Creeping Depravity

Evil by Osmosis…

A subtle change in perception can make a big change in behavior.

In the small mid-Western town where I grew up we had a Roman Catholic church, a Polish Catholic church and several Protestant churches. My family moved to this little town when my father lost his job to the Depression and was unable to find work in the city. Mother owned a portion of the family farm which was located a few miles west and that meager income was used to pay a real estate debt they had incurred while living in Florida during the roaring twenties.

Small towns tend to envelop residents. Life and the town merge. We all knew one another and often the details of everyone’s lives as well. (A fierce loyalty kept this information from outsiders.) For most residents each day brought dozens of personal contacts. Everyone had a nickname and the assignment was often quite humorous – the local barber was Mule Skinner, there was Hick, Yuke, Gonky, Backhander, Nasty Nasal, Itsy, Billy the Greek, Tinny, Possum, Beany, Moose, etc. Each nickname was coupled with the last name – Hick May. Yuke Burns, etc. Sports, baseball and basketball, (our town did not have football) were important and good athletes got lots of attention. There were two (sometimes three) medical doctors who provided medical care for everyone. Some patients did not pay but that was secondary; the sick individual was foremost in their mind and in their actions. Schools succeeded in drilling important information into their student’s heads and the entire community, retired farmers, businessmen, housewives, and young people, existed in an orderly and caring environment.

It was a “good town” compared to hundreds of other “good” towns that dotted maps of the Mid-West. There were several chronic alcoholics, a few sexually promiscuous individuals, an occasional dishonest businessman, and some ministers and priests that were sent to this out of the way location because they were not quite up to snuff. In my early years, before Dad went to work for one of mother’s wealthy friends, we were poor and food was an occasional problem. There were big sacks of oatmeal that sometimes sufficed for more than one meal. Our neighbors were poor too. Mother’s brother had a small farm. He kept chickens and my cousin would sometimes bring us eggs or a live chicken. Mother could make food out of any kind of animal, fish or foal. The chickens were beheaded and allowed to flop about until blood free, they were dipped in boiling water, plucked, gutted, cut up, coated with flour and fried. Nothing was wasted; if I caught fish, mother scaled them, gutted them, and cooked them; if I shot squirrels or rabbits she skinned them, gutted them and fried them. For a short period of time we ate pigeons killed with my Daisy BB gun in the Methodist church belfry.

Most folks held to absolute right and wrong. Often they did not realize that their moral code was Biblically based and might have argued against it if confronted. However, they would generally condemn immorality even if they themselves indulged. Human nature does not change. Many of the base sins that still beset society were evident. There were 5 saloons; one saloon for every 370 citizens. The Lord’s name was often desecrated; there was drinking, smoking, gambling, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, cursing, theft, deception, etc.

Though the sins then were as heinous as the sins today, there was a major difference. Today, pagans argue against the concept of sin and Christians claim they live by Grace and offer tolerance without condemnation. Seventy-five years ago, in spite of growing antinomianism, Christians usually condemned sin and even pagans tended to consider it harmful.

Not only was sin viewed from a different perspective but the spirit of good works and self sacrifice was still evident. Teachers were dedicated. Though they were paid for their work most teachers entered the profession to perform the service of teaching. There was an element of self sacrifice involved. This same element was a part of the medical profession. Doctors earned a good living but money was a secondary consideration, the object was to offer a remedial or ameliorating service to society.

Abortion was illegal and babies were carried to term. This prospect alone provided some deterrent to fornicated pregnancy. The Socialism of Franklin D. Roosevelt had not yet taken hold and illegitimate children were not yet subsidized by our government.

Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin’s prominent presence at Sarah Palin’s Vice-Presidential ceremony provided a sharp contrast to the spirit of the 1930s. In those years, illegitimate pregnancy was disgraceful and efforts were made to hide it. Single girls who were pregnant were often sent to live with relatives or to homes that provided pre-natal care. Bastards lived with stigma. There was still shame and righteous social pressure.

