Why you should become a Bible-believing anarchist
who also believes the universe was created around 4004 B.C.
The "classical" era was terrible time in human history. But atheists applaud it because it was a time of Autonomy, not Theonomy.
When Rome fell, c. 467 A.D., the great church father Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, was saddened by the fall of Rome, because he saw greatness in the Roman Empire. The lowly Presbyter Salvian, in contrast, rejoiced at the fall of Rome, because he saw Rome in terms of immorality and corruption, and "greatness" in such a society only increases the guilt. Nazi Germany was "great" because it was powerful, but this only made their sins more vast. Augustine got it right when he said there was a choice between "The City of God" and the city of man. Rushdoony called the city of man "The Society of Satan."Many conservative "influencers" today say that "Western Civilization" is the combination of "Jerusalem and Athens." Your trip through time would disprove that. "Jerusalem" -- God's Word (Micah 4:1-7) -- is civilization; "Athens" -- Man's word -- is chaos and tyranny. This is not to claim that an individual human being created in the image of God but who suppresses his knowledge of God and professes atheistic evolution rather than creation cannot produce any thought of value; the question is one of logical consistency, and consistency with what authority.
At this point in time, do you believe the creation account in Genesis, or the speculations of Egypt, Babylon, the Greeks, or the Romans?
Thinker / Culture Theology Theonomy vs. Autonomy Cosmogony Politics Rome (Republic & Empire, c. 500 BC-476 AD) Polytheist — adopted and renamed Greek gods, added emperor worship. The state cult fused religion and politics. YHWH rejected except by persecuted minorities (Jews, Christians). Autonomy — Roman law was revered as supreme, grounded in human authority. Revelation had no place; philosophers (Stoics, Cicero) treated reason/natural law as ultimate. Borrowed Greek cosmogonies: eternal cycles, gods from chaos, Stoic doctrines of cosmic fire. No creation ex nihilo or biblical Creator-creature distinction. The state itself was godlike. The Senate and people of Rome (SPQR) claimed divine sanction. Emperors were hailed as “lord and god.” Rome demanded monopoly on violence — taxation, slavery, conquest, crucifixion — enforcing political religion by force.
✦ Notes
Theology: Rome was religiously syncretic, absorbing Greek pantheon, Eastern cults, and emperor worship. The Pax Deorum (“peace of the gods”) meant state prosperity depended on honoring the pantheon.
Theonomy vs. Autonomy: The Roman ideal was human law as divine — lex was the highest standard, even above gods. Cicero’s “natural law” was an appeal to reason, not revelation. Christianity was persecuted because it claimed a higher divine law.
Cosmogony: Romans imported Greek speculation. Stoics taught periodic conflagrations and rebirths of the cosmos. Epicureans (like Lucretius) denied divine order. Genesis was utterly foreign.
Politics: Rome was the ultimate “City of Man.” The state was worshiped, and the emperor cult shows the fusion of politics and theology. Violence and conquest were sacralized; “Caesar is Lord” was the political creed, directly opposed to “Jesus is Lord.”
✅ This gives you all the major “Newtonian kingdoms” (Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medes, Persians, Greeks, Romans) — each showing polytheism, autonomy, mythic cosmogony, and statist idolatry in contrast to biblical theonomy.