Doesn’t it still seem incredible to write that year in the date? – 2000 A.D. As you know there has been a lot of philosophizing as to the most important event to have happened or the greatest personality to have lived, etc. I believe one of the most enduring miracles of not only the past 1000 years but the whole 6000 years since Adam and Eve is man himself. With all the disasters, illnesses, wars, and frailties of the human body, still man pretty much remains intact in his physical, emotional, and social characteristics and desires. Certainly it is a testimony as to the existence of a Great Designer whose plans and creations cannot be foiled by man, even over so long a time.
Ask yourself this question. Is there any other institution, other than man, that has lasted so long? Any nation? Any religion? Any other organization of any kind? There really has only been one institution that has lasted as long as man – the family. It then too must have been planned by a Power higher than man, for anything man has created or planned has always crumbled in a relatively short period of time.
Cannot it be said then that the family is meant to be as eternal as man – that as long as there should be man, there should be family? Could it not also be said that any force bent on permanently damaging or destroying man’s hope for happiness would probably target that institution which is co-eternal with man – the family – as the most effective means of accomplishing this goal?
The Worst Two Times in the History of the World
Before our time, apparently there was only one time in past history where it was so hopeless for man that the Creator decided man will not recover and He would have to wipe the earth clean and begin again. Dr. Skousen describes the period just before the Great Flood in these words:
These three sons [of Noah]were born at a time when apostasy and moral disintegration had engulfed the whole earth. Violence, murder, war, theft, rapine, fraud and graft characterized civilization everywhere. According to the Lord, this society of mankind during the dispensation of Noah was worse than anything before or since — worse than Babylon where they offered human sacrifices, worse than Greece where they subjected young children to degenerate orgies, worse than Sodom, worse than Gomorrah. In fact, the Lord declared, ‘Among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness’ as that which prevailed in this age of which we are speaking. It was a day when ‘the power of Satan was upon all the face of the earth.’ So successful was Satan that the scripture says the earth seemed veiled with a terrible chain of darkness and Lucifer ‘looked up and laughed, and his angels rejoiced.’ (The First Two thousand Years, p.200)
One can’t help but ask, what is worse than human sacrifice, than abortion, than child abuse? And we must conclude that if the family is destroyed, then the final line of protection against these other evils and any means of recovering from these other evils is gone. Aside from the complete annihilation of mankind, the worldwide destruction of the family unit must be greatest evils ever to befall mankind. Surely, this was one of the reasons for the Great Flood.
Could such a tragedy ever happen again in our world? The Lord says it will happen one more time. When speaking to His disciples concerning the last days, Jesus said, “And as it was in the days of Noe [Noah], so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. (Luke 17:26)
America’s Founders Recognized the Necessity for Strong Families
Our Founding Fathers knew that home and family life sets the tempo for society. Whatever happens in the home is carried into the community. If there are strong, peaceful family relationships, there will be a strong, peaceful society. On the other hand, if the family is in turmoil, those problems are carried directly into society and create problems no government can manage. Alexis de Tocqueville compared the American family with that of Europe in the following words:
“There is certainly no country in the world where the tie of marriage is more respected than in America, or where conjugal happiness is more highly or worthily appreciated. In Europe almost all the disturbances of society arise from the irregularities of domestic life. To despise the natural bonds and legitimate pleasure of home is to contract a taste for excesses, a restlessness of heart, and fluctuating desires. Agitated by the tumultuous passions that frequently disturb his dwelling, the European is galled by the obedience which the legislative powers of the state exact. But when the American retires from the turmoil of public life to the bosom of his family, he finds in it the image of order and of peace. There his pleasures are simple and natural, his joys are innocent and calm; and as he finds that an orderly life is the surest path to happiness, he accustoms himself easily to moderate his opinions as well as his tastes. While the European endeavors to forget his domestic troubles by agitating society, the American derives from his own home that love of order which he afterwards carries with him into public affairs.” (The Five Thousand Year Leap, p. 281-2)
The United States Constitution prohibited the federal government from meddling in the affairs of family life and created an atmosphere where moral and religious principles could be enjoyed to the fullest as the people saw fit in their own families and communities. However, the changes brought about since then, mostly by usurpation, have cut to the very core of society and now affect the family structure in the most dramatic ways. But, the destructive forces have not stopped there. They must have world domination. Enter the United Nations.
A So-Called Peaceful Body Has Seeds of Tyranny Against the Family
In the beginning years, United Nations’ advocates included some rather juicy carrots to rally worldwide support. A number of pro-family statements were included in the UN’s 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 16 of that document provides:
- Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
- Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
- The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
The UN’s Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which came into effect in 1976, provides in:
Article 17: No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home
Article 18: The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.
