The Rise and Fall of Theocracy

An Introduction to the Cycle of Humanity's Worship

“Within the theological structure of the cults there is considerable truth, all of which, it might be added, is drawn from biblical sources, but so diluted with human error as to be more deadly than complete falsehood.”

Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults

“A sign of a culture that has lost its faith - Moral collapse follows upon spiritual collapse.”

C.S. Lewis in his final interview

History is a narrative cycle in which humanity is with God, then rejects God in favor of the self, realizes the mistake and searches for god in everything, before finally returning to the true God. In the Christian worldview, this is reflective of the entire history of the universe- Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. Creation, or the Garden, references the time before we gave in to passions and walked alongside our Creator. The Fall starts with the first sin and continues through our history culminating in the Nativity of Jesus Christ, the bold and offensive human incarnation of God. Redemption is the result of the cross of Christ, the crucifixion being the ultimate meting out of justice on One for All, so that we might have eternal communion with our Creator. Restoration is still to come and will result in a new creation, free of sin and suffering.

It is in these two middle phases that we live, a tension between the redeemed and the desecrated; both clinging to and rebelling against God and the moral order we inherently know to be true. In this struggle, we define culture by what gods we worship, which I conveniently differentiate as pagan, atheist, and monotheist. Pagan, for the sake of this entry, encapsulates any polytheistic, pantheistic and panentheistic worldview-- in other words conflation of nature with the Divine. Atheist does not simply include the belief in no God, but is rather an enveloping term that includes agnosticism, secularism, human transcendentalism, and certain flavors of satanism. This category can be understood as either a rejection of humanity’s exceptionalism, classifying us as merely animals, or an elevation of human to divine in authority. Monotheism will be understood as classical theism and generally align with the Judeo-Christian understanding of God. (I hesitate to simply call this category Christian, since this essay will consider events pre-Christ, and I prefer to avoid naming these as Christian, even if they align morally and worship Yahweh.)

What must be understood about humans- what is rejected by some worldviews- is that we are inherently spiritual beings, with an intrinsic drive to worship. One need only look at any given sports stadium, concert hall, movie theater, or social media to see that we make temples of anything, and idols of everything. Pagan societies make idols of nature and passions, as evidenced in Hellenism, druidism, and Hinduism. Atheist societies on the other hand make idols of the Self or State, allowing for pride to run rampant and a morality justified by whoever is in power with the simple words "for the greater good". This isn't to say monotheistic societies are perfect, pure, utopian places; they are after all comprised of humans. However monotheistic societies have an external locus for morality, cede power and wisdom to a higher deity, and, in the Judeo-Christian sphere in particular, encourage charity, selflessness, and humility. The problem arises when these monotheistic cultures venture into paganism or atheism.

The most obvious example of this cycle and the consequences of straying from monotheism is present in the book of Judges, an historical book in the Hebrew Talmud and Christian Old Testament. This book has an overarching narrative where the nation of Israel, newly settled in their promised land of Canaan, cycle through worshipping YHWH, turning to the gods of the Canaanites, being subjected to conquest and oppression from neighboring nations, before returning to YHWH and being delivered through a series of Judges. But this isn't the only place in the historical canon where this cycle is clear. In fact, we can track this idea throughout all of human history, most easily post Christ.

For this article, I want to primarily focus on the last 500 years in the West, as this is where the cycle has run its course in the most obvious fashion and is a period and civilization I am most familiar with. The 16th century welcomed the Renaissance, a revival of the classics throughout art, politics, culture, and science. The Medici family in Florence was a large contributor to this cultural inflection, and the foundation of this movement was one that is undeniably Christian in its pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Artists thrived, the scientific method became more commonplace, and the Reformation put the religious responsibility of the people firmly in their hands. The Catholic Church made some mistakes in how things were handled, such as the infamous dealings with Galileo Galilei and rejection of Martin Luther's critiques, but the papacy was directly involved with the burgeoning of the arts, philosophy, and science. The Renaissance was not the beginning of a monotheistic society, but rather the result of one, started and maintained throughout the Middle Ages, where orphanages, hospitals, and universities were built with equal fervor to cathedrals.

