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Is Europe facing civilizational erasure?

mindlight

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The new American national security review suggests Europe needs strengthening. Is Europe facing civilizational erasure? Is American policy good for Europe or not?

The report points to various weaknesses and issues to work with:

1) A declining share of global GNP - 25 --> 14% since 1990
2) Problematic cultural and civilization erosion - activities of the European Union and other transnational bodies that undermine political liberty and sovereignty, migration policies that are transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence.
3) Despite possessing a greater hard power than Russia in every category but nukes Europe lacks self- confidence.

The policy of the USA should therefore be:

Our broad policy for Europe should prioritize:
• Reestablishing conditions of stability within Europe and strategic stability with Russia;
• Enabling Europe to stand on its own feet and operate as a group of aligned sovereign nations, including by taking primary responsibility for its own defense, without being dominated by any adversarial power;
• Cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations;
• Opening European markets to U.S. goods and services and ensuring fair treatment of U.S. workers and businesses;
• Building up the healthy nations of Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe through commercial ties, weapons sales, political collaboration, and cultural and educational exchanges;
• Ending the perception, and preventing the reality, of NATO as a perpetually expanding alliance; and
• Encouraging Europe to take action to combat mercantilist overcapacity, technological theft, cyber espionage, and other hostile economic practices.

 

Richard T

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The new American national security review suggests Europe needs strengthening. Is Europe facing civilizational erasure? Is American policy good for Europe or not?

The report points to various weaknesses and issues to work with:

1) A declining share of global GNP - 25 --> 14% since 1990
2) Problematic cultural and civilization erosion - activities of the European Union and other transnational bodies that undermine political liberty and sovereignty, migration policies that are transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition, cratering birthrates, and loss of national identities and self-confidence.
3) Despite possessing a greater hard power than Russia in every category but nukes Europe lacks self- confidence.

The policy of the USA should therefore be:

Our broad policy for Europe should prioritize:
• Reestablishing conditions of stability within Europe and strategic stability with Russia;
• Enabling Europe to stand on its own feet and operate as a group of aligned sovereign nations, including by taking primary responsibility for its own defense, without being dominated by any adversarial power;
• Cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations;
• Opening European markets to U.S. goods and services and ensuring fair treatment of U.S. workers and businesses;
• Building up the healthy nations of Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe through commercial ties, weapons sales, political collaboration, and cultural and educational exchanges;
• Ending the perception, and preventing the reality, of NATO as a perpetually expanding alliance; and
• Encouraging Europe to take action to combat mercantilist overcapacity, technological theft, cyber espionage, and other hostile economic practices.

Sounds sort of anti-federalist. If individual nations want to give up their sovereignty to a regional body the only reason to care is that as a group they are far more powerful. The USA 13 colonies did just that. But weakness 2 seems to contradict some of the broad policies that suggest working together. Wonder what "Cultivating resistance entails?"

Sounds like talk from S. Africa before they gave up apartheid. Does Trump really just want the EU to be whiter? I call this the last gasp of white hegemony. Lets all consolidate the whites for a longer lasting leadership?
 
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mindlight

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Am I the only one who sees the hypocrisy of the right in the US throwing its toys out of the pram over "foreign interference in US politics" while Corporal Maybelline shills for AfD, Reform etc?

Personally while I have a lot of sympathy for many in the AFD and Reform I do not think they are the engines for any kind of revival in Europe. In fact these guys seem a little unhinged and delusional to me. They are empowered by a system whose control and legitimacy is breaking down but they do not really suggest a viable alternative as things stand.

