“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:18-20).
The inevitable course of ungodliness and unrighteousness is enunciated quite succinctly in Romans 1:18-32. When American history is placed beside it, one can easily trace the degeneration of a nation whose founding fathers sought to construct a nation upon solid Biblical principles.
Described in verses 18-20 is the first powerful spiritual plague on America: MODERNISM. Introduced in America in the 1890s this ungodly philosophy came to America from Europe, especially Germany. In simple and practical terms, Modernism is a suppression/rejection of truth by denying the obvious. Only a fool says that is there is no God (Psalm 14:1), because “the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). Yet, despite the obvious and overwhelming evidence, the Modernist denies the existence of God and the supernatural, the inspiration and the inerrancy (and thus, the authority) of the Bible, and the deity of Jesus.
Only someone educated beyond his intelligence would embrace and advocate such a blatant denial of these obvious truths. Therefore, it should not come as any surprise to look at America’s history and find that this ungodly application of atheistic, evolutionary dogma to the pillars of Christianity was introduced in America primarily in institutions of “higher learning” for Protestant “clergy” in the late 19th century.
The seeds sown by modernism over a hundred years ago have produced the fruit of widespread moral, doctrinal, and spiritual bankruptcy in today’s Protestant world. Harvard University’s pronouncement that Greg Epstein—a devout atheist—was going to begin serving as its “head chaplain” is another recent reminder of this sad truth.
