This blog serves as an outreach for Pastor Randy Powell of the First Baptist Church of Franklin, PA. Feel free to ask questions or send me an e-mail at pastorpowell@hotmail.com
Transitioning from the story of the line of Seth that came before it, and the story of Noah and the Flood that follows after, Genesis 6:1-4 is a passage with a wide variety of interpretations throughout its history. That being said, it continues the story of Genesis 1-11 of God's work at creating order vs. humanity's ongoing introduction of chaos (through rebellion).
Starting in vs. 5, the chapter shifts its focus to God's observation that humanity has become, "evil all the time." This, we are told, greatly grieves the heart of God, so much so that God regrets having created humanity in the first place. This startling conclusion will set the stage for the judgment to come in Noah's day as it sets the God of Abraham apart from those deities worshiped in the Ancient Near East in that the LORD actually cares about humanity and evil, having created the former and being wholly apart from the latter.
{“In war, whichever side may call itself the victor,
there are no winners, but all are losers.” - Neville Chamberlain That
quote would probably be better remembered if it wasn’t from Neville Chamberlain.The former British Prime Ministers is best
remembered for appeasing the maniac Adolf Hitler before WWII started.But Chamberlain wasn’t wrong.He was about Hitler in particular, there was
no bargaining with that evil man, but he was right about war.Even when it is necessary, even when it could
be deemed a righteous act of defending the weak against the strong, one doesn’t
“win” a war, one survives it, and hopefully limits the damage.That’s the situation that Israel has been
facing since October 7th of 2023: it can’t win, the only question is
how costly will survival be both to the Israelites themselves and to the Palestinians.The essay below is attempting to reason through
to that conclusion.}
Almost exactly six months ago, Israelis awoke to a
nightmare. Civilians in the southern part of the country, areas near the border
with Gaza, were under a brutal, ongoing attack. It would become the deadliest
day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust and a prelude to unspeakable
suffering on both sides of the border.
{To think and talk about the costs of the war against
Hamas that followed after October 7th is not to minimize the horror
of that day.The same is true for the
tragedies of 9/11, Pearl Harbor, and the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.In each case an act of sudden evil caught a people
off-guard and led to a forceful and far greater response.In each case, moral questions were raised by
how the aggrieved party responded and by the unintended consequences of those
responses.The original moral evil in
all four instances has no excuse, no justification, no sympathy.}
Six months after Hamas launched that deadly rampage, knowing
that Israel’s response would be ferocious, there are only losers in this
terrible war.
It’s hard now to find many winners with the death toll
mounting among Gazans and hunger growing in the strip. And with Israeli
hostages still held captive, perhaps in dank Hamas tunnels.
{As it was with WWI, WWII, and the War on Terror, so
it has been in Israel and Gaza.War
takes on a life of its own, one action leads to another, one cost justifies
another.WWI left an entire generation
decimated and cynical, it weakened institutions that were necessary for
civilization leaving them unable to stop the march toward WWII.WWII gave us not only the firebombing of
entire cities, but the atomic bomb and the Holocaust as well.The scale of the War on Terror was much
smaller than WWI and WWII, but it still left us with the Patriot Act, drone
strikes across the globe, seemingly endless war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and
the shame of Abu Ghraib.Looking back
upon history, each response appears solidly unavoidable, each war a product of choices
made at the time that felt reasonable, but if that is indeed true and such
death and destruction was the inevitable result of what had preceded it, we
still must count the cost to both the innocent who suffered alongside the perpetrators
and how fighting those wars changed us as well.It is in this vein that All Quiet on the Western Front and
Slaughterhouse Five were written, among many others.And so, it is entirely reasonable to look at
the Israel/Hamas War after six months and count the cost, to remind ourselves
that history teaches us that we should not expect to find any winners.}
For Hamas, the fact that war continues may count as a
victory, but thousands of Hamas’ fighters — the exact number is disputed — have
been killed. Hamas may be decimated, perhaps unable to hold on to power, but
that’s no victory for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is under
growing global pressure and besieged by protesters at home, and whose legacy
will be forever darkened.
Even US President Joe Biden has paid a price, caught in an
election-year political vise between those who think he is too supportive of
Israel and those who think he has been too critical.
The strife has also detonated a worldwide explosion of
antisemitism, reviving a hatred that had lain lightly dormant. It’s causing
anxiety across Europe, and leading some American Jews to conclude that one
country where they had felt safe is no longer a haven, as they face
antisemitism from the left and the right. Anti-Muslim bigotry has also
increased.