Essentially Europe's problem is not a political problem it is a spiritual one. Western civilization and its success was built on Christian presuppositions and a broadly Christian culture that respected property, honesty over corruption, moral behavior over immoral and cultivated a desire for excellence and stewardship as if one were serving the Lord. Migration is not so much the cause of this decline in European influence as the crisis of self-confidence in the European Christian church and the successful caging of religious passion in individualistic bubbles while the broad community continues on a downward spiral or subscribes to false religions like Islam which have never been a good economic model for generating new wealth. The social democratic system, especially in Germany is deeply Christian, balancing the material concerns of generating wealth and its distribution to benefit the whole of society. But since its establishment the reason for its success has been mislaid. The spirituality of blessing is something alien to most Europeans today, they neither ask for it nor understand its value. As a result they substitute a relationship with God for moral relativism, Christian character for toxic pagan examples gleaned from Netflix and positive relationships with each other for lives locked in a culture of private entertainment and the pursuit of comfort. There is a deep spiritual crisis in Europe and a mental health crisis that is a symptom of this. The basic problem is not about material well being but I believe we would grow faster is we could get back to basics. We are already reasonably wealthy, have been for a long time, and wealth is far better distributed than in the USA. Our public goods of education. health care and welfare are generally superior to those of North America but despite our size we are the wimp in the playground being bullied by a Russian midget less than a quarter of our size.

We need to restore our militaries and our spirituality is the essential lesson here.
 
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Sounds sort of anti-federalist. If individual nations want to give up their sovereignty to a regional body the only reason to care is that as a group they are far more powerful. The USA 13 colonies did just that. But weakness 2 seems to contradict some of the broad policies that suggest working together. Wonder what "Cultivating resistance entails?"

Sounds like talk from S. Africa before they gave up apartheid. Does Trump really just want the EU to be whiter? I call this the last gasp of white hegemony. Lets all consolidate the whites for a longer lasting leadership?

Yes both Putin and Trump agree on breaking up the EU. There is an opportunistic streak in both leaders here. Putin has a territorial divide and conquer ambition and Trump wants the greater leverage of trading with smaller nation states rather than Europe as a block, also he rightly sees a problem in the wokist, godless cultures of European elites and in the basic strategic foolishness that led to an overdependence on Russian raw materials and Chinese trade. We should neither be naive about Americas intent here nor make a big thing of opposing it. Rather they can be helpful allies in driving much needed reforms before it is too late for us.

Trump basically believes that the old Christian European and American models worked better than the multikulti ones employed today in Europe. In part that is an unwelcome recall of the memory of a different kind of Europe where racism held sway. But so also it is a commentary on current realities like the breakdowns of: cultural unity, true spirituality and religion. The current weakness of Europe on the world stage is spiritual rather than to do with our wealth or even military power which remains substantial albeit in need of an overhaul. Recovering our self-confidence is not about reasserting white imperial domination, that is gone forever. It is rather about finding a new Christian identity that can work with a different kind of world where we longer dominate but must compete both to survive and also to promote the values many of us have forgotten, or no longer care for.
 
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Richard T

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Yes both Putin and Trump agree on breaking up the EU. There is an opportunistic streak in both leaders here. Putin has a territorial divide and conquer ambition and Trump wants the greater leverage of trading with smaller nation states rather than Europe as a block, also he rightly sees a problem in the wokist, godless cultures of European elites and in the basic strategic foolishness that led to an overdependence on Russian raw materials and Chinese trade. We should neither be naive about Americas intent here nor make a big thing of opposing it. Rather they can be helpful allies in driving much needed reforms before it is too late for us.

Trump basically believes that the old Christian European and American models worked better than the multikulti ones employed today in Europe. In part that is an unwelcome recall of the memory of a different kind of Europe where racism held sway. But so also it is a commentary on current realities like the breakdowns of: cultural unity, true spirituality and religion. The current weakness of Europe on the world stage is spiritual rather than to do with our wealth or even military power which remains substantial albeit in need of an overhaul. Recovering our self-confidence is not about reasserting white imperial domination, that is gone forever. It is rather about finding a new Christian identity that can work with a different kind of world where we longer dominate but must compete both to survive and also to promote the values many of us have forgotten, or no longer care for.

Supporting jumped up nobody Tommy Robinson maybe? One has to wonder whether Putin really has something on Trump.

Kremlin hails Trump’s national security strategy as aligned with Russia’s vision
If so, I do hope it comes to light earlier rather than later.
 
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Akita Suggagaki

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mindlight

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Don’t be silly.
I am not an atheist and shallow and broken spirituality is the root cause of Europe's problems. We are materially rich but hollow shells because of the crisis of faith that has emptied out the heart of Europe and denuded it of all power.
 
