Forgotten God
"All this happened because people have forgotten God." This is the explanation for the great upheavals in Russia and the main feature of the 20th century: people forgot God. All the major crimes of the century were determined by the flaws of the human consciousness, which lacked divine heights.
The first was World War I. Prosperous and flourishing Europe, in abundance, suddenly turned against itself in madness. That war cannot be explained by anything other than the general mental collapse of the governing circles, the loss of the awareness that above ourselves there exists a Higher Power. The seemingly Christian states could only resort to chemical weapons in this godless brutality. It was the frailty of a consciousness devoid of divine heights that led to our surrender to the satanic allure of the "nuclear umbrella" after World War II. We wanted to be rid of troubles, to make no efforts to protect ourselves and others, to make the pursuit of happiness our guiding principle, and, should danger arise, to let the atomic bomb protect us. The West fell into a lamentable situation: the protection of the world was entrusted not to the strength of the heart, not to the resilience of people, but to the atomic bomb.
It was only because of the loss of the supremacy of divine consciousness that the West could greet the devastation that followed the barbaric horde of Russia, and later the fate of Eastern Europe after World War II, so coldly. The 20th century was sucked into the swirling bomb crater of atheism and self-destruction.
Russia too experienced epochs when the societal ideal was not material success, but the sanctity of lifestyle. Living in the spirit of Orthodoxy, faithful to the early Church of the first centuries, it preserved the people during centuries of foreign rule. Orthodoxy became an integral part of Russian thinking, character, behavior, family structure, daily life, and weekly work rhythm. Faith was the unifying and sustaining force of the nation. The religious split of the 17th century undermined Orthodoxy, and Peter's reforms suppressed the religious spirit. The country was hit by a wave of secularization, and as it seeped into the educated circles, it paved the way for Marxism.
The world had never before seen such organized, militant, and cruel atheism as Marxism. Hatred of the Divine became the psychological axis, the main driving force. For its goals, it needed a godless, nationless mass of people. The Chekists destroyed or forced tens of thousands of priests, monks, and nuns to renounce the word of God. They closed the doors to churches for millions of believers and punished the religious education of children with prison sentences. The brutal extermination carried out under the pretext of "dekulakization" had the primary goal of eradicating religion from the villages. Churches were destroyed, the ecclesiastical hierarchy humiliated, and the remains of the Church were preserved for propaganda purposes. But even under the communist press, the Christian tradition survived, and as is often the case with persecution, the consciousness of God became particularly deepened and refined.
In the West, religion is still free, but this region is also close to the withering of religious consciousness. Unnoticed, the higher concept of the meaning of life, surpassing the pursuit of happiness, has disappeared. The West has clearly shown, through its own example, that the source of human salvation is not material abundance or a successful business. Western societies are increasingly losing their religious essence, and without hesitation, they allow their youth to fall into atheism.
The noose around humanity's neck tightens more hopelessly with each passing decade, there is no way out for anyone, nowhere to go. The key to our existence and non-existence lies in the hearts of individuals: how one chooses between Good and Evil. Our other possible means are poor; thus, let us return our consciousness, confessing our sins to the Creator of the Universe. The purpose of our life is to seek the path of worthy spiritual development. Our earthly life is but an intermediate step, progressing toward the higher. Material laws cannot interpret the meaning of our lives; they do not open any perspectives before us. The Creator is constantly and daily present in each of our lives, and when His help runs dry, death awaits us. He helps the life of the entire Earth; let us seek the warmth of God's hand! If we perish and lose this world—it will be we ourselves who are to blame.
Alekszandr Szolzsenyicin "Elfeledett Isten" in "Orosznak lenni-vagy nem lenni?" Európa kiadó, Budapest, 2013