diversity, and vice versa.rnConsequently, Southern men understood the importance ofrnminding their own business. The officious, busybody attitudernof New England was not tolerated. Following Scripture, menrncared for their neighbors, but they knew there were certainrnthings that are none of your concern, and you need to resist therntemptation to run other people’s lives.rnBy contrast, unitarian and atheistic cultures usually demandrna stifling egalitarian conformity in order to preserve unity. Unitariansrnview God not as a Person, but as an impersonal force.rnThere can be no “love” in God (since His monism makes it impossiblernto express love within Himself); and the culture, reflechngrnthis vision of God, often becomes cruel and heartless.rnSocieties that refuse to recognize the loving Trinit}’ seek unityrnby force, either through totahtarianism or statist egalitarianism;rnthus, they tend to be characterized by harshness, bitterness, andrncruelty (as Islamic and communistic societies have been). Truernunity, however, is founded not upon impersonal or bureaucraticrnforces but upon the love and grace (the personableness) ofrnthe Triune God. Wliere this is lacking, there can never be truernfreedom, peace, or prosperity.rnThe theology of the South molded the political views thatrnhave dominated the region. The concepts of limited constitutionalrngovernment, a union composed office and independentrnstates, a hearty distrust of democracy, strict constructionism, thernseparafion of powers, and the rule of law: All of these doctrinesrn(and many more), which characterized our nation in its founding,rnare rooted in biblical Christianity. At one time, these viewsrnprevailed throughout the country, but the North’s theologicalrnHberalism gradually undermined these convictions among thern”progressives” of the mid-19th centur)’.rnBy 1861, the descendants of the Puritans in New Englandrnhad rejected the religious faith that had laid the foundation forrnthe nation. As one historian has put it. New England had beenrntransformed from the “Holy Commonwealth” into “Yankeeland.”rnThe rejection of the Reformed faith led to a perversionrnof the old faith of their fathers. The Puritan “work ethic” degeneratedrninto a greedy materialism; the Puritan emphasis uponrneducation became a worship of knowledge centered onrnman; the old concern that men obey God’s Word metamorphosedrninto an overreaching pharisaism; the exercise of godlyrnauthority turned into tyrannical, statist authoritarianism; andrnthe desire to take dominion over Creation became a yearning tornuse political power to enforce conformity.rnThe great commission that Christ gave His disciples —tornpreach the Gospel and see the world transformed by grace —rnwas perverted into a secular “Manifest Destiny” to make thernworld over in the image of New England—by force, if necessar)’.rnThe South was the first major target of this “evangelicalrnstatism,” and we lost far more at Appomattox than a war: We lostrna world, a way of life. Moreover, the entire nation lost the constitutionalrnrepublic our forefathers had sacrificed to establish; inrnits place we gained an unrestrained, amoral empire that, likernBabylon of old, seeks to save the world by legislative coercionrnand brute force. Appomattox was a terrible defeat not just forrnthe South, but for all who care about constitutional governmentrnand liberty.rnWe must take seriously the connection between theologyrnand culture. We have been deluded into believing that we canrnenjoy the fruits of Christendom without affirming its roots; thatrnwe can have a societ}’ of integrity without faith in a God Wliornholds all men accountable to speak the truth. We assume werncan have prosperit)’ and ignore marriage vows. We think werncan rear a moral, responsible generation while teaching ourrnyoung to ignore morality and shirk responsibility. We arernshocked that our children are callously indifferent to violencernand cruelty, yet we insist that they be taught that all life is merelyrnthe result of a grand cosmic accident. We are living in arndeadly dream world; the cost of rejecting biblical theology hasrnbeen catastrophic.rnWhen we break covenant with God, Andrew Lytic said, allrnwe are left with is magic. But magic is nothing more than pretense:rnWe have no power to perform miracles, and this impotencyrnprovokes in unbelievers a lust for power. If there is nornGod, we must create our own. Having forsaken the true God,rnmodern man has embraced the idol of empire. Those who rulernus are unable to think of any solutions except those that comernfrom their god, the unitary state. But idols cannot work miracles.rnEver)’ effort to attain “freedom and dignit)'” by politicalrnmeans results only in more slavery and degradation.rnApostates always seek libert)’ apart from grace. As we used tornknow, however, liberty is a gift from God. He who commits sin,rnour Savior said, is a slave to sin. “But, if the Son makes you free,rnyou shall be free indeed” (John 8:34, 36). This is a lesson ourrnforefathers knew well. It is a lesson we must learn again. crnSTATEMENT OF OWNERSHIPrn.-ss-.M,a.,„«r.Am«,=^ncd,.» jvjrffvfro•;-?”.rrnrâ„¢””””,?â„¢””*rnfeai- – —rn”::z::i^r«.„_ .-……„„rnm,â„¢. „™,«,^.,».„.,«., „.,â„¢, .™„.„rnt«U f B,»t m « « » « « . . » . , . J , » « „ S.1, BI»M. ll,m,rn:ii^.:sssx:f?:K:sTjsr,c,’;jK£iss5S5w;^rn:•;-rn^^^SH£^rn. . « . « . — . . . ^ ^ U ^ ^ .^rn” BH?3sr^-“i.~-“-“‘ -.«-rn”rn*’5Err=”’Tr”-^”ir'”””:Clt:~rn• •rn• â„¢ 7rn™«_.«.^—c,;u.â„¢ ‘ ^^PII^^SST,^â„¢rn.tâ„¢.,>.j.»,-w,rn:’.T:s’:%i:-:^:^’.Z’:^’.^,i’S”.y’rnl~s;â„¢rr:..rn8 535rn5S;« S16?rn- : – Jrn»s..o_»,â„¢_aâ„¢^,f..M! 1 0rn, » , ~ c â„¢ „ a ^ „ . . , • ; . ,rn, ^ , „ _ s , â„¢ . „ ^ ^ . —^:–rn— -»!_–;rn363rn” crn^ ” B ” ” ” ” ! 0 i Crn’,â„¢=^.™„.,.^,.«„,., •rn’ • a , . â„¢ ^ * ^rnfT^-^-^rn.«, ,„ -^ ~ ” >• a 457rns’SnS,'”â„¢'” ] 9J%rn383rn-.ocarn1,671rnB,922rnv^’l.rn_ . ^;^_^«rnDECEMBER 2000/21rnrnrn