Article 23:The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
- The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and to found a family shall be recognized.
- No marriage shall be entered into without the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
Powerful UN Forces Bring Noah’s Day to the Latter-Days
After the powerful one-world government forces in the UN have seen many victories toward their goal of world control, they began to turn their attention to the one lasting institution which they must destroy in order to reach their objective.
C. Gwendolyn Landolt, National Vice President of REAL Women of Canada, describes what happened next:
“Something terrible has happened to the UN in recent years. It has turned its back on its original principle of respecting the cultural and religious differences of each member state, many of which retain the original principle of according the traditional family a central role in their society. The UN has, instead, turned its guns on the family unit in order to break its strength and power – that of passing on cultural and religious values from generation to generation -values which the UN now deems subversive to its activist agenda, and, therefore dangerous for the future of the world.”
Families of the World Unite to Try to Prevent the Landslide
In order to try to counter this powerful, well-funded onslaught against the family at periodic UN Conferences, two World Congress on Families events have been held, the latest being in Geneva, Switzerland on November 14-17, 1999 under the banner, “A Call to All People of Good Will”. It was organized by the Howard Center and attended by many churches and youth from many countries around the world. The agenda was intended to wake up the world to what was happening to the family through the UN. Some of the accomplishments of the Congress were: 1) a Geneva Declaration on the Family, including its God-given definition, roles, and the role of governments in protecting the integrity of the family. 2) Youth Declaration to the Governments of the Globe, including the reliance which young people have in the God-created family unit and the expectation that government leaders will ensure that the traditional family is held in tact as the best chance for youth to survive in a troubled world.
Student delegates to the Congress from George Wythe College report: There was a re-curring theme of cultural and religious understanding and tolerance. In one session was a panel consisting of a Muslim priest, a Jewish Rabbi, and a Christian theologian. Each gave his religious view of the family through the scriptures. What was surprising were the striking similarities in the doctrines of each. Muslims, for example, are against abortion, homosexuality, and drugs and are for the family and two-parent households working in unison to bring up children in righteousness. The Muslim priest urged us not to buy the view of the Muslim culture portrayed by the media or we would be largely misled. To survive the onslaught against the family we must bind ourselves to one another through common ties in order to make it to the shore of safety or we will all drown.
Some 46 speakers scholars and leaders from all parts of the world spoke on behalf of the traditional family. Here is a sampling of their powerful messages:
Honorable Kevin Andrews, barrister and statesman, and a member of the Australian Parliament and Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
“With increasing numbers of parents having only one child, many people in the future will live in families where intergenerational ties are greatly loosened. For example, if an only child marries an only child, their child will have no aunts, uncles or cousins. This is a realistic scenario for many families in the new millennium.”
Kathleen Slaugh Bahr, Ph.D. a member of the faculty in Marriage, Family and Human Development at Brigham Young University
“Some people insist that family work is demeaning because it involves cleaning up after others in the most personal manner. Yet, in so doing, we observe their vulnerability and weaknesses in a way that forces us to admit that life is only possible day-to-day by the grace of God. We are also reminded of our own dependence on others who have done, and will do, such work for us. We are reminded that when we are fed, we could be hungry; when we are clean, we could be dirty; and when we are healthy and strong, we could be feeble and dependent. Family work is thus humbling work, helping us to acknowledge our unavoidable interdependence; encouraging (even requiring) us to sacrifice “self” for the good of the whole.”
Janice Shaw Crouse, Ph.D. is senior fellow for The Beverly LaHaye Institute
“As it turns out, the formidable American medical system is only able to do so much to care for vulnerable babies. The front-line of defense is their mothers . . . and their fathers. There has been a long-standing assumption that poverty and lack of health care endangered babies. However, we are indebted to Nicholas Eberstadt for his groundbreaking research that demonstrated conclusively the link between out-of-wedlock childbearing and higher rates of infant mortality. Marriage protects children from their earliest moments of life. According to Gopal Singh of the National Center for Health Statistics, underscoring Eberstadt’s research, ‘The decline in the infant mortality rate would have been greater if not for a rising number of out-of-wedlock births.'”
NCCS Materials Published to Help Strengthen Families
How long has it been since you reviewed material that NCCS publishes to help teach and strengthen families? Our new web site is designed to keep you up-to-date with books, tapes, study courses, and other items that will put the fire of truth into parents and children. Look us up at www.nccs.net or ask us for our catalog.
Does not this call for our most urgent effort to teach our children and to choose candidates and support ballot propositions which will give strength to families. It is what we must do if we are to avoid a similar judgement, which the people suffered in Noah’s day when they were guilty of the same crime against the Creator plan of happiness.
And in the midst of it all, may this New Year bring you and your family much joy.