This awful chapter started on October 7 last year, when
Hamas terrorists breached what was supposed to be a secure border and
slaughtered Israelis in their beds, in their living rooms, in their cars, at an
outdoor music festival and bus shelters and parks.
They raped countless women with horrifying brutality.
Israeli security forces were nowhere to be found for hours.
Hamas — the Iran-allied group that rules Gaza — killed more than 1,200 Israelis
and dragged back hundreds more as hostages. The area lay in ruins. Israelis’
sense of security had been shattered.
Today, it is Gaza that lies in ruins, tens of thousands of
Palestinians killed by Israel in its quest to uproot and destroy Hamas. As
Israel crushes Gaza, its global reputation is getting shattered. But still the
IDF believes around 100 Israeli hostages remain captive of Hamas and other
militants in conditions that one shudders to imagine.
This week’s Israeli strike on a World Central Kitchen (WCK)
convoy, killing seven aid workers, adds to the calamity of this convulsion in
the perennially unstable crossroads of the Middle East. Amid the outrage and
heartbreak, WCK’s founder, celebrity chef José Andrés, accuses Israel of
targeting his staff. Israel has apologized, saying the convoy was
misidentified. Israel has fired two officers and reprimanded senior commanders
after an inquiry into the strike.
{The cost has been high.Evil like that unleashed on October 7th
against innocent men, women, and children always leads to a ripple effect of
costs, nearly always spirals out of control.Inevitable?Perhaps, but still
horrific, still worthy of lament.}
There was never any question that Israel would respond to
October 7. It had been attacked by a group that promised it would repeat the
massacre of Israelis and is backed by Iran, a country whose leaders have vowed
to destroy Israel. The attack led some there to conclude that whatever price
Israel should pay for absolute victory — including in global public opinion —
it is worth paying. Besides, the attackers kidnapped hundreds of its citizens,
including women, children and the elderly. Israel needed to save them.
{I remember the days after 9/11.There was never any doubt that wherever these
terrorists were hiding, American bombs and bullets would find them.That day’s shock and horror gave rise quickly
to songs and slogans about stomping on terrorists, and to a sudden rise in
anti-Islamic sentiment among a people who previously had spent little time
thinking about Islam.Likewise, Israel
was going to respond, and with much greater force than Hamas had employed
(because of the limits of Hamas’ resources, not a limit on its hatred, they’ve
stated many times their desire to kill all Jews).
This is not the response envisioned by Jesus when he
commanded us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.Even if a government needs to respond with
war to protect its citizens, the hatred that war gives birth to in the hearts
of the people who were attacked is a tragedy.Few times in Church history has the response to evil been forgiveness
and mercy.Individuals have responded to
their own suffering, even martyrdom, with Christ-like forgiveness, but rarely has
this translated to a whole people.Sadly, when our nation experienced tragedy similar to what Israel has
just lived through, the Church in America wasn’t able (much of it wasn't willing) to be a voice of reconciliation after 9/11, myself included.The desire for justice, even messy justice
that says, “Kill them all, let God sort them out” is a powerful
enticement.The path of peace after
injustice is brutally hard, for this reason we are in awe of those like Nelson
Mandela who choose it instead of vengeance.}
In the immediate aftermath, world leaders expressed support
for Israel. But when the death toll in Gaza starting climbing, as Hamas knew it
would, international support for Israel turned to withering criticism. In the
most painful irony of all, Israel — the country that became home to Holocaust
survivors, under attack by a group whose original charter outlined a genocidal
ideology and a vow to destroy Israel — was itself perversely accused of
genocide.
{Entirely predictable.The initial support followed by eventual criticism as the death and
destruction continued is the exact same pattern that America experienced after
9/11.The primary difference between the
two stories is that the reality of global antisemitism gave Israel a shorter runway between sympathy
and criticism, i.e. a much briefer window to respond to terrorism before
criticism, justifiable or not, began to mount.}
As always, the greatest suffering, the biggest losers, have
been civilians on both sides. Palestinians in Gaza are enduring a living
nightmare. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 30,000 have
been killed in the conflict. The figures don’t distinguish between combatants
and civilians, but there’s little doubt that horrifyingly large numbers of
them, including children, have been killed. The territory is a wasteland.
