shall continue to proclaim and decree that the Lord’s promises are Yea and Amen, that His Body is NOT dead, but alive, and that this nation shall be exalted, because of the righteous who Believe…can these bones live? ABSOLUTELY…and SHALL!!!

    • admin

      September 20, 2016 - 1:08 pm

      Good Morning Teresa
      Thanks for being a regular reader of Darrow Miller and Friends and for your comments on the first post on the Remnant.

      The main point of the blog series is that it is my perception that we have reached a tipping point in Western culture. We have moved from the Judeo-Christian worldview that provided the foundations of Western civilization, to the modern worldview that increasingly dominated the 20th century. Now, in the 21st century there is a new shift to the postmodern and neo-pagan worldview.

      Because ideas take time to manifest themselves, it is my opinion that we have reached a tipping point in Western culture where the ideas of modernism and now postmodernism are working their way out in the market place and public square. What were once merely ideas and ideals are now the driving forces that are shaping and reshaping our lives and nations.

      In your critique of the blog, you said that I had two faulty premises:
      – First, the Kingdom has already come and it is the Body of Christ.
      – Second, just because the choices being made don’t line up with our religious traditions and interpretations does not mean that Father is not in it….

      Let me address these in turn. First, “the Kingdom has already come and it is the Body of Christ.” If this is what I were saying, I would be as concerned as you. Here are some points I have emphasized in my teaching and writing:

      – The Kingdom is both “now” and “not yet.” It is coming in all its fullness with the return of Christ at the end of history. And it is to be manifested now, in its first fruits fashion by the followers of Christ. This is why Jesus taught us to pray: “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Christ’s intention is that his kingdom is to be advanced on earth.

      – So, the kingdom has not already come. It is perfectly manifested in heaven now, it is to be advanced through God’s people now, and it will come in all its glory when Christ returns.

      – The body of Christ is not the kingdom of God. But the church has, as one of its major tasks, the creating of culture that reflects the culture of the kingdom: Truth, Beauty and Goodness. By doing so, the church becomes an instrument for the advancing the kingdom on earth.

      Concerning your second concern: “just because the choices being made don’t line up with our religious traditions and interpretations does not mean that Father is not in it….”

      – I would agree with your assertion that God is sovereign and the author of history.

      – We will find in eternity, if not before, how close our religious traditions and interpretations are to Truth. We are, as Paul say, looking through a glass darkly.

      – In addition to God’s sovereignty, we are free moral agents, created in the image of God to shape history through our words, deeds and actions. This is the scriptural balance, God is sovereign and humans are to be good citizens, engaging in the market place and Public Square.

      – C.S. Lewis describes this balance between God sovereignty and human responsibility as the Great Dance. Undoubtedly he picked up the concept from the Cappadocian fathers who taught the concept of the Perichoresis or The Great Dance of Life. Perichoresis is the great dance between God and humans. God may be thought of as the male partner. He takes the lead. He is sovereign, but we are partners in the dance. We are free and responsible co-partners in this great dance. “We call the Inner Life of the Trinity the Perichoresis, or The Great Dance, circling about. It is an image of profound peace in dynamic flow, of eternal give and take. The Persons of the Trinity are equal but different, each deferring to the other in the Love of the Great Dance.”

      In addition, Teresa, you wrote “by whose criteria are you judging who the appropriate candidate is?” This question may have been stimulated from one of my other blog posts.

      – As good citizens, we should be involved in the governance, not only of our own lives, but also the governance of our nation. After all in the USA, “we the people” are responsible for our governance. To do this we need to be biblically literate and principled.

      – Some of the criterion I would advocate for are:
      o They function from a Biblical world and life view.
      o They are principled and moral.
      o They are visionary, servant leaders.
      o They support the sanctity of life.
      o They are Constitutionalists. They believe in and subscribe to the foundation documents of our nation.
      – Will we ever find such a person? No! But this would be some of the criterion I would use.

      Teresa, I would agree with you that “His body is NOT dead.” Throughout history there have been periods where the church has flourished and periods where the church has languished. But she has never died and will not die. She is the Bride of Christ. We are part of a great cloud of witnesses that stretch back deep into the O.T.

      But having said that, we must make a distinction between the church and the state. In my humble opinion, the West is dying because she has cut herself from her historic Judeo-Christian roots. But there is hope that life will spring again from the Root of Jesse. In the meantime, the church is to find hope in Christ and work for the restoration of the nation. We are to be the faithful remnant in the midst of an increasingly secular and dying culture.

      Teresa, thank you again for writing. Hope you find this helpful. Looking forward to any other comments you might have as you read through the rest of the Remnant series.

      – Darrow

  7. Peter

    September 21, 2016 - 6:36 am

    Theresa’s post reminds me of a qoute – I listened to one of Derek Prince’s messages recently……….and reminded me of the remnant

    “Then the thought was brought to me that when God wanted to show Abraham what his seed would be like, he took him out in the dark night and showed him the stars of heaven and said, “So shall thy seed be.” I said to them, “We are the seed of Abraham by faith in Jesus Christ and we’re like the stars. When all the other lights are shining you don’t see the stars. But when every other light has gone out, then the stars shine brighter than they ever have shone before. This is how it’s going to be at the close of this age. When every other light has gone out, the seed of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ are going to shine like the stars.” Derek Prince

    • admin

      September 21, 2016 - 11:59 am

      Thanks Peter

      Very inspiring.

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