In this moment, I am not conscious of my fellow travelers. This is a moment I want to absorb alone. I can imagine the Apostle asking the Ephesians, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" and hearing their reply, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." Then he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" They answered, "Into John's baptism." Then they were told by the Apostle to receive the Holy Spirit.

I can imagine, too, the exchange between Demetrius, the silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, and others being fearful that this new teacher would deprive him and others of their livelihood and then hearing the crowds roar, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians." I imagine Paul wanting to leap into the fray, but being restrained by the disciples who were no doubt fearful that if their leader jumped into the fray, he would be killed or, at the least, hurt so severely as to being incapable of carrying on his ministry. Even apostles need to be restrained at times, apparently.

And then it is all over. The uproar ceases. Paul sends for the disciples, embraces them, encourages them, says farewell and leaves for Macedonia.

I wonder how his disciples really felt, how emotional was the farewell. Scripture says they fell on each other in tears, wondering if they would ever see their beloved teacher again. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

We have driven up from Bodrum to Ephesus, for me the high point of our trip to Turkey, though Istanbul still waits. I have wanted to see this great city that was once the trade center of the ancient world, and a religious center of early Christianity. Today it is visited by tens of thousands of tourists from around the world.

The ground is hard beneath my feet. There is little shade. The wide pathways of stone are smooth where millions of feet have trod, now my own among them. There is a stillness in the air. What if one was to stand up in the amphitheater today and shout forth the Good News? The question would be: in what language?

I listen to the history of Ephesus through the miracle of modern technology. I learn that the Romans built apartments with real baths and plumbing. Our modern day apartment system is derived from the Romans. They were smart people. Ephesus was Rome's second largest city under Alexander the Great.

Ephesus is one of the most ancient cities of the world and has played a very important role as a capital city. Located on the west coast of Asia Minor, it joined the Ionian League during the period of Classical Greece. Later on, during the Roman Empire era, Ephesus grew to the second largest city (after Rome) with 250,000 inhabitants in the 1st century AD. Culture, commerce, arts and science bloomed in Ephesus as the remains of its ancient buildings, especially those that were constructed during the Roman era.

One can pass through the Ancient City, House of the Virgin Mary, the Temple of Artemis and the Basilica of St John and up the hill to where the Romans built their fabulous apartments. The Third Ecumenical Council was convened in the Church of the Virgin Mary. The Pope celebrated Mass here in 2006.

There is so much to see, it is breath taking. We see the Magnesian Gate, the Early Christian Basilica, St Luke's Grave, the Bath of Varius, the State Agora, the Temple of Isis, the Odeon, Domitian Square, the Temple of Domitian, the Fountain of Pollio, the Memmius Monument, Hercules Gate, The Fountain of Trajan, Terrace Houses, Scholastica Baths, the Temple of Hadrian, even a brothel. There is Hadrian's Gate, Celsus's Library, the Gate of Mazeus, the commercial Agora, the Temple of Serapis, the Theatre Gymnasium, the Double Churches, the Stadium and so much more. It is impossible to take it all in. There are the Seven Sleepers, the Sirince Village and the Hellenistic City Wall.

It is a visual feast, but there is the nagging feeling that, still and all, it ultimately came apart. Religious pluralism failed. Roman decadence (it took more than 600 years for the Roman Empire to self-destruct) caused it to ultimately fall, according to the reputed historian Edward Gibbon, when a German barbarian leader, "Odoacer" in the Roman army, deposed the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, on September 4, 476 AD. He considered the emperor to be such a wimp that he did not even bother to kill him. He retired him. Many of our American presidents get the same treatment, accompanied with handsome pensions and great medical care.

The temple of Artemis is one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. It has been built on the flat areas of Ephesus that over the centuries turned into a swamp. Today one sees only the ruins of the foundations of this marvelous construction during the Hellenistic Age. It is entirely made of marble and full of sculptured columns with capitals and shafts. The most beautiful remaining parts of this temple are today exhibited in London's British Museum.

The oldest remaining temple dates back to the 6th century, BC. It is surrounded by 36 huge columns later enlarged upon the orders of the Lydia king, Kreisos. The new Artemis was rebuilt in the 2nd century, BC, and located on top of the previous one. It had enormous dimensions: 127 columns, each 57 feet high. Unfortunately, fire destroyed this one although it was later reconstructed. An earthquake later demolished it. It was rebuilt once again and later looted by the Goths.

The statue of the many-breasted Artemis, the symbol of the temple, but also of abundance, hunting and wild life, is today exhibited in the Selcuk Museum. Many copies of this statue, found during the latest excavations, date back to the Roman period.

As I look at the strewn rocks, I sense some overarching themes when cultures and civilizations die. Here in Ephesus, I get whispers and hints of what they might be and how they parallel the US if not the West today. Five come to mind.

The loss of the collective faith by the community and the embrace of multiple (pluriform) religions and ideas that people think will sustain them and a community. It doesn't. They don't.

The acceptance of pansexuality and the rejection of the accepted norm of a culture that one man and one woman together can be pushed aside to embrace multiple sexualities. The final embrace of decadence brings about the ultimate breakdown of a culture and civilization. Is America and the West fast approaching that point of no return?

The obsession with sports and the idolization and worship of a few men and women who can kick, throw or hit a ball and get paid millions of dollars for doing so is pure idolatry. Today in America, sport is a multi-billion dollar industry where millions are spent on players and arenas that offer nothing in return except a distraction from that which is truly real.

The growing and widening gap between rich and poor. As cultures die, it becomes apparent that a handful of wealthy families often own the reins of economic power with the poor left in the dust and the middle class, upon whom a society ultimately depends, squeezed into oblivion.

The notion that promoting self-esteem and multiple therapeutic techniques to make people feel better about themselves thus offering personal salvation of a secular sort will actually work. It doesn't. It hasn't. The Culture of Celebrity is focusing on the sick and distorted lives of the few and forgetting the life of the One who is the source of their lives.

As I wandered among the ruins of Ephesus and saw past cultures and civilizations amidst the broken concrete and stone pillars that now lay strewn on fields of weeds, I wondered how long it would be before the West, now clearly beyond post-modern and now post Christian, would last. Christianity is the world's first global religion, but Islam is on the rise trying to offer a unified worldview. Whether it is successful or not, time alone will tell. I left Ephesus with a deep foreboding. I hope I am wrong.

Rome fell after 677 years. America, since it obtained independence, is on the verge of being 235. Will it last as long as Rome? Only time will tell.

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