Sunday, November 9, 2008

Interesting - Family & Civilization

I read this last night and had to share it. The chapter in the book I'm reading is talking about the downward spiral of our character and how it happens so slowly that we don't notice it's happening. That was all very good, but what really stuck out to me was the discussion about the downward spiral of cultures throughout history.

Here's what it said:

"Sociologist and historian Carle Zimmerman, in his 1947 book Family & Civilization, recorded his keen observations as he compared the disintegration of various cultures with the parallel decline of family life in those cultures. Eight specific patterns of domestic behavior typified the downward spiral of each culture Zimmerman studied:

1. Marriage loses it's sacredness - it is frequently broken by divorce.
2. Traditional meaning of the marriage ceremony is lost.
3. Feminist movements abound.
4. Increased public disrespect for parents and authority in general.
5. Acceleration of juvenile delinquency, promiscuity, and rebellion.
6. Refusal of people with traditional marriages to accept family responsibility.
7. Growing desire and acceptance of adultery.
8. Increased interest in and spread of sexual perversions and sex-related crimes.

The last one generally marks the final stage of societal disintegration."

-taken from The Quest for Character by Charles R. Swindoll


This totally blew me away. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone else...like maybe a recap of the last 50-60 years of history in America? Notice, he wrote this in 1947. Kinda make me wonder where we're headed as a society.

1 comment:

kari.jackson said...

Wow. Interesting. But moreover, sad. There's just so much that could be made better if more people would strive to live by the Word of God...not that it's easy, but at least striving would make it a TON better.
Somedays I get overwhelmed because I start to think there's no hope. But then I remind myself that's just not true. Jesus is our continued hope. Also, I realize that I need to focus on MY family, MY kiddos, MY husband, and the people I know. Then it should spread from there (I hope that made sense, it wasn't very well-put :)
Thanks for sharing!