The high incarceration rate in America has raised many questions over the years and is one reason used by the Left for demanding radical changes to or even a dismantling of the Nation. They sometimes try to blame America’s Judeo/Christian roots for the problem; however, only a superficial understanding of history allows for such a conclusion.

Yes, America does have an embarrassingly high number of people in prison, but it is simplistic to demand a fundamental transformation of the nation to correct it. To do so ignores the tremendous good America has done for the world, its historic support for the nation of Israel, the creative genius of its people, and the hope it has provided for the down-trodden of all nations. There is only one reason millions of people want desperately to come here: America remains a great beacon of hope and opportunity. So, is America still good, or not? Will God bless us with a great future, or is the end near?

While the causes of America’s crime rate are numerous and too complex to analyze in detail here, I believe that it is safe to say that our liberties are, in fact, one significant factor. People who are free and have minimal outside supervision can, unfortunately, use that freedom for either good or evil! This is a dilemma and begs the questions: does the good America has done warrant patience with its failures, and is the moral and spiritual superstructure upon which the nation was built still strong enough to support a wholesome culture into the future? I, for one, say, “yes” to the first, but struggle with the second. It does, however, raise an important point: people who are free must be worthy of that trust.

America’s Constitution and laws “run” on Judeo/Christian principles and to think those principles can be discarded without bad consequences is foolhardy. Like filling your gas tank up with Kool-Aid! Free people must have both the wisdom to make good choices and the discipline to carry them out. Our second president, John Adams, wrote,

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. 
It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” 

James Madison, considered the “Father of the Constitution,” and the fourth President of the United States, noted that the Constitution requires

“sufficient virtue among men for self-government.”  

So, what is to be done when millions of Americans have become irreligious and immoral?

Does an honest appraisal of the current situation in America suggest that the moral character of the Nation may no longer be sufficiently strong to warrant trusting the Constitution as our governing document?  Do too many people lack the personal character necessary to govern themselves and thus we careen toward anarchy? This possibility is frightening!

There are only two real options to the growing chaos of the nation: The first is Marshall law, or more precisely, tyranny. The Left is doing everything in its power to push us there. While we do not yet know who the real power brokers are behind this movement, they have enlisted thousands of foot soldiers who are under the delusion that somehow good will come from tearing down law and order and putting substantial power in the hands of a small number of people, while breaking the will of anyone who might resist. Those who know history know that tyranny, whether under a king, emperor, general, or comrade is always bad for the people! Give the Leftists credit for dumbing down the public educational system to the point where they could accomplish such miseducation, and shame on America’s parents for allowing it to happen to their children!

The second option would be, in simplistic terms, to cultivate a “moral and religious” people again.

I pause for a moment for the reader to consider those options. I know of no other option available to address the current crisis. Allan Bloom, who was no evangelical Christian, was prescient when he wrote in “The Closing of the American Mind” (1987) that the breakdown of Christianity as America’s common ideology would lead to disaster.

Thus, the question is whether returning to a common, Christianity based ethic is a viable possibility for America, as it is I believe, and as the Founders noted, the only foundation for the liberties the U.S. Constitution provides. This question may send Christians into discussions of theology, eschatology, Calvinism, and a host of other related topics, but I am not sure there is time for much discussion. The enemies of liberty are not at the gate, they are inside the gate and at every level of government. They are, as someone has noted, “psychopaths hungry for power,” and they will not be easily deterred or dislodged. They have created a political landscape where a significant percentage of the electorate is dependent upon them for their daily bread, another portion is beholden to them for their jobs, and a third, rather naïve group, has been deceived into thinking they, the Leftists, are beneficent. With the Media, Hollywood, unions, the entertainment industry, Big Tech, and others supporting their deceptions, they will, in human terms, be difficult to defeat. They are the “Goliath” in the current cultural/political war, but we know whose side God is on!

It is my opinion that we have but one possible pathway to restored liberty:  Those who claim to trust in Jesus Christ alone must do just that: trust Him! And trusting Him requires that we humble ourselves, cease from conduct that is displeasing to Him, and intentionally obey His commands, understanding that He will do as He wills!  Preachers who proclaim week after week that God loves you and wants you happy, healthy, and wealthy need to stop the deception and call on everyone to bow the knee in repentance and submission.  God is our Sovereign, not our personal genie! And, as Scriptures note, He “. . . is not mocked. Whatever a man sows that he will also reap.” If America is to survive, if our liberties are to continue, if the nation is to continue to be a “city on the hillside” offering hope to the world, we will need to see a heartfelt repentance and turning from evil by millions of Americans and a fresh outpouring of God’s grace in revival!

God alone knows what lies ahead for America, once the greatest nation in human history.  But there are two famous quotes I would close with.  The first is,

“I know not what course others may take,
but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”
(Patrick Henry)

The second is from Joshua, the successor to Moses.

“As for me and my house,
we will serve the Lord.”

May we stand with courage and may God yet have mercy on this Great Nation!