Brother Mike,
I think you have it wrong that only U.S. is almost dead. In fact, the entire world is.
I have read all sorts of materials showing how corrupt the world is. Including Christian Churches - for example adopting (whether knowingly or not, that’s another question) pagan symbols, including the cult of the sun. So no surprise that heliocentrism was conceived and encouraged by figures such as Giordano Bruno, who was nothing more than a witch - check his writings.
Also, other parts of today’s “science” come not from scientists (as we are taught in schools) but from people that had nothing to do with science. For example, the nebular hypothesis (how the planets in our solar system formed) comes a fellow who thought he had psychic powers and thus talked to people on Saturn and Jupiter and they confirmed his hypothesis (solar flares cooling down and eventually forming a planet). And today we learn that nonsense in schools, as science.
But I won’t discuss further the sun worship, since I know many participants here are either Catholics or Orthodox, and I don’t want to offend them. However I do want to state this: if Catholics believe that they are the true Christian Church and the others are not, they are mistaken. And if the Orthodox believe that, they are also mistaken. And if the Protestants believe that, they too are mistaken - severely. None of the formal Churches is truly Christ’s Church. It cannot be. Why? Because if there is one thing we can claim for certain about people is that they make mistake. All of them, all of us. Thus, any assembly of us (including a Church) can only make mistakes too. To believe otherwise is a logical fallacy.
In my view, Christ’s Church can only be seen by God: it’s the sum of individuals (regardless of denomination) who battle with their hearts. Not those that take pride in following a ritual or another, or in not having rituals.
So let’s instead talk about things that we all can talk about.
I will make this claim, and it’s a serious claim: nothing in this world is what it seems.
For example, our money. Indeed, is our money money? Or is it only the illusion of the real money? Since Lysander showed his support for the Austrian school of economics, I am waiting for his intervention before taking this one deeper.
How about the universe? The formal universe? Is it real, or is it an illusion? Well, by now I think you already know my opinion. And in general, if the world is away from God, then so are its paradigms. Therefore, logically, by this alone, none of the formal paradigms (including biological evolution) can be true. Because truth only belongs to God - and the world excludes God when postulating its paradigms.
How about the world’s values? Are they really values or not? Let’s see. Guess what one that has 10 Mercedes in his garages wants? Yep, another Mercedes. And what exactly would want one that has 100 pairs of shoes? Yep, another pair. How about one that has 10 academic titles? Yep, another title.
So indeed, no matter how many things of this world we have, we are never satisfied. Because those things cannot bring satisfaction. Moreover, they are only illusion of wealth. If when having 10 Mercs you can’t claim you’re wealthy, how could possibly another Merc change that situation?
I personally know somebody who has millions of Euros. He has 2 Mercs (both customized by Brabus, so that’s much more than a Mercedes), and he cannot sleep because he’s negotiating with Brabus a new car. Yep, another Merc. And guess what he’ll want next year? (he already changed 5 Mercs so far)
He also can’t sleep because he doesn’t know where to keep his money. What bank, what currency. Whenever the bank calls him he shudders in his chair. He makes call after call, he watches financial TV shows, and so on. All in the fear of losing his money. And whenever we meet he’s concerned about only one thing: how to make more money. And when he’ll have another million added, guess what exactly would he want next? Yep, a further million. And so on. It never ends.
Now you tell me: does he have that money, or does that money have him?
Ironically, there’s one thing that in the late months has taken my attention: money. So, am I any different? [I’m trying to write a book defending a literal Bible (the YEC view) both Biblically and scientifically - and I have no money to do it.]