Young women, particularly Christian women, pregnant out of wedlock, need to be loved and helped but they should also bear the shame of breaking God’s Law. Levi Johnston fathered a child by Bristol Palin and he is duty bound to marry, love, and support her. Adoption would provide an alternative but whatever is decided Levi should be responsible for any expenses involved in the resolution of the pregnancy and that responsibility should come before his education or any other plans he might have for his future. Inviting the couple to attend public ceremonies is a flagrant insult to God and to His Law.

It should be noted that when both parents are absent from the home and teens are privy to large amounts of private, unsupervised free time, parents bear a measure of responsibility for the sexual activity of their children.

There were illegal abortions during my formative years but abortion was still considered murder, life was sacred and the law was taken seriously. Currently an embryo is defined as a fertilized egg until the eighth week of a pregnancy. Following the eighth week it becomes a fetus until birth. Abortoriums legally kill babies up to the time of delivery. The entire miracle of birth has been humanized and experimentation with life is now common.

When Adam forsook his position of leadership and ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he inserted himself into a realm in which he was incapable of functioning. Before the fall, Adam and Eve did not know evil, the idea of contending with the Creator was non-existent. God created us in His image and assigned us a sphere of dominion. We are the creatures, not the Creator; our dominion is to be over the creation under the rule of God.

The Law was given to help alleviate the disastrous results of the fall of Adam. It provided specific guidelines for peaceful, prosperous living. The Old Testament records a relentless progression of sin. First, God’s people discarded His direct rule by requesting to be ruled by kings. Saul, God’s choice for the first king, was noticeably flawed and the narrative progresses through a succession of debauched kings, interspersed with a few that obeyed really well and others that obeyed in part.

Those that obeyed in part were sometimes obedient to God’s Law but failed to remove the “high places” which continued to pollute society. The United States was similar. There was cursory obedience to God’s Law but because the latter day high places were not removed the downhill trend continued as it did in ancient Israel.

There is a persistent theme of separation in the Bible. Jews do it well, Christians have failed. God advises us not to be unequally yoked with sinners but United States Christians not only vote for and support an admittedly secular government but many participate in it. It is in our secular government and media that the roots of abortion, homosexuality, war, torture, pagan education, propaganda, lies, and deceptions flower. Until we apply our concerted efforts to strike at the root of the problem we will continue to flail away at the ugly flowers that grow back as fast as we tear them from the plant.

We worship a jealous God who seeks to protect us from the sinful pagan environment that surrounds us. He sought to protect His chosen people from the evil milieu of the Promised Land and enjoins us not to be unequally yoked. He has made it abundantly clear that if we choose to associate with pagans we will soon appropriate their ways.

Fellowship with pagans has devastated righteousness and discernment in United States. Abortion has become an accepted part of society and so called Christian politicians regularly claim they are against abortion but do not want to impose their will on others. It is evil to impose our will but righteous to impose God’s Will – it is time we learned the difference.

Christianity is not about gifts; it is not about the ecstasy of God’s presence; it is not about perfecting each individual Christian; it is not even about expository preaching. Christianity is about obedience. Obedience is not an onerous task that requires each Christian to grit his teeth. The product of obedience is righteousness, peace, and joy. God punishes disobedience because He loves His people and seeks their best interests.

Christians have allowed Satan to change their perspective on God’s Law from necessary and righteous to unnecessary and onerous. They have arrogantly ignored the major theme of the entire Bible and instead of obeying God’s Commandments they have sought His individual guidance while ignoring His written word and behaving as directed by their own evil minds. The hideous results of depravity seem slow to materialize but they are here and they are disastrous.

“What God clearly demands is a grace-created faith that renders obedience. God demands obedience as a test of faith (Matt 7:15-23). —We live not in a cosmic democracy but a universal theocracy in which God; not man, is the sole sovereign and king.” Dr. R. J. Rushdoony

Al Cronkrite is a regular columnist for Novakeo.com
Al Cronkrite is a writer living in Florida, reach him at: