Have you recently started to wonder how we as a nation have gotten so far down the road of passivism? I am well aware that time passes more quickly than we would like to admit and for some of us the way things used to be seems like just yesterday. The truth is that passivity has its roots in psychology. As there are multiple schools of thought in psychology no one seems to be able to explain how they overlap or which concepts agree with or contradict the teachings of scripture. However, we know that there is a clear path that we can follow to see how that passivism developed such a strong grasp in the thinking of the American people, showing that it’s definitely rooted in psychological principles!
Surprisingly, early in 2020, I was asked to be a contributing author to a book called “Our Right to Believe” which was being published by Vibe Press. Twenty-five Christian Post op-ed writers were asked to each contribute a chapter. After much prayer, I chose to start my chapter where America started, with the story of the Pilgrims coming to this New World. I then charted a road map from 1620 up to our current age and the progressive undermining of our culture and its diminishing desire to accept a God of righteous authority, a God who not only sent His own Son to the cross for our sins, but also requires that His people take up their own crosses and follow Christ.
On election night 2020, I found myself on my face crying out to God in prayer over the future of America, as it appeared as if this nation had moved the mark towards passivism even further by voting in an extremely meek, grandfather image president. I knew big changes were ahead and that along with those changes there would be a great divide between the conservative right and the liberal left. I also cried out to God that night to please use me to help promote our need for a God-sent revival that would turn America back to its Biblical roots and the foundational leadership which would cause us to embrace God’s righteousness again and even be merciful toward those who think differently than we do about Biblical principles.
In the book “The Right to Believe” I also pointed out a very crucial turning point following World War II in America. It was at that time that millions of young Americans were picking up the pieces after the war. Romance and new marriages abounded, resulting in a massive baby boom. To see the larger picture of what happened as a result of this, I encourage you to pick up a copy of the book “The Right to Believe”, still available on Amazon, and read my description of the effect of Dr. Benjamin Spock’s book on child parenting, a book which became one of the all-time best sellers. His criticism of the corporal punishment of children and his theories regarding raising children based on his undocumented psychological experimentation heavily impacted a post-WW II generation. His theories planted the seeds of passivism in the hearts of millions of American babies. During the sensuous and lawless lifestyles of hippy movement, Dr. Spock critiqued his own philosophies and even changed some of the things that he said in his books. However, the damage had been done, and the disdain for authoritative leadership in both government and the church had been firmly rooted in millions of hearts of young Americans.
The truth is that those same seeds endure in people who now have grandchildren, so those theories of passivism have been passed down through three generations. Our right as Bible-believing Christians is their wrong and there is no quick fix to change that. This is simply how it happened and as many of us know, only a God-sent last days revival where millions are truly born again will ever change that. Jesus said that His Kingdom was not of this world. Unity will never come in this country through everyone agreeing with one another. It will only come when everyone agrees with our righteous, living God!