The Consequences of Individualism VS Collectivism

As I was reading this morning I came across this statement from William F. Buckley Jr. (found in his book "God & Man at Yale"). He said: "I myself believe that the duel between Christianity and atheism is the most important in the world. I further believe that the struggle between individualism and collectivism is the same struggle reproduced on another level" (italics mine). Think about that a minute- if Buckley is correct- and I tend to heartily agree with him- then we can make a direct correlation between the advancement of atheistic belief and the advance of socialistic thought and agendas in our society today. (Collectivism is the basis for socialism).

Conversely, the advancement of Christianity promotes individualism. That is the basis for our free enterprise system, or capitalism. So why are so many people so resistant to indiviualism today? I believe that answer accountability- not to man but to God. To accept the premise that there is a God, and a God who is active in this creation- to say He loves and cares for us- is to have to accept responsibility or accountability to that God for our actions, our lives. If we accept the premise of God we realize we have a moral responsibility in the way we conduct our lives. Immorality becomes wrong, becomes sin. Things like "sex week"- first started on Yale's campus but now spread across major campuses today- are practices in immorality. Adultery, pornography, spousal/child abuse, domestic violence, homosexuality, et al- all cry out for moral resposibility. And yet our society today is more likely to accept the sin than the accountability. Why?

 Because we've turned from God. The mindset is now "No God, no guilt". Many of us have turned from God to try and assauge our consciences, to try and allieviate our guilt. The guilt remains, mind you- it's just buried- stuffed down by our rebellious nature. But one day it will again surface and we will be forced to deal with it again. In the Bible there's the story of David, king of Israel, and his affair with Bathsheba. We read his words in the Psalms, as he dealt with the guilt. He says that as he kept silent (pushed down and buried the adultery, et al.) his spirit withered like in the summer heat but when he confessed his sin (ie. accepted the responsibility of his actions) his burden was lifted and God removed the guilt of his sin. You see, our accountability doesn't "allow" God to forgive our sins- indeed, our sins are already forgiven, for Jesus paid that price on the cross- but it does allow him to relieve the guilt of our sins. He clears our conscience of guilt and we are freed to live and grow in a moral and responsible manner. We accept responsibility and grow as indiviuals, when we deny or reject responsibility we seek solace in groups... Individualism vs collectivism, capitalism vs socialism- the choices are ours, but it boils down to God vs atheism. In what direction do we want to lead our country for our children, our grandchildren?
Food for thought...