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No other religion or philosophy had ever
embodied an idea remotely resembling agape love. Although
continually opposed in open conflict, it wormed its way in and influenced
all cultures and religions. The world itself became a safer and more
pleasant place in which to live. The fundamental idea of agape
penetrated far beyond the confines of the Christian church itself, and
became the secret source of stability and hope for the human race.
Yet strangely enough, agape met
its most determined, yet subtle, opposition within the post-apostolic
church itself. Medieval Christianity adulterated and distorted it so badly
that it was difficult during the Dark Ages to recognize anything in the
Catholic Church that was authentically Christian. Nevertheless, the idea
of agape somehow survived and enjoyed a partial restoration in the
Protestant Reformation. For all the evil that still remained in the world,
including American slavery, this divine love continued to impart some
moral stability and dignity to human life.
But Christ foresaw our time as a
predominantly post-Christian culture when He said, “Because of
the increase of wickedness, the love [agape] of most will grow
cold” (Matthew 24: 12). Christ’s word wickedness (anomia
in Greek) literally means lawlessness in the sense of rebellion against
the holy law of God. It is a lighthearted irreverence for God’s will, an
open avowal of selfishness, an arrogant flaunting of ultimate judgment.
This anomia shows up today in our
insensitivity to sexual infidelity, materialist greed, sensuality, and
even crime. Where once such things aroused public outrage and righteous
indignation, today we have an open tolerance to what was once abhorred as
destructive of human life.
Christ Said That Conditions in Our Day
Would Rival Those of Noah’s Day Before the Flood
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