For the first time in the history of our nation, an avowed socialist is waging a campaging for President of the United States that is capturing a great deal of attention. A significant part of his support arises from Millennials, a generation of young adults, ages 18-29, who—as a group—view socialism favorably (53%). Although the data among competing surveys varies a bit, they are nonetheless alarming.

Not long ago, the word “socialism” was so despised it was akin to profanity. It was considered communism-lite. The widespread favorability of socialism expressed by the Millennials evidences the failure of the public schools to accurately teach the history of the United States as well as the relentless liberal/progressive pro-socialism promotion by academia, the media, and certain politicians. Abraham Lincoln warned, “The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.”

G.K. Chesterton followed, “Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.” A soulless socialism produces an educational system that dumbs down society and suppresses individual thought and liberty. The result in less than a generation is increasing chaos and despair.

Your Worldview Drives Everything

God-Derived Judeo-Christian Worldview

What happened? As always, the God-derived Judeo-Christian worldview competes endlessly with the god-denying liberal/progressive Humanist worldview. America and later the United States of America was founded on the Judeo-Christian worldview, based on God’s loving instructions and principles expressed in the Bible. Those principles provide maximum personal freedom and protection of the specific rights given by God. When people freely labor and compete to improve their lives in some way, the emerging economic system is called free enterprise or capitalism.

People are free to compete as long as they do not harm or infringe on the God-given rights of others. Believers and adherents to the founding principles want to, insofar as possible, be free from government interference in their private lives. Harmony is achieved by the God-inspired personal restraint of the people and living the principle of putting the needs of others before self.

God-Denying Liberal/Progressive Humanist Worldview

There has always been a portion of the population that held the god-denying Humanist worldview. They derived a huge boost from the publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life, commonly known as the theory of evolution. Darwin’s book appeared to attach scientific credibility to a very old theory. It became a justification for denying the existence of God and pursuing all of the man-centered philosophies that followed. Some people raised in believing families have compromised to such an extent that they are virtually living the Humanist worldview, even while clinging to the scriptural stories of their youth.

People holding the liberal/progressive Humanist worldview perceive only chaos unless self-proclaimed leaders arise, take charge, assume control, make decisions for the whole of the population and enforce those decisions with the ever-escalating brute force of government. The decisions are based on inefficient and nearly always inequitable man-made principles that balkanize society into groups competing for government largesse.

The earliest stages of the government-controlled economic system that arises is called socialism. Continuous government efforts to solve perceived social problems or resolve inequities inevitably produce even more problems. It is like cutting off the head of a mythical Hydra. The endless perceived issues lead to a metastatic government that grows until is self-destructs.

Posidtions of Modern Political Parties

Where do the modern major political parties stand? The Democrat Party has leaned toward the liberal/progressive Humanist Worldview for a century or more. Today, they are solidly Humanist/Socialist, despite efforts to create a more culturally acceptable image.

The Republican Party emerged from the Judeo-Christian Worldview. However, the elite in control of the party have been moving in the Humanist/Socialist direction for decades leaving many grassroots Republicans wondering what happened.

Part 2 will consider the birth and protection of freedom.

What does it take to wake up the body of believers?

What does it take to wake up the clergy?