Sarah Nyhan

I wonder if the devolution of a society results from the devolution of their theology? Which I then wonder if that devolution of their theology is correlated to the moral failures of their religious leaders?

In any event, I just feel like the America that I grew up in wasn’t as crazy as what it is right now. And I remember a lot more religion back in the day. Maybe that was just the culture I was in, but America seemed different.

And you should know I am not in favor of religion carte blanche. But I wonder if kids even ever get exposure to the concept of God when they are growing up today?

This question of the demise of a society being strongly correlated to the demise of their theology came about as I was watching a video about India. India and China have the most people in their countries in the entire world. And specifically the people of India have a lot more history as a civilization than America. And yet, from what I see and read, the poverty over there is just overwhelming. You’d think with time, a society or a culture would get better. Not worse. So why isn’t India leading the charge as the nation’s most advanced and established country? Far beyond America? Is it at all related to theology? Or lack thereof?

Was India ever on top of the entire world in terms of being like the powerhouse that the United States has been considered in many circles in recent decades? If so, what happened? Where did it go wrong? And was that in any way related to religion?

I think America is suffering greatly because we are not united. And at least in practice, I think even the semblance of a theology that most people choose to align with probably has a better effect on a group than not having any theology at all. And I think a lot of America’s troubles relate to this crisis in faith. We became so smart that we saw through the errors in religion. But we threw the whole damn baby out with the bathwater. And now we are flailing. Wandering in the void. Searching for meaning. Losing our country and our economy in the process. In my opinion.

I don’t believe we are at a total loss. These things are cyclical. We have to zoom out and see the bigger picture. I think the destruction of religion was helpful. But we’re just in that growing pains part of the story right now. Where we are trying to figure out what is next. Collectively.

But I’m part of the collective. Locally and globally.

And I don’t see many other countries having much better success. We can all feel it. The world is crying out for a solution.

So I write. I do my part. This is what I know to do.

And I’m confident that God could come down into the sky and shine bright and course-correct everyone in an instant. But I don’t think that’s how God works. And I don’t know why. But it just seems like for some reason God is unbothered by all our workings of this out. God is not in a panic. And God wants and maybe even insists in us being involved all along the way. Like, there doesn’t seem to be a rush. Like the journey is the point. Versus getting to the finish line for the sake of. Because God is big enough to do that without our help. And yet here we are. Here I am. Here you are. Reading this right now. Why?

So I write. I tell my story. I try to invite people to consider the Hope that found me. The only real meaning I bank on. The only way I am sane in what feels like absolute madness sometimes.

But think of the other countries. China is officially an atheist state. And I don’t know facts, but to my understanding at least the USSR was a very dangerous place to be as a Christian. Same in North Korea. Think of all the other countries where you are actually persecuted for being a different religion. Which in my opinion means you are not worshipping The God who is LOVE.

And I’m sure Hinduism has many things to teach Christians. Same with other religions. I’m sure there are kernels of truth in most faith practices. But I wonder if people groups devolve when they stray away from a centering belief that their Creator Loves them and is not mad at them. I wonder if that’s where everything starts to go astray.

And maybe that’s the way back. To show each other that there is nothing to be afraid of. One by one. One teach one. And then maybe things will get better. The audacity to actually live what we say we believe. And make a real difference.

So much more, but that’s it for now.