Fair Warning

The Life Cycle of Democracies

There is a view among some historians that a democracy is an intrinsically unstable form of government:

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse…from the public treasury… The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years…

And the cycle is surprisingly predictable:

…from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependency back again into bondage.

Alexander Tyler, 1750

Studies of the predictable decay of empires and cultures generally discern three primary aspects of their decline: Social Decay, Cultural Decay, and Moral Decay.

The first, Social Decay, is characterized by the crisis of lawlessness, the loss of economic discipline, and the rise of bureaucracy.

This is associated with Cultural Decay: the decline of education, the weakening of cultural foundations, and the loss of respect for tradition.

All this is, of course, the result of Moral Decay: the rise of immorality, the decay of religious beliefs, and the subsequent devaluation of human life. (from Koinonia House, 2000)

(keep this in mind in these days leading up to electing a new leader!) — Mary

About Mary

I have been a believer since 1981. Everything else before that is relatively meaningless. My heart has, from day 1, always been toward the subject of bible prophecy and I have seen the Lord do amazing things in my life through simply studying the Word and applying it to my life. I am a wife, grandmother and work full time in ministry. Life is full, and full of learning curves and seasons.
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2 Responses to Fair Warning

  1. Eric & Kelly Nelson says:

    Congrats Mary & TIm on the grand baby!! I apprecaite this post, especially after watching EndGame.

  2. Geneva Franzke says:

    The timing of this is entry is remarkable. I keep hearing it said, in other places. Praise the Lord!

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