During this time, the West flourished, growing in power, wealth, and knowledge. This isn't to say the West committed no crimes, but generally speaking, society was better off than it had ever been before, in large part due to the faithful actions of clergy and Christ oriented research. Unfortunately, humans are fallen creatures and this time was not going to last. The 17th century welcomed in the growth of deism, with philosophers such as John Hobbes questioning classical theisms central claims. It's here that we see a shift towards an "atheist" society, more precisely a deist society, where God started everything with a bang, then sat back and stopped engaging with creation. This transition set the stage for the Enlightenment, a more vocal rejection of the Christian worldview that led to the French Revolution and ensuing Reign of Terror and revolutions throughout Europe that marked a divergence from Christian orthodoxy in government and culture.

The Reign of Terror exposed the ugly and abhorrent condition of humanity without holding back. I won't make the claim that the French Revolution should not have happened here, but it is hard to divest the Revolution from the Terror. Ultimately, the atrocities and injustice of the Reign of Terror were the natural end point of a revolution that rejected the Church, the idea of divinely appointed authority, and was steeped in the ethics of the Enlightenment, which emphasized individuality and reason as the foundations for morality and the pursuit of happiness for all as the ultimate good.

Following the turn of the 19th century, a slow but steady transition from Enlightenment Deism to post Enlightenment pantheism, mysticism, and spirituality occurred. In the first half of the 1800s, the West was captivated by the discovery and renewal of ancient thought and mysticism coming from Egypt, Greece, and the near east in general, an interest that combined with cultural dissatisfaction with the rationalism that defined the Enlightenment. In this, there was a movement to meld these ancient ways with modern religion, particularly Christianity, resulting in a number of cults forming out of Christian doctrine such as the Latter Day Saints. Here we see a shift from atheism to pagan, where the old gods of ancient cultures were brought back and given worship. While this movement never quite took over Western cultures, mysticism and paganism were able to gain purchase and remain in the underlying philosophies well into the 19^th century.

The latter half of the 1800s is filled with different revivals of theism- most prominently the Second Great Awakening in the United States- and the rapid advancements in our understanding of biology, geology, and Earth’s history. This period also brought to the fore a number of philosophical movements born from a desire to return to rationalism, the publishing of Darwin’s treatises on evolution and common descent, economic and social divisions, and a rapid increase in urbanization due to the Second Industrial Revolution. Each of these had different effects on the philosophical milieu of the late 19^th century moving towards the 20^th century, and the most prominent philosophical and scientific contributions still have a grip on the West today. For the extent of this series, I will mostly be focusing on the interplay between adaptationist evolution theory (Darwinian Evolution), Marxism as a philosophical system formed from Hegelian approaches to history and philosophy, existentialism and nihilism as two sides of the same coin, and Freudian psychology. An argument will be made in the next installment that these are atheist systems that not only present a case against classical theism, but are entirely incompatible with a classically theistic worldview, with the exception of Kierkegaard’s form of existentialism.

The growth of these belief systems throughout the early 20^th century ultimately sets the stage for World War I and World War II, with each playing its own role in the conflicts and atrocities of the 1900s. These are not the only contributors, but I will make a case for these being the primary contributors. The works of Nietzsche, Darwin, Freud, and many others within these areas are also what much of the so called “New Atheist” movement is based on. New Atheism, similar to the Enlightenment, has made the claim that society as a whole will be better if rationality is prioritized and the general population would be better off if they threw off the shackles of religion that has been systematically disproved. In other words, they prioritize Truth over Goodness and Beauty, believing that pursuit of Truth in a purely material reality will lead to improvement of the latter two categories. (The next part of this series will take a more detailed look at whether this claim was correct or not.)

