The Course of Empire

Portrait of Thomas Cole

1838

Oil on Canvas

Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA.

Okay folks, time for a history and art lesson.

These are the Course of Empire Paintings by Thomas Cole painted between 1835 to 1836. They are done just prior to the American Civil War. The series of paintings depicts the growth and fall of a city (thereby a civilization). The valley is distinctly identifiable in each of the paintings, in part because of an unusual landmark: A large boulder is situated atop a crag overlooking the valley. It is believed this is meant to contrast the immutability of the God and the His creation the Earth with the transience of man and empire. The series comprises the following works:

i. The Savage State
ii. The Arcadian or Pastoral State
iii. The Consummation of Empire
iv. Destruction
v. Desolation

Look closely at the 4th painting: Destruction. It is reflective of the United States in 2020. One would be wise to be cautious of the omens it portends. The beheaded statues. The burning buildings. The riots. This isn't just art. It is history. The five phases of empire. The rise and inexorable fall of empires. They all fall. The United States will be no different. It should alarm us all that we are in the latter stages of image 4. Destruction.

A direct source of literary inspiration for The Course of Empire paintings is Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812–18). Cole quoted lines from Canto IV in his newspaper advertisements for the series:

"First Freedom, and then Glory – when that fails, wealth, vice, corruption..."

i. The Savage State

The first painting, The Savage State, shows the valley from the shore opposite the crag, in the dim light of a dawning stormy day. Clouds and mist shroud the distant landscape, hinting at the uncertain future. A hunter clad in skins hastens through the wilderness, pursuing a fleeing deer; canoes paddle up the river; on the far shore can be seen a clearing with a cluster of tipis around a fire, the nucleus of the city that is to be. This painting depicts the ideal state of the natural world. It is a healthy world, unchanged by humanity.

ii. The Arcadian or Pastoral State

In the second painting, The Arcadian or Pastoral State, the sky has cleared and we are in the fresh morning of a summer day. The viewpoint shifted further down the river, as the crag with the boulder is now on the left-hand side of the painting; a forked peak can be seen in the distance beyond it. Much of the wilderness has given way to settled, plowed fields visible. There is activity…plowing, boat-building, herding sheep, dancing; in the foreground, an old man sketches the ground with a stick. On a bluff a temple has been built and smoke presumably from sacrifices arises from it. Thereby culture, societal moral structure (law) is evident. The images reflect an idealized, pre-urban ancient city. There is a armed soldier in the foreground appearing out of the shrubs. In this work shows humanity at peace with the land. The environment has been altered, but not so much so that it or its inhabitants are in danger. Yet the construction of the warship and the concerned mother watching as her child sketches a soldier, herald the emerging imperialism.

iii. The Consummation of Empire

The third painting, The Consummation of Empire, shifts the viewpoint to the opposite shore, approximately the site of the clearing in the first painting. It is noon of a glorious summer day. Both sides of the river valley are now covered in colonnaded marble structures, whose steps run down into the water. The megalithic temple seems to have been transformed into a huge domed structure dominating the river-bank. The mouth of the river is guarded by two pharoi, and ships with lateen sails go out to the sea beyond. A joyous crowd gathers on the balconies and terraces as a scarlet-robed king or victorious general crosses a bridge connecting the two sides of the river in a triumphant procession. In the foreground, an elaborate fountain gushes forth water. The look of the painting suggests the height of civilization. The decadence seen in every detail of this cityscape foreshadows the inevitable fall of this mighty civilization.

iv. Destruction

The fourth painting, Destruction, has almost the same perspective as the third, though the artist has stepped back and moved almost to the center of the river. The action is the destruction of the city, in the course of a tempest seen in the distance. It seems that a fleet of enemy has overthrown the city's defenses, sailed up the river, and is busy ransacking the city and killing its inhabitants and raping women. The bridge across which the triumphant procession had crossed is broken; a makeshift crossing strains under the weight of soldiers and refugees. Columns are broken, and fire breaks from the upper floors of a palace on the river bank. In the foreground a statue of some venerable hero (posed as a Borghese Gladiator) stands headless, still striding forward into the doomed future. In the waning light of late afternoon, the dead lie where they fell, in fountains and atop the monuments built to celebrate the affluence of the now falling civilization. The scene is perhaps suggested by the Vandal sack of Rome in 455. Vandals from which we get the word vandalism. Ironically, in the lower right of "The Consummation of Empire" shows two children, perhaps brothers, fighting, they are different colors—the banners of the two contending forces in "Destruction," likely depict an internal war…a civil war. The children, now men, are shown, with one having finally prevailed over the other but seemingly in contemplation of the heavy price paid. Death, destruction and the fall of empire.

