Voltaire, the 18th-century French philosopher, once remarked, “The Roman Empire collapsed because nothing on earth is eternal.” While poetic, this explanation seems overly simplistic for the downfall of one of history’s greatest empires. Spanning over five million square kilometers at its height, Rome ruled across three continents. Yet, despite its vast reach, it ultimately crumbled.

Many scholars have analyzed the reasons behind Rome’s decline—military defeats, economic struggles, political corruption—but American thinker Francis Schaeffer took a different approach. He compared Rome’s collapse to the destruction of an ancient stone bridge. For centuries, these bridges supported people and horse-drawn carts with ease. However, if modern heavy trucks were to cross them, they would inevitably collapse. Likewise, Rome’s societal values held firm under moderate pressure but failed when faced with mounting challenges, as they lacked a truly solid foundation.

The Gods That Weren’t Big Enough

Before Rome, ancient Greece also saw its city-states decline, and the Roman Republic fell before the empire rose. Schaeffer argues that both societies relied on gods that simply weren’t “big” enough—deities that were essentially just humans with supernatural abilities. These gods had no infinite power, no overarching moral authority, and no ability to provide a stable foundation for society. When societal pressures grew too intense, these belief systems crumbled along with the civilizations that upheld them.

Even today, Greek and Roman mythology remains popular in literature and entertainment, yet no one turns to Zeus or Mars for moral guidance. They are cultural artifacts rather than sources of strength. What remains of Rome’s gods? Statues in museums, names of planets, and references in Hollywood movies. Their influence on real-world values has faded into history.

Worshiping the Emperor: A Fragile Foundation

Beyond polytheism, Rome’s other major spiritual pillar was emperor worship. Beginning with Augustus, emperors not only ruled politically but were also declared divine after death. This system demanded that all Roman subjects acknowledge the emperor as supreme. However, no human—no matter how powerful—can sustain an entire empire’s stability.

Christians in Rome refused to worship the emperor, believing that authority belonged to a higher power. This defiance led to brutal persecution under several emperors, who sought to eradicate the growing faith. Yet, despite Rome’s best efforts, Christianity outlived the empire itself. Today, Rome’s Caesars are long gone, but Christianity has shaped global culture, politics, and moral philosophy in ways the emperors never could have imagined.

The Soviet Union: A Modern Parallell

History repeated itself in the Soviet Union. Like Rome, the USSR sought to replace traditional faith with ideology. The Bolsheviks deemed religion an “opiate of the masses” and worked tirelessly to eradicate it—arresting clergy, demolishing churches, and pressuring citizens to abandon their faith.

For over six decades, the Soviet regime enforced state atheism, yet the religious belief they sought to destroy never disappeared. By 2009, Russia officially reintroduced religious institutions into its military, and by 2011, surveys showed that 70% of Russian soldiers identified as believers, with the majority following Orthodox Christianity. Even the Russian Communist Party, once a champion of atheism, has softened its stance, with many of its members now embracing faith.

Party leader Gennady Zyuganov openly admitted, “A society without spiritual support, without values, without ideals, and without moral principles cannot survive, let alone develop.”

What Can We Learn?

If an empire as mighty as Rome fell because its values lacked a solid foundation, what does that mean for individuals today? The beliefs we hold shape our resilience. Just as a stone bridge needs a solid foundation to endure heavy loads, people need a guiding truth that transcends themselves.

As one ancient proverb states, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” The strongest foundations are not built on shifting sand but on unwavering principles. In the end, Rome’s emperors fell, but those who built their faith on something greater endured.

What foundation are you building your life upon?