Gazans are caught between the cynicism of Hamas, the
geopolitical concerns of their Arab neighbors and Israel’s determination to win
at any cost. Hamas leaders, comfortable in exile, proclaimed early on that they
are “proud to sacrifice martyrs.” Hamas fighters embedded themselves in Gaza’s
population, including in hospitals, essentially daring Israel to kill civilians
to get to them.
In most wars, civilians would have been allowed to flee the
fighting, but the people of Gaza were not allowed to leave the territory
whether they wanted to or not. Hamas urged them to stay. Egypt, worried about
whether Israel would allow the people to return and concerned about instability
on its soil, closed its border to all but a small number of Palestinian
civilians.
The cruel fact is that the lives of Palestinians have not
been the highest priority for anyone in this war.
{It has always been this way in human history,
innocent civilians always pay the highest price in war.It has also always been true that the evil
men who sow the seeds of war rarely are the ones who pay the consequences, that’s
one of the reasons why they’re willing to start down that path in the first
place.}
Complicating the situation is the political crisis in
Israel, which preceded the October 7 attack. Netanyahu — a political survivor
who faces corruption charges — already presided over the most right-wing
government in Israel’s history. Before the war, tens of thousands of Israelis
took to the streets in nearly 10 months of weekly protests against a plan that
would have severely weakened Israeli democracy by stripping the Supreme Court
of much of its power.
Netanyahu was, in my view and others’, already the worst
prime minister in Israel’s history even before October 7.
Polls have found that most Israelis want him gone. Now Benny
Gantz, a member of the war cabinet but also the leading opposition figure
before the war, has called for new elections in September. Recent polling says
say he’s Netanyahu’s most likely successor.
Devastation in Gaza as Israel wages war on Hamas
The fact that Netanyahu is heading the government during one
of the most dangerous, most damaging times in Israel’s history only adds to the
disturbing nature of this conflict. Israel is not in good hands.
Would another leader, a different government, have been able
to conduct the war with fewer civilian deaths, with less damage to Israel’s
global standing, without eroding the vital relationship between Israel and the
United States? I suspect the answer is yes.
{Few leaders are up to the task of shepherding their
people through a time of war and at the same time minimizing the cost that it exacts
from both their own people and the civilians on the other side.While it is true that Netanyahu has numerous
critics both in Israel and beyond, I think the essay strays in this section
away from the salient and necessary conversation about the cost of war itself.}
If there’s any glimmer of hope in this dispiriting landscape
it is that the young Abraham Accords — which normalized relations between
Israel and some of its Arab neighbors — have survived the toughest of stress
tests. That augurs well for the long run, for more stability of the region,
eventually.
{What lies on the other side of this war?None know for certain.If there is a path to a wider peace between
Israel and its neighbors, it will feel like a miracle.We can hope that the horrors of this war will
make it harder to start the next one.}
It opens the door to the possibility that once this war is
over, once the post-war phase — whatever that looks like — also comes to an
end, there could be a new architecture that leads to peace. For that to happen,
however, two of the many losing protagonists in this conflict, Hamas and
Netanyahu, cannot remain in power.
{We have set aside time in our worship services each
Sunday since October 7th to pray for Israel and Gaza, for the Jews
and the Palestinians, for Christians, Muslims, and followers of Judaism in the
Holy Land.As I lead these prayers, my
focus is primarily upon those suffering from the war, on both sides, pleading
to God to protect them.I also pray for
a just and lasting peace, admitting in my prayers that I don’t know how we get
from here to there.Which leaders would
it require and what choices would they need to make?That answer is in God’s hands alone.I don’t know if peace is possible with
Netanyahu as the Prime Minister of Israel, because nobody really knows the
answer to that question.And so, rather
than calling for specific steps, my prayers leave the “how” in the hands of God,
and focus instead on the ordinary people whose lives have been forever changed
by this violence, may they be protected, comforted, and healed, and may peace
prevail even after the horrors of war.}
{Lastly, talking to my Bible Study group and leading
FB Live prayers just after October 7th, I said, “There are no good
choices left.”I then explained that whatever
the government of Israel did next, the choices would all be bad, and the cost
high.The same calculus existed for the
Palestinians, they would only have bad choices left to them after what Hamas
had done.That wasn’t prophecy, simply an
awareness of history because humanity has seen this cycle play out over and
over again.Unfortunately, this time
hasn’t been an exception to the rule, this war has been like so many others
that preceded it.Whatever happens next,
let us pray for those in need, let us hope for justice and peace.}
John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Matthew 16:17-18 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Philippians 2:9-11
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
We know how the story ends, right? These three verses are but a few of those that proclaim where the true power in this universe lies and that set forth that at the end of history the victory of God will be total and complete. So, why aren't Christians the most perpetually and undisturbedly optimistic people you could ever meet? Honestly, I've met a few that bubble over with that joy, but they're the minority.
We are the ones who believe that Jesus Christ rose in victory over sin and death, right?
We are the ones who believe that he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead establishing a kingdom that will have no end, right?
And yet, what we often see from Christians is fear and anxiety, something that is as unfortunate as it is unnecessary. Jesus told us to not let our hearts be troubled, that while this world would indeed continue to be full of evil until the Last Judgment, the ultimate victory has already been secured.
This truth leads us to several conclusions about life here and now, among them:
(1) Whatever victories Evil has in this world, they will be transitory, whatever defeats Good has in this world, they will be temporary. Our task is to continue to serve in the time and place where God has placed us. We don't know when the End will come, but we know that when it arrives Good will triumph completely and Evil will be no more.
(2) The people, institutions, and causes which truly serve God have nothing to fear from spiritual evil. While the martyrs have demonstrated that they may imprison or kill the body, and persecution has shown they may burn or bomb buildings, both the souls of those who are in Christ and the ongoing life transforming power of the Gospel are forever beyond the power of evil to corrupt in any way.
(3) Because Christ achieved his victory through self-sacrifice we are called to do the same. Our weapons are not made of metal, they don't fire bullets, we don't need political, cultural, or economic power in this world. The true power of God at work in us is service, kindness, mercy, forgiveness, love, and ultimately self-sacrifice.
So let us embrace the certainty of the faith that has been given us, set aside worry and fear, and go forth in love.
What does an ideal government do with respect to crime and punishment? The Apostle Paul was well aware of the shortcomings of human governments, all of them fail to varying degrees to live up to the standard of being God's servant in this category, but there is still value in understanding what the responsibility of a government should be even when they fall short.
How should the followers of Jesus respond to evil? The answer can never be with our own evil attitudes and actions. Where does that leave us? We must turn instead to kindness and peace, embracing them no matter what happens, knowing that God may use our kindness to open the door to his own mercy upon those who are evil, for only God knows how each person's story ends, as objects of God's wrath or love.
What does a Christ-like community look like? The Apostle Paul answers the question by starting with (1) sincere love, and then adding to that challenge by requiring that we (2) both hate evil AND do so while loving good (that is, oppose evil with righteousness, not with evil), (3) loving each other, and lastly (4) putting each other above ourselves.
This is what it takes to be Christ-like. That's what we need faith, grace, and the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
In the Empire Strikes Back, young Luke Skywalker is trying to convince the Jedi Master Yoda to train him, a task that Yoda deems both too late and unwise due to Luke's rashness. Luke tries to change his mind by claiming, "I won't fail you, I'm not afraid." After a nice long dramatic pause, Yoda replies, "You will be...You...will...be."
Here's the thing, I'm against 'Christian' Nationalism and embracing strongmen/autocrats to solve our nation's problems, not because I'm naïve like Luke, but because I'm sober-minded enough, and grounded in history and theology enough, to know better.
I will never embrace solving America's problems by abandoning the democratic process in favor of a 'savior', not because I don't love America as much as those advocating such a drastic move (see for example: Eric Metaxas and Rod Dreher), but because I know human history.
Autocracy has never saved a democracy.
Power always corrupts, the greater the power the greater the corruption, do you really think that one person wielding the power of the American military and economy without checks and balances, without elections and judicial review, would be a force for good in the world? We've seen how much evil has been done with the power Xi Jinping wields in China, do you think an American strongman would be any different? Only a fool would think this plan disconnected from both human nature and world history is anything but a national suicide pact.
Immorality has never helped the Church
I will never embrace 'helping' the Church by utilizing evil as a tool, not because I don't love the Church as much as those advocating such a Faustian bargain, but because I know the nature of God.
Many of those not quite willing to abandon our democratic rights have nevertheless been convinced, or have chosen to convince themselves, that the 'greater good' and the urgency of the moment demands that we abandon the luxuries of Truth, Honor, Integrity, Kindness, Mercy, and the like in favor of Realpolitik, 'might makes right', and 'win at all cost' means and measures. Only a fool would think this plan disconnected from both the nature of Evil and the Holiness of God is anything but an act of faithless rebellion. Evil is never the path chosen by God for you or for us. Choosing evil to confront threats to the Church instead of righteousness is not realistic, it is cowardly, it is faithless.
