Throughout history, the decline and fall of nations have often been seen as signs of divine disapproval. Though modern minds may dismiss this view as primitive or superstitious, it is not without substance. Beneath the ancient belief lies a profound and enduring truth the modern world has forgotten: the universe is governed by a moral order, established by a transcendent authority beyond human design.

Today’s relativist, who denies any absolute or universal standard of truth or morality, may scoff at the notion of cosmic consequences for human behaviours, yet virtually all human societies have agreed that we live in a universe not of moral neutrality, but of moral law and order. Civilisations the world over have all operated on the assumption that there are objective moral principles written into the fabric of reality that govern human flourishing and societal order. 

While humanity has disagreed on the specifics of the moral laws or the identity of the divine Lawgiver, humans have largely rejected the notion that morality is purely subjective. Whether in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, or Israel, societies held to a common conviction that there is a divine order to be obeyed and that chaos and calamity result from its violation.

The gods may have differed, but the underlying principle was the same—obedience to divine law brings blessing; disobedience brings judgment. In that sense, the so-called primitives may have shown more wisdom than modern intellectuals. They saw looming catastrophe as divine disapproval and sought to avert it; today’s intelligentsia sees chaos and charges headlong into oblivion without thought or hesitation.

Case in point:

But it was into this ancient, confused world that Jesus Christ came, not as one of many paths, but as the revelation of the true and living God. His life, death, and resurrection were not merely symbolic acts, but the definitive intervention of God into human history. By dying on the cross, Christ bore the consequences of humanity’s violation of divine law, offering reconciliation and restoration. Yet even with this redemption, the moral order has not been suspended. It still stands as the framework for human life and societal wellbeing.

As such, the principle remains: nations that live in defiance of God’s moral law will inevitably experience disorder, dysfunction, fragmentation, decline, and ultimately, collapse. The more a society drifts from these divine standards, the more it will invite the natural consequences of moral rebellion. One needs only to consider the detrimental social impact of legalising what God prohibits, such as theft or murder.

Western civilisation, for centuries, was built upon the foundation of Christianity. The Bible provided the moral framework that gave rise to concepts such as human dignity, individual rights, justice, and social order. As Christianity informed law, governance, and culture, the Western world flourished.

However, in recent decades, Western nations have increasingly cast off their Christian heritage. In the name of progress and autonomy, they have abandoned the very moral structure that sustained them. The rise of relativism, secularism, pluralism, and consequently, a culture hostile to Christian values, has not resulted in greater freedom or harmony, but instead growing division, moral confusion, and social decay. 

The consequences are undeniable, and the lesson is clear. No free civilisation can long stand apart from the moral law of God. To reject Christianity is not to progress into an enlightened future, but to regress into the chaos from which we once escaped. If the West is to recover, it must return to the truth that Christ revealed—a truth not only about personal salvation, but about the very design and purpose of human life and society.

Without this return, our once-Christian nations will continue to unravel, not because of arbitrary divine punishments, but because they have severed themselves from the very source of life, order, justice, and truth. Christianity is not merely a private faith. It is the cornerstone of any society that hopes to remain free, just, and enduring. The decline of the West and the rise of totalitarianism remain the surest proof today that, without Christ, the only guarantee is chaos.