“Modern man destroys himself, not only in war and crime and alcohol, but he destroys the family, that perfect unity of God’s creative goodness, and thus disrupts the whole of society, uprooting states and nations with the solvent of sin.” — Van, Henry R. The Calvinistic Concept of Culture. Pusan, Young Yoim Sa, 1972. p.63

Man, without the Holy Spirit influence within him, is not only already dead in sin, but further destroys himself and the reflections of God’s design in the world. Van Til correctly recognized that war and crime and alcohol were outworkings of unregenerate man’s inherent tendencies to destroy himself as an individual.

Van Til did not stop at the individual effects of sin upon the person, but recognized that sin also destroys the social aspects of man in relationship to others. Sin of one person within a family adversely impacts upon the life of others in that family. Bonds are broken, Trust is shattered. Physical, emotional, and spiritual harm sprout and spread like weeds.

Even the wider bonds of human society beyond the family are affected by sins of the individual. As more and more relationships are impacted by spreading sin, the fabric of the society degrades. A society of individuals degraded by unresisted sin will results in a degraded society. As the “solvent of sin” dissolves relationships, the society suffers.

Sin and its roots in the individuals of a society uproots the Godly foundations of a Christian society. Repentance and a turning from sin is necessary for societies to be restored.