I'm not afraid of the present, there's nothing new under the sun.
I'm not afraid of what comes next, God is always in control, my faith rests in him.
I'm not afraid of the future, God's final victory is assured.
The Early Church was a tiny minority living in a hostile pagan Empire that would soon be torturing and murdering the disciples of Jesus. And yet, the Apostle Paul never even hinted at trying to overcome evil with evil, in fact he specifically rejected it {Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.}. If the disciples of Jesus, who watched their Lord be brutally murdered at the hands of evil men, and the early generations of his followers, who faced the mightiest Empire the world had ever known, were told to not lost heart, to not compromise their character, but to serve and sacrifice with righteousness and love, what on earth makes 21st century American Christians so important that our fears, real or imagined, allow us to not follow in their footsteps?
Yoda also said something else that is appropriate here, "Fear is the path to the Dark Side."
I'm not afraid, my God is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, why should you be?
5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
How many Lord of the Rings references have I made over the years? Too many to count, and with that in mind, here's one more:
Toward the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo offers the Ring of Power to Galadriel, and elven Lord who has taken a leading part in the war against evil (first Morgoth, now Sauron) for thousands of years. What will she do if given the chance to end the fight, to take in her own hand sufficient power to put aside all doubt and fear that Evil might triumph over Good?
“And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!”
She lifted up her hand and from the ring that she wore there issued a great light that illuminated her alone and left all else dark. She stood before Frodo seeming now tall beyond measurement, and beautiful beyond enduring, terrible and worshipful. Then she let her hand fall, and the light faded, and suddenly she laughed again, and lo! she was shrunken: a slender elf-woman, clad in simple white, whose gentle voice was soft and sad.
“I pass the test”, she said. “I will diminish, and go into the West and remain Galadriel.”
Galadriel passed the test. She chose to reject the power of domination and subjugation in favor of trusting in the hope that Frodo can somehow destroy the Ring, "a fool's hope" as Gandalf describes it, but better than the folly of embracing evil to fight evil.
Jesus, of course, does the same thing. He resists the easy path, the one without sacrifice, the one that has a deal-breaker of a caveat (worshiping the Devil), choosing instead to continue on the pre-ordained path of the Suffering Servant until the brutal end.
How then does this apply to 'Christian' Nationalism? A straightforward application, indeed. 'Christian' Nationalism's premise is that it can serve the purpose of God by dominating the kingdoms of this world, to do so it chooses to utilize the tools and methods of this world, crushing and subjugating all opposition, and somehow in the end hoping to create a nation that honors God. It would be laughable if it were not so deadly dangerous. It won't work, it cannot work. Galadriel was wise enough to see the folly of trying to overcome evil with evil, Jesus wasn't about to entertain it, let alone try it, so why have so many self-professed Christians today decided that they can get the better out of a deal with the Devil?
The following 'decree' was written by pastor Dutch Sheets, a member of the New Apostolic Reformation, a loosely affiliated group of Charismatic Christians who believe in Dominionism, which in a nutshell is the belief that God has given the Church the authority to take control of the Earth from Satan and we need only claim it. The following prayer thus contains the expected 'name it and claim it' style of some of the Charismatic movement, combined with a stark American 'Christian' Nationalism that venerates the American Constitution to idolatrous levels. My comments interspersed below will be in bold. To view the decree as a pdf: The Watchman Decree
[What is Dominionism? As explained by self-appointed apostle Peter Wagner, a founder of the NAR movement, before his death in 2016, “Dominion has to do with control. Dominion has to do with rulership. Dominion has to do with authority and subduing. And it relates to society. In other words, what the values are in Heaven need to be made manifest on earth. Dominion means being the head and not the tail. Dominion means ruling as kings.”]