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Larniavc

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I am not an atheist and shallow and broken spirituality is the root cause of Europe's problems. We are materially rich but hollow shells because of the crisis of faith that has emptied out the heart of Europe and denuded it of all power.
Which problems are these? I live in the UK and I don’t see anything different. Exactly what problems are you referring to?
 
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mindlight

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Which problems are these? I live in the UK and I don’t see anything different. Exactly what problems are you referring to?
Materialistic reductionism, moral relativism and egoism
 
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Nithavela

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Your constant refrain of saying that western civilisation wouldn't collapse if everyone just prayed at the altar of your religion reminds me of confucianism and it's attempt to prop up a failing societal order by demanding everyone follows the same rituals surrounding that order.
 
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High Fidelity

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We are literally being invaded and replaced by Muslims.

People can scoff all they want at that notion, but all they're doing is watering the tree we'll be hung from.

Stupidly, the UK government is removing the two-child benefit cap which almost exclusively only benefits Muslim families.

Unmitigated migration from African and Muslim countries is decimating any remaining semblance of national identity, and they're bringing over beliefs completely contrary to our own.

I'm beyond caring about being called racist now. I think there's a misconception that racism is a position of ignorance, but I think at this point it's the opposite; we see them, we see what they're about, we see the problems they bring, we see how they think of us, and we do not like it or want them here.

It's no surprise countries are skewing further and further right. If this goes on for another decade there will be civil wars.
 
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Nithavela

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It's no surprise countries are skewing further and further right. If this goes on for another decade there will be civil wars.
That's the ultimate argument of the right, isn't it? If I had a penny for every time a right wing person threatened civil war if societal trends aren't reversed to his liking, I'd be a very rich man.
 
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High Fidelity

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That's the ultimate argument of the right, isn't it? If I had a penny for every time a right wing person threatened civil war if societal trends aren't reversed to his liking, I'd be a very rich man.

Well I'm lieu of a penny you'll have to settle for 'cultural enrichment' instead.

Aren't you German? Didn't they foil the Muslim Christmas tradition of attacking a Christmas market again this year already?
 
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Can you explain why these are problems?

The loss of a sacred worldview has led to a Materialistic reductionism. This represents a loss of transcendence, meaning and a disenchanted world that is hardly worth living in. It is basically saying that the spiritual is not real and only the material matters. It prioritizes personal comfort over sacrifice and suffering for a good cause. People stopped asking ultimate questions because daily life stopped demanding them. The problem here is that it is delusional. We need meaning for matter to matter. Being made in Gods image gives us a dignity that transcends the day to day and a reason to fight for things that are important when circumstances are against us. Only a vibrant spiritual church can truly transform and heal the world. Materialistic reductionism is a worldview that is slowly hollowing out the soul.

Moral Relativism is a symptom of unbelief and breeds confusion and brain rot at the deepest level. How can we trust when there is no understanding of objective truth anymore. How can we be held to account when there is no agreed higher standard. How can we be saved when we no longer believe we are sinners in the eyes of God and in need of the redemption that He offers us. Moral relativism turns disagreements into power struggles and divides us in camps and isolated bubbles of delusional stupidity. Without objective moral truth, grace itself becomes unintelligible

Egoism is a separating force that destroys families, communities and the fabric of European society. The bible is clear that we need to live lives of sacrifice and self denial to experience true freedom. Finite, imperfect mortals do not compare to God and only He is a fitting object of worship. Communities are not nice to have hobby or support groups they depend on our giving and our love to make them thrive. We find ourselves in our promises and in our service to others and God rather than in self-promotion and service of ourselves.

Europe has been a long time getting to this point. Some trace the roots of its current efforts at spiritual suicide to the Reformation and the division that brought. We went secular as a way of avoiding the religious wars. But I would go further back to the negative developments within Catholicism that necessitated that split in the first place. However we got here something needs to change and we need to get back to basics. The church is not the state/empire, God sees through hypocrisy, we have a dignity that is greater than the world is telling us we have, the true church is now the counter culture not the mainstream, everyone can be saved even Muslims, Atheists and Agnostics. We have the only message of true hope, true love and true life out there but people are being blocked from hearing by centuries of baggage and stupidity. We need to lose th e baggage and get back to basics. Europe's need and its spiritual poverty has not been so dire for more than a thousand years

 
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