Oxford anthropologist J.D. Unwin studied 86 societies and civilizations to see why some collapse and others don't.
What did he find?
That sexual debauchery leads to the collapse of a civilization within 3 generations. (thread) 🧵
Unwin defined four categories of cultures. Each is differentiated in its pursuit of art, engineering, literature, agriculture, etc.
1. Dead - these cultures are only focused on the day-to-day needs of life. They don't care about higher questions and so do not progress.
2. Superstitious - these cultures develop beliefs that help them explain the natural world. This can be represented in the special treatment of the dead.
3. Deistic - characterized by belief in gods or a god. This requires more imagination and higher-order thinking
4. Rationalistic - characterized by rational thinking. This was the category with the most human flourishing.
Next, Unwin defined sexual ethics and restraint into two categories.
Unwin's two categories of sexual ethics and restraint:
- Prenuptial - this was measured on a scale from complete sexual freedom to "remain a virgin until married."
- Postnuptial - how easy is it to get a divorce? How many wives can a man have? How faithful are the women expected to be?
What did he find?
The single most influential factor in a civilization's longevity and success is prenuptial chastity.
If people were expected to remain virgins until marriage, the culture was more likely to have all of the markers of human flourishing.
They were more likely to be an "advanced" civilization.
What was the best combination, resulting in a culture that exceeds other cultures?
You probably won't be surprised.
Prenuptial chastity combined with absolute monogamy. Absolute monogamy means one spouse for life.
Why was prenuptial chastity the most important?
In cultures where virginity was no longer expected, within three generations, the following disappeared:
- absolute monogamy
- deism
- rational thinking
Without prenuptial chastity, people usually regress into the lowest "dead" category as they become interested only in their own wants and needs.
They become slaves to their appetites.
Cultures that have embraced total sexual freedom collapse within three generations.
They might limp along for a time, powered by some momentum, but eventually, they are conquered or taken over by another culture.
In the West, the sexual revolution started in the late 1960's. Three generations (~40 years each) from then would put us in the 2070s.
Are we on the way to collapse?
The evidence points to "yes."
You cannot have both sexual freedom and progress.
Unwin: "Any human society is free to choose either to display great energy or to enjoy sexual freedom; the evidence is that it cannot do both for more than one generation."
Sexual freedom unleashes all sorts of demons on a society.
Couple it with modern medicine, which basically baptizes sexual debauchery with antibiotics and abortion, and you have an acceleration of collapse.
Slaves are too busy having orgies to be truly productive.
It turns out that marriage is not just a private contract between two individuals.
It has ramifications for the entire community and culture.
How a society views and treats marriage determines whether or not it will keep things like indoor plumbing and modern dentistry.
What two (or more) people do together in the bedroom is not, indeed, a private matter.
Writ large, it has consequences for that entire civilization.
Likewise, porn is cultural cancer.
It rots the bones.
A healthy civilization, or one that wants to progress, will want to eradicate it or push it to the fringes of society. Porn leads to other debaucheries.
Looking at the current state of our culture, is there any hope to avoid collapse? It looks bleak.
Even recently, close to a pandemic, we've even people engaging in orgies and other risky sexual behavior, despite a new disease called monkeypox.
They really are slaves to their passions.
The good news: a culture can be turned around. Massive repentance can bear fruit.
But based on the data, it also takes three generations for improvements to start showing up.
Sexual ethics is a powerful rudder, but it is still a rudder on a huge, lumbering ship. Better start turning the wheel.
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Peter Jackson committed many sins against Tolkien. None worse than his butchery of Aragorn.
The books show us a KING who knows exactly who he is.
The films gave us a whimpering man questioning his birthright.
One commands respect. The other begs for validation. (thread) 🧵
Book Aragorn has no character arc.
This was intentional.
From the moment we meet Strider at the Prancing Pony to his coronation, he knows who he is.
The story gradually reveals his greatness to others, not to himself. Aragorn is a constant anchor for other characters to grasp.
When confronting the Riders of Rohan, book Aragorn declares: "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn, heir of Isildur, Elendil's son of Gondor. Here is the Sword that was Broken and is forged again!"
The riders bow in awe.
The film? A tired wanderer with nothing special to offer.
Join the gym. Plan a night with friends. Invite people over. Your wife is not your mom. If you always ask permission, you're asking her to be a husband.
Being considerate is not the same as asking permission.
2. Overshare
Don't gossip like a woman to your wife.
Don't vomit out your feelings at every opportunity.
Don't burden her with every little anxiety and fear. Don't make a habit of crying at the drop of a hat.
Ask for counsel. Ask for help. Don't ask for an emotional crutch.
3. Never make any decisions.
"I don't know. What do you want to do?"
Be decisive. Making the wrong decision is better than making no decision.
At least if you make the wrong one, you can correct it and try again.
11 truths every man must hear before he becomes a father.
1. You will let your children down.
You are not perfect. You will never "do the best you can."
It's not ok that you let them down, but it's inevitable. Repent, apologize, and do better. An example every child needs.
2. Your words are more powerful than you realize.
Your words have the power of life and death. They will live in your children's bones for their entire lives. How you speak to them will be how they speak to themselves.
Keep your promises. Control your temper. Measure each word.
3. Being a father is more amazing than you can possibly imagine.
It is a gift and a privilege and you can't understand it until you become one. Once you hold that baby, you will be changed forever.
Every child is like having a faucet of joy. Just turn it on whenever you want.
Disney's The Little Mermaid is a story about a father who is punished until he learns to give his spoiled, naive 16-year-old daughter everything she wants.
But the actual fairy tale is more interesting.
In the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, the youngest mermaid still has a desire to live a human life on the earth. What stirs this desire, however, are tales of church spires, sunsets, green hills, and more.
She does see a handsome prince, but her longing goes beyond infatuation.
What the mermaid really desires to an immortal soul that will live "forever, which goes on living after the body has become dust."
She wants to give up her 300 years of bliss for something greater. Eternal life.
Modern fatherhood has been corrupted by a noble-sounding lie that will destroy your family: Everyone is equal and you are obligated to treat everyone equally.
Your children have a claim on your time and resources that no other child has.
This isn't bigotry.
It's wisdom. 🧵
Your household is the ONE place your children should feel special. You are THEIR father and no one else's.
Society pushes you to flatten these relationships in the name of equality.
Reject this.
A wise man knows the hierarchy of obligation.
Yes, show hospitality.
Yes, give freely.
But if you rob time from your children to serve strangers 7 nights a week, they will resent you for it. Your reputation for good works and kindness means nothing if you lose your children's hearts in the process.
What if your words could shape your family 200 years from now?
What was this ancient vow that outlasted kingdoms?
The zeal which made people refuse wine from a prophet?
🧵
In Jeremiah 35, the prophet offers wine to a group called the Rechabites. They refuse, saying their ancestor Jonadab commanded them never to drink wine, build houses, or plant vineyards.
For two centuries, they kept these austere commands.
Not just the men—their wives and children, too. God specifically praised them for this loyalty to their forefather's wishes.
But who was this Jonadab whose words carried such weight?