WATCHMAN DECREE
As a Patriot of faith, I attest my allegiance first and foremost to the kingdom of God and the Great
Commission. Secondly, I agree to be a watchman over our nation concerning its people and their
rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness—
From the beginning the decree defines a "patriot of faith" as someone who puts allegiance to the Kingdom of God and the Great Commission first, but in the very next sentence that line is blurred beyond recognition. The "Watchman" analogy is taken from Ezekiel 33 where the prophet is told that he must warm his countrymen of impending danger lest their fate be on his head if he keep silent. While it would be an acceptable interpretation of the principle behind this text to say that Christians have a responsibility to warn the Church of impending danger, it is NOT in keeping with Ezekiel's prophecy to say that Christians bear this responsibility for America. Why? Israel was a covenant people, a theocracy, where God had a specific and detailed set of blessings and curses that were derived from the commands the people had agreed to obey. Ezekiel's responsibility flows out of this context. Israel knew what God required of them, their ancestors had committed themselves to obeying it. In the Church Age, God has made no such relationship with ANY nation/country/people. It is clear that the members of the NAR, as 'Christian' Nationalists, have assumed God has indeed made a promise to America akin to that which he made with Israel, unfortunately for them (and the Church, the Gospel, and our nation) scripture makes not such promise...A question that has no answer: When, where, how, and with whom did God make a covenant with America? What are its stipulations, what is demanded of us and what is promised by God? A covenant isn't implied, it has to be spelled out and agreed upon.
In addition, the responsibilities of the Watchman are linked in the decree to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness", things that Ezekiel was most certainly not focused upon nor would they have made any sense to him, for where in this list is righteousness or faith? Already the Declaration of Independence has replaced the Bible as the guide by which we are called to act.
WHEREAS
• we, the Church, are God’s governing Body on the earth
This is the foundational assertion of the text, but it is in no way made in Scripture. Jesus calls his disciples to be "salt and light", to sacrifice and to serve, in no way does he, or any other apostolic source, command the Church to govern the earth. Search in vain for the source of this claim in scripture, it isn't there. This is 'Christian' Nationalism's bold lust for power, power we are not commanded to seek, and power we are not capable of wielding morally. {See: Tolkien's LOTR and what the Ring does to those who think they can wield it for good. Tolkien was a Christian with an orthodox Christian worldview, and it shows.}
• we have been given legal power from heaven and now exercise our authority
Legal power? This seems to be setting the groundwork to place 'Christian' Nationalism above the law in America, ironic given all of the veneration here about the Constitution.
• we are God’s ambassadors and spokespeople over the earth
Even a phrase at first glance like this that seems orthodox has a flaw. The Church is Christ's steward/ambassador on the earth, not over it. Subtle, but it fits the pattern of seeking dominion and power over others.
• through the power of God, we are the world influencers
World influencers? Does God need extra social media likes and clicks? What a strange phrase. The Church is called to do justice and love mercy, what this has to do with being a 'world influencer' is a mystery.
• because of our covenant with God, we are equipped and delegated by Him to destroy every
attempted advance of the enemy,
Again we have a dangerous bit of bravado here. Is the Church capable of overcoming the Gates of Hell, absolutely, Jesus promised that, but that ultimate victory and this bold claim are far apart. The Church (and Christians) will also suffer defeat, persecution, and loss in this world.
Who is the "our" that has a covenant with God? The Christians in America, or America itself? As the text later in the declaration shows, they mean the latter.
WE MAKE OUR DECLARATIONS:
1. We decree that America’s executive branch of government will honor God and defend the
2. We decree that our legislative branch (Congress) will write only laws that are righteous and
constitutional.
Again, righteous laws do NOT equal constitutional laws, although that link is implied strongly here. One can write a constitutional law that falls far short of being righteous, believe me America history has plenty of examples, it can in fact be immoral in every way and pass constitutional muster.
3. We decree that our judicial system will issue rulings that are biblical and constitutional.
The not subtle linkage continues, now biblical and constitutional are together.
4. We declare that we stand against wokeness, the occult and every evil attempt against our
5. We declare and we now take back our God-given freedoms, according to our Constitution.
Which begs the question: Which God-given freedoms found in the Constitution do they not now have?
6. We declare that we take back influence at the local level in our communities.
7. We decree that we take back and permanently control positions of influence and leadership in
each of the *Seven Mountains.
There is a vast difference in a pluralistic society between influence, which all individuals and groups have a right to aspire to, and control that precludes the rights of others. 'Christian' Nationalism isn't the only movement/philosophy seeking such domination over others, but it very clearly is on the list.
8. We decree that the blood of Jesus covers and protects our nation. It protects and separates us
for God.