Starting in the mid-20^th century those long dormant roots of paganism began to grow and produce fruit. Underneath the supposed intellectualism of the early 20^th century, a fascination with the occult, eastern mysticism, and ancient knowledge were still strong, as evidenced by the superstitions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, references of Hindu scripture by Oppenheimer after testing the nuclear bombs and T.S. Eliot in “The Waste Land”, and the rise of Aleister Crowley, syncretism, and Kabbalism, to name a few. The conclusion of the World Wars left countries reeling for a zeitgeist that prioritized peace while fleeing the religious institutions that had either failed in preventing and disavowing atrocity or were being portrayed as anti-intellectual, restrictive, and judgmental. In this stew we see the rise of the hippie movement, with heavy influence from Eastern religions, a move toward religious universalism iconically portrayed in John Lennon’s “Imagine”, and a rejection of societal and cultural roles. The arts grew immensely during this time, with new genres coming to the market, the British Invasion led by the Beatles, and cultural events such as Burning Man and Woodstock making their debut. Similar to the 19^th century paganism, we once again see the creation of many new cults. In this time, we see a prioritization of Beauty over Truth and Goodness, with the idea that pursuing what is beautiful will lead you to a morally good life.

That brings us more or less to today: a society in which there are three prominent cultures, each believing different things about our relationship as humans to the Divine. In one corner, the remnants of New Atheism in which humans are simply animal yet we must be held to a higher standard than the rest of the animal kingdom. This corner straddles the line between atheism and theism far more than they would like to admit, primarily because they lack a foundation for Goodness and Beauty. In another, a neo-paganist movement in which esoteric knowledge and fascination with the occult has made idols of everything, distorting what is good and conflating humanity with the Divine or making all of nature Divine. Often this corner straddles the line between paganism and theism without realizing it by acknowledging entities beyond our power with knowledge we don’t have access to. I frequently wonder if they have a better understanding of the spiritual realm than the Church, even if it is for the wrong reasons.

In the final corner, a community of classical theists from many different backgrounds arguing with each other over sometimes trivial things, while often compromising on core doctrine to have one foot in two corners or even all three. I do not restrict this just to Christianity; there are theologically progressive and mystic versions of Judaism and Islam that have grown in various periods of our history that are becoming more prominent now. I will however speak to Christians specifically here as this is the space I am most familiar with. In some circles, it is often difficult to differentiate between Christian practice and pagan practice. Take for example the increased fascination with yoga and the enneagram, the former Hindu and the latter New Age. These are two examples of a much larger pool of “reclaim” practices that are often used as Church events. We also see a growth in pantheism and panentheism throughout many non-denominational churches and authors such as Bethel and Richard Rohr. On the other side we see many Christians completely divesting faith and science, holding to a scientifically favored position without considering the theological implications and refusing to acknowledge counter-arguments from other Christians with specialties in the field. One such example would be theistic evolutionists, who accept evolution despite its flaws as a theory and then reject scriptural inerrancy and human exceptionalism in an effort to make their faith and scientific beliefs work together. Often these Christians refuse to engage honestly with counter arguments, even if they come from other scientists, because they fear being grouped with the fundamentalists who say the Earth is ~8-10,000 years old. These present outwardly as much more sympathetic to atheists than they do to theists.

This cultural moment that we live in has been seen many times before, and few as prominently as the Roman Empire in the first century A.D. Into a cultural melting pot such as this was Christ born into, lived in, died and rose again for, and sent His message to. We often call that culture a pre-Christian culture, ready, willing and desperate to hear the Gospel while worshipping an unknown god. My hope over this series is to next get at where atheism is unsatisfying and why we recently have seen a growth in paganism in response to New Atheism. Then, I will look at where paganism fails and the impending shoe drop that I and many others believe is coming for a radical transformation to theism. Finally, I want to assess where the Church needs to step up and provide a reasonable basis for Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, how we must take advantage of this moment, and test the idea that a theistic society is actually the best society for all who live in it. In each of these pieces, I will attempt to provide a fair evaluation of what I see as the strengths of each movement, deal graciously with those who fall into each category, and hopefully show that Christianity is not just superior to these in Truth, but that a Christian worldview is infinitely more satisfying in explanatory scope and power, spiritual fulfillment, and virtue.