v. Desolation

The fifth painting, Desolation, shows the results decades later. We view the remains of the city in the livid light of a dying day. The landscape has begun to return to wilderness and no humans are to be seen; but the remnants of their architecture emerge from beneath a mantle of trees, ivy, and other overgrowth. The broken stumps of the pharoi loom in the background. The arches of the shattered bridge and the columns of the temple are still visible; a single column looms in the foreground, now a nesting place for birds. The sunrise of the first painting is mirrored here by a moonrise, a pale light reflecting in the ruin-choked river while the standing pillar reflects the last rays of sunset. This gloomy picture suggests how all empires fall. It is the constant harsh future in which humanity has been destroyed by its own hand.

Devil In The Darkness: Don't Believe Just Your Eyes

I admit that I’ve struggled a lot with what I’ve seen in the Church or what refers to itself as the Church. Like many outside the faith I see the hypocrisy more intimately than they do because I have been in it. I understand people are flawed and by default the church as a body is also. I believe this is because we all swing wide of Christ and miss the mark. It’s sin. To justify the error in behavior is not what we were called to do. We are called to address it. Remove it from our lives. So, when I am attacked for posting what to me is an OBVIOUS flaw in the body of Christ...you’ll understand my incredulity. 

As is my nature, I address it. I think critically about it. I reason though it based on logic and Scripture. Just as Paul did at the Areopagus (Mars Hill) in Acts 17:2. I arrive at conclusions and then I explain myself in writing. I write it because if there is an error in my thinking it helps me quickly zero in on that error. Nothing jumps out quite like an obvious mistake in writing. I wish more would do it instead of spouting off uncritical thoughts and stupidity in and out of my faith. I believe this is a HUGE reason why society is where it is at right now.

So last week I made a comment about Christian being inordinately affected by Pareidolia. Often not in a good way either. I stand by my comment. In layman’s terms Pareidolia is essentially seeing images in inanimate objects. Particularly religious imagery. Jesus, Satan, Mary, Elvis, etc. It is used as a Get-Out-Of-Jail free card to bad behavior or even a justification for sin. What’s worse is that they impose images of Christ in everything from toast to tree knots. It is more an issue of a lack of faith than a reaffirmation of it. Hebrews 11:1 says faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Not the other way around. Seeing Jesus in every physical object is more a crutch than a belief. 

God gave is His word and the Creation itself is enough evidence in the things created complexity and beauty to bare witness to His existence. We needn’t see Jesus’ face in burnt toast. On the flip side some see the working of the Devil in all of their bad behavior thereby making it not their fault. That is called blame-shifting. What’s worse is you shifting it to a perceived encroachment of evil in everything. Sorry folks. That’s nonsense. One, the Devil isn’t omnipresent and cannot be all places at once. Nor can his foot soldiers. Assuming you’re being plagued by Satan at every turn is pure hubris and arrogance. You’re not that important to warrant that type of attention. No, more than likely 99% of the time the ills that plague you are the product of your own sin and stupidity. Sometimes folks….you just need to own you own junk.

The author C. S. Lewis once said that the principal reason he believed people did this is because people are wired to believe it and impose that religiosity though process on other things. The imagery isn’t necessarily on the object but merely the projection from the believer’s mind. Religious people that want to have a crutch an don’t hold themselves responsible for their own behavior will create complex denial and then project on to it. The Devil hiding in the shadows. In reality it is most often the sin in the believer. Thereby inferring mental phenomena into physical and then looking for reassurances for what they see by getting others to see the same thing. Thereby justifying in their minds that the sin or wrongs are not their fault. In short, they claim sin of omission when in reality it is quite literally sin of commission. They are just deceiving themselves. Looking for external validation for the denial they are practicing mentally.

Instead of relying on just themselves and their own mental capacity they should be reasoning from Scripture too. To avoid this obvious pitfall in human nature C.S. Lewis chose to do the very thing I told you I do in the first paragraph. I reason with logic WITH SCRIPTURE. Scripture being the touchstone or cornerstone that allows me to make sure my thinking is straight and aligned. I wish others would do the same but the evidences I’ve seen inside and outside the church point me to the opposite conclusion.

So invariably I believe people choosing to practice Pareidolia and rely on it as guide to learning about the world absent of Scripture are in pure error and deceiving themselves. Instead regarding these ‘divine’ images as signs around every corner of God or Satan working in your life would probably be better off reading the Scripture and seeing where they fit into that Image. To see how close they conform to that. See if we conform to His image. Seek God’s image via the truth of Scripture, not in toast. Are all religious images in nature projections of our mind? Not all, but most likely are.

