God's Role In The Decline Of Our Civilization
My Reply To The Question by P.S. Crawford

Dear Madam,
Thank you for your interest in my ideas. My web site explains what a civilization is and why civilizations rise then fall. The theory does not concern itself with religious matters except to distinguish the concerns of religion from the concerns of science. Science is concerned with truth and falsity, whereas religion is concerned with right and wrong. My explanation reveals that every understanding is founded upon a morality that dictates right from wrong, and no understanding can exist without a morality, which itself is created by genetics and infantile experiences.

Belief in the existence and role of God is a function of an understanding. That is, you either believe in the existence of God, or you do not. And the character you bestow upon God, a stern father or a forgiving mother, is also dictated by your morality. As belief in God is part of religion, it is not part of science, so the existence or otherwise of such an entity is always a matter of faith, like recognizing right from wrong, never knowledge.

The collapse of our civilization is as inevitable as growing old. Nothing can be done to halt it, and every effort made to repair its unpleasant effects just makes everything worse. To believe in divine intercession in the fate of our civilization, is to believe that God will also act to stop you from aging.

I believe that God will no more stop our civilization from becoming ever more weak and demented, than he will stop anyone from getting old.

You know that your civilization is doomed, as you know you will certainly die. Life is for living so it is better to accept what you can't change and make the best of what you have.

Kind regards,
Philip Atkinson