“Over half a century ago, while I was still a child,
I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the
great disasters that had befallen Russia:
“Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.”
Since then I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution;
in the process, I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies,
and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away
the rubble left by that upheaval.
But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous
revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people,
I could not put it more accurately than to repeat:
“Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.”
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
((a sheep gazes out over the Atlantic among the cliffs of County Donegal / Julie Cook / 2015)
When I think of what makes a revolution just that, a revolution,
I often think in terms of those heady days of yon when people were drunk with the
notion of upheaval and change.
Heads often literally rolled, blood was certainly shed as revolutionaries and “the people”
held up clenched fists in solidarity.
Revolution was the upsetting of the proverbial apple cart to the status quo and the deliberate
culling of the old guard.
“Power to the people” was boldly shouted over the din of clashing swords and
the volley of gunfire.
And so when I read the following quote by the Irish prime minister regarding the recent
vote to lift the ban on abortion in Ireland,
I was left wondering who were to be the ultimate victims of this particular “revolution”…
Because if anyone knows their history, there are always victims of a revolution…
many of whom are merely the innocent caught in the crossfire of man’s folly while the
revolutionaries disregard such losses as expendable,
the mere price to be paid for the revolution.
“The Irish prime minister has hailed his country’s “quiet revolution”
as early results point to a “resounding” vote for overturning the abortion ban.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44265492
I think we all know who the victims of this revolution will be…
Those who yet have a voice to speak…
“. . . we are facing an enormous and dramatic clash between good and evil, death and life,
the “culture of death” and the “culture of life”.
We find ourselves not only faced with but necessarily in the midst of this conflict:
we are all involved and we all share in it,
with the inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life.”
Pope John Paul II
(Evangelium Vitae)
cookiecrumbstoliveby 
I guess the US can be blamed for its contribution to the lack of value for human life. How long have we held to abortion rights? When a nation places itself in a position of deciding who has the right to life and who doesn’t, they’re trying to take God’s place. Unfortunately America is lacking the integrity she once maintained. Apparently the rest of the world is following suit.
This entire world seems to have forgotten God, but the US has taken it a half-step farther when we outlawed all outward signs of God in public places. No visible manger scene at Christmas? My belief that this is a country where we have freedom of religion is that it also includes Christianity and that belief is becoming shattered a bit more each year. I have the unfortunate distinction of having lived thru the days when this country outlawed God, mainly based on the preference of one person, an atheist, who didn’t want her son to have to pray in school.
When we made abortion legal, based on each woman’s right to have control over her own body, everyone seemed to overlook the fact that she is not killing herself or her own body, but that of an innocent baby who never asked to be put in this situation! This is doubly horrible to me because of the many women I know who want babies and are unable to have them. People wonder about the terrible things going on in this country — school shootings being among the worst of them. Here in my town the teachers, against most of their better judgement, are being trained to shoot back by the police departments. To me this is a guaranteed recipe for disaster! Just because you know how to shoot a gun is not a guarantee that you will use one wisely, especially in a school situation where panic will already be ruling the day. But until more people turn back to God this is the reality of the world we occupy now
You are so right Angie!!!
I was working in Ireland last week Julie and returned home the day before the referendum. There were posters everywhere encouraging people to vote either yes or no. On every lamppost in places. Strange how the so-called liberal elite have welcomed this referendum result with joy while continuing to demand a re-run of the Brexit referendum, which didn’t go their way. The scenes of jubilation in Dublin after the referendum result were quite astonishing. An entire generation appears to have lost its mind. Celebrating over the possibility of killing an unborn child in the womb? Really?
It makes me absolutely sick David— it’s as if they have really no idea what they’ve done
In response to your headline…It’s just a sad day when men and women have forgotten God and the value of life. 😦 Love you, dear Julie!
P.S. I owe you an email. Thank you for your patience. It has been a hectic few weeks.
❤ ❤