What does Scripture say?

End of An Empire: A Kingdom Divided Cannot Stand

I’ve been told I tend to be negative. I disagree. I am frank and honest. At times cutting and sarcastic. I demand more of people. Especially intellectually. What I hate and will not do is walk away without having reasoned though an idea logically or at least thought critically on something in as unbiased a way as possible. 

I don’t care that we don’t agree on something. I care that we fight having not understood.

I care that you haven’t thought thoroughly through the problem. I care if you are only acting on impulse, emotion, ignorance or all three. Lately I’ve actually been quite positive in light of all the uncertainty in the country. I am trying to dispel deception which leads to death(s).

We have weak politicians and they are sorely misguided. I believe most of this is because (1) We abandoned God, therefore a moral absolute and (2) We replaced Him and enshrined knowledge, scientific method and relative truths devoid of God. I’ve written about this often. Sadly, many politicians spend most of their time, money and efforts trying to undo each other and destroy one another’s lives to get re-elected. Rarely are they interested in fixing problems in their electoral districts. I believe all parties wish to keep hot-button issues in play because it keeps the Us vs. Them mentality in play. Racism, abortion, guns, sexuality, gender, etc. Thereby, they keep the polemic in play that keeps them in office. Instead of being unified we're literally in a constant state of internal war. We’ve empowered politicians and they have become worthless, race-baiting, immoral beasts. Because they are egocentric self-aggrandizing narcissists the issues remain like fixing race issues/providing equal justice to all as we have seen this week. Instead we get slanderous insults and political epithets flung like rhetorical grenades. We get George Floyd and the aftermath. We also get the ensuing protests that get hijacked by rioters and looters. Ever so slowly we decent deeper into chaos. Turning our back on light we run deeper into encroaching darkness. The waning twilight of empire.

All of that to say the following...which I've said multiple times before.

This is our own fault via our voted officials. The fall of empire is nearly always preceded by three key factors in Scripture and secular history. All of which you are currently seeing in play in society.

The empire incurs massive debts because of overspending on grandiose megalomaniac dreams. Currency becomes inflated/hyper-inflated and the base currencies become horribly devalued. People that normally would’ve been well-off begin to drift towards poverty. A lien is put against future earnings because that's what debt does to a nation. The empire's constituents by-and-large become enslaved to debt or indentured to said debt. The empire spends next year's money on things today and the cycle continues forward unabated. The gap between income and debt widens. The gap between rich and poor is insurmountable. Simultaneously, a political and fiscal aristocracy begins to rise. Not because of moral superiority but by chance and/or birthright. This then bleeds to the second factor.

The military and/or those within it, because they are becoming compensated less and worked harder, begin to either have divided loyalties or the military itself begins to draw on outside sources for defense internally and externally. When this begins to happen the resources begin to become stretched. Sovereign lines or borders of defense become overreaching. Combined with the fact that internal loyalties become dubious the borders of sovereignty become porous because they are so stretched and weakened. We literally begin to let the enemy right into our defensive ranks like a Trojan horse. The empire then becomes easy prey for predators because their attention is directed inward towards chaos and moral rot within. They are blind to the wolves/armies circling their camps, cities or empires. For Israel it was the Assyrians. For Judah it was the Babylonians. For Rome it was the barbarian hordes. In the end Rome even made alliances with the barbarians to protect their overstretched porous borders...but those barbarians had loyalties elsewhere. When the city of Rome fell, Jerome was known to have stated: 

"The city which had taken the whole world was itself taken."

The third is immorality. The nation falls into an anarchic immorality. It becomes self-absorbed, narcissistic and egocentric. Not anarchy in the purest sense but an immorality where people can no long think clearly. They're incapable of thinking morally because their minds are seared by corruption. We become sexually depraved. Things once thought too far beyond the pale become commonplace. Pretty much a nation of people where 'anything goes'. Because the citizens of that nation no longer apply themselves to a single form of order, law or morality…everyone begins to have their own. Right and wrong become a relative concept. Literally…anything goes. Order therefore begins to dissolve and chaos ensues. Anarchy. Compound this with no one to loyally defend the nations sovereignty and populous falling into poverty...the end will come quick.  

A kingdom divided cannot stand.

It happened to Rome. It happened to Greece, it happened to Israel and then Judah in the Old Testament. At some point we drift over the line of no return into oblivion and disappear from history. I fear we are at that chasm now and we are peering into the abyss for American Empire. If you don't think this could happen to the United States you do not understand history and you do not understand the inherent depravity of mankind. We may not get this chance again. The barbarians are at the gates and some have even gotten in through the cracks in the walls.