Many realize that our world is largely  what our leaders have made it. In the 1930s, Nazi leaders gained control of  Germany. To consolidate their grip on power, they revived ancient pagan  rituals, indoctrinated a generation of youth into a cult of the Führer and  goaded a modern industrialized nation into military adventures that ended in  the ruin of Germany and the devastation of Europe.

A decade or so earlier, atheistic  Bolshevik leaders seized power in Russia. They rejected religion, promoted  Marxist ideology, and used propaganda and brutal force in their attempt to  fundamentally change a nation. Their atheistic communist experiment claimed  millions of lives and caused generations of suffering—but ultimately collapsed  because it was built on a value system alien to the peoples of Russia.

America, Britain and the nations of  their Anglo-Saxon cousins were built on a very different foundation than the  failed experiments mentioned above. The Founding Fathers of the United  States—like the formative leaders of Britain, Holland, Canada, Australia, New  Zealand and South Africa—were heavily influenced by principles derived from the  Bible, principles that have molded major aspects of Western civilization.  Though their application was sometimes quite far from what the Bible actually  prescribed, this gave their nations a foundation very different from what we  see in the many nations that did not even make any attempt to adopt “Christian”  principles. These nations’ leaders openly acknowledged their debt to, and even  their reliance on, the God of the Bible, and credited Him for the success and  prominence of their nations.

Sadly, modern leaders of these same  nations that were founded on Christian principles have largely moved away from that original foundation, even  as their nations falter. Yet few are willing to “connect the dots.” Most fail  to see a connection between this dramatic shift—from a religious to secular  worldview, from Christianity to consumerism, from biblical morality to  “anything goes”—and the current state of decline, yet the clear parallels are  there!

Commonly overlooked today are the prophetic warnings that  biblical prophets delivered to the ancestors of the modern Anglo-Saxon peoples.  Isaiah warned the prosperous nation of Israel, “O My people! Those who lead you  cause you to err, and destroy [confuse] the way of your paths” (Isaiah 3:12),  and “The leaders of this people cause them to err, and those who are led by  them are destroyed” (Isaiah 9:16). Isaiah also warned, “Woe to those who call  evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). Jeremiah warned the prosperous nation  of Judah, “Many rulers have destroyed My vineyard” (Jeremiah 12:10). He also  warns in Jeremiah 22:13, “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness”  [scorning the laws of God—Psalm 119:172]. Jeremiah thundered against the  misguided leaders of Israel and Judah “who try to make My people forget My  name… and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness” (cf.  Jeremiah 23:13, 25–27, 32).

Sadly, this has also happened in  America, Britain and other Anglo-Saxon countries over the last 50 years—during  the same years that have witnessed the dramatic decline of these once-admired  nations. Academic institutions that produce future leaders have been gradually  taken over by secular activists who promote anti-American ideas, denounce the  accomplishments of Western civilization and despise and undermine the biblical  moral values that once set their nations apart from the world. The college  radicals of the 1960s did not go away; many are now university administrators  and tenured professors promoting their radical Marxist-inspired ideas to new  generations across the Western world. This phenomenon has been recognized by  American and British writers alike; see Peter Hitchens’ The Abolition of Britain for a  solid account. It is no surprise that young people who have been programmed to  tolerate pornography and accept homosexuality and same-sex marriage as normal,  healthy alternative lifestyles will also support political candidates who  promote the same messages—in spite of the fact that these unbiblical behaviors  are decidedly not healthy or conducive to a healthy  society (see “Homosexuality: Some Neglected Concerns,” Journal of American Physicians & Surgeons, Fall  2005, pp. 80–82).

Sadly, many liberal theologians have  also bought into these same misguided ideas. It has been primarily the leaders  of liberal churches who have championed the acceptance of homosexuality, the  ordination of women and homosexual men, and the celebration of same-sex  marriages. The consequence of promoting and adopting these modern “progressive”  changes has often been acrimonious divisions of church congregations, and a  dramatic decline in membership in once-prominent mainline denominations. The  example of political leaders who say one thing and do something else, and  religious leaders who promote ideas that stand in conflict with the Scripture  that supposedly forms the basis for their creeds, has led to a decline in  respect for political and religious leaders across the Western world.

The Bible records the powerful  influence of leaders—good and bad—on their nations. Jeroboam, the first king of  the northern nation of Israel, had a powerful influence on the nation and every  king after him. He turned away from God, adopted pagan ways and then led the  nation in following his example—permanently! The Bible records that Jeroboam  “sinned and who made Israel sin” (1 Kings 12:28–33; 14:16; 2 Kings 17:20–21).  Misguided kings of Judah also turned that nation away from God. In spite of  reform efforts by kings like Asa, Hezekiah and Josiah, both nations ultimately  went into captivity because they  followed leaders who turned away from God and His ways.

These Old Testament accounts are not  ancient history that we can afford to forget; they are lessons of history  recorded for our admonition today (1 Corinthians 10:11). Moses informed the  Israelites when they came out of Egypt that if they obeyed God they would be  blessed, “but if you do not obey Me… and if you despise My statutes… I will  break the pride of your power” (Leviticus 26:14–19). Jeremiah warned the  Israelites “you have forsaken the Lord  your God… your own wickedness will correct you” (Jeremiah 2:19–20), and again,  “Because they have forsaken My law… I will scatter them also among the  Gentiles” (Jeremiah 9:13–16). Hosea records that because Israel has “forgotten  his Maker” and considered the laws of God “a strange thing” they “sow the wind”  and will “reap the whirlwind” and go into captivity among Gentile nations  (Hosea 8:7–14). These traumatic events happened to the ancient nations of Israel  and Judah, because they followed misguided leaders who “caused them to err” and  turn away from God and His ways. Tragically, the Anglo-Saxon peoples, oblivious  to the lessons of their own history, are doing the same thing today. Unless  they repent and turn to God, the same fate awaits these modern Israelites in  the not-too-distant future!