Where in any orthodox and historic understanding of the work of Christ upon the Cross, of the efficacy of his shed blood, does the idea that Jesus' blood protects our nation, specifically, come from? Are they claiming that Jesus shed his blood for America? For a kingdom of this world? Again, blasphemy is not too strong a term for this. The shed blood of Jesus separates America for God's purposes? Why this nation and not another? Why only this nation? There is a massive prideful exceptionalism at work here.
9. We declare that our nation is energy independent.
Ezekiel is scratching his head at this one. What does being a Watchman on behalf of your people have to do with energy policy? Nothing. Best to move on than ponder why this made the cut.
10. We declare that America is strong spiritually, financially, militarily and technologically.
There are questions about all four of them being true, at times, but especially the first one. America is spiritually strong? By what metric? Declining church attendance and membership? The rampant sexual immorality and materialism among those who call themselves Christians? The willingness of self-professed Christians to violate any and all of God's commands in order to gain the power to 'take back America for God'?... In addition, proclaiming that America's military is part of the equation harkens back to the worst parts of Church History: The Crusades and the Thirty Years War.
11. We decree that evil carries no power, authority or rights in our land nor over our people.
And yet it most clearly does. America is a far more violent nation that fellow Western democracies, to name one way in which evil is more than comfortable in this land.
12. We decree that we will operate in unity, going beyond denominational lines in order to
accomplish the purposes of God for our nation.
I can actually get behind this one. I'm all for ecumenical efforts to do Kingdom work, if only they meant this about things other than 'winning' the Culture War and crushing their enemies.
13. And we decree that AMERICA SHALL BE SAVED!
Again, in what portion of scripture is this folly grounded? America doesn't need to be saved because America is a nation not a person. Millions of its people need to be saved because they are not in relationship with God through Christ, but that is not what they're talking about here at all. If the preamble declaring loyalty to the Kingdom of God first meant anything at all, #13 would never have been written. If you watch the video, this line is shrieked with fierce intensity. This is the sad truth of 'Christian' Nationalism, the nation's success is the only thing that truly calls forth passion and sacrifice (or violence, the sacrifice is often asked of others).
America, in fact, cannot be saved. Not a single kingdom of this world will continue after the return of Christ. When Jesus establishes his kingdom each and every nation on the planet will be obsolete. In reality, we have no idea when that day will come, and the United States of America may be just as much a distant memory as the Byzantine Empire by that point. It may sound like a broken record, but God's purpose in this world is NOT to elevate America, if the Kingdom of God advances while America teeters and falls, so be it. The prayer is 'thy kingdom come, thy will be done,' not 'our kingdom win, no matter what it costs.'
We know this country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles.
We know the truth; therefore, we stand for truth and will NEVER be deceived!
The endless debate about how much of America's founding is connected to Judeo-Christian principles, as opposed to the also influential Enlightenment, for example, is a red herring that nevertheless invokes strong passions and anger.
We will NEVER stop fighting!
We will NEVER, EVER, EVER give up or give in!
And if this isn't God's will, what then? Is the only path forward for the Kingdom to fight?? What if this never ending fight is ruining the witness of the Gospel (hint: it already is), must the fight continue no matter the cost?
We WILL take our country back.
Who has the country now? How will we know when 'we' have it back? If our team controls the White House, Congress, and the Supreme Court, is the war over? FYI, this happened between 2016-2018, and yet the Culture War continued to rage, the warning that 'they' were coming to get 'us' and destroy America didn't slack one bit. 'We' won elections, and yet the war continues unabated, how can this be when political power is the end to which immoral means are being excused?
We WILL honor the ONE TRUE GOD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!
Good, please do. While you're at it, read his book and see how he wants to be honored.
AMERICA SHALL BE SAVED!
Aside from the general overuse of caps in this decree, which matches up well with the way in which this prayer is shouted in the video, this once more underscores the way in which 'Christian' Nationalism is a diversion from what God actually told his people to do, the Great Commission, to what he never told them to do, seize geopolitical power for themselves.
“Working together with Him, we strongly urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain [by turning
away from sound doctrine and His merciful kindness]. For He says, ‘At the acceptable time (the
time of grace) I listened to you, and I helped you on the day of salvation.’ Behold, now is ‘the
acceptable time,’ behold, now is ‘the day of salvation.’” 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 (AMP)
*Seven Mountains of Influence include media, business/finance,
family, education, politics, arts/entertainment and religion
In the end, this decree, despite being a frightening display of non-biblical theology that ignores the warnings of Church History, serves as a clear example of what 'Christian' Nationalism is, what it aims for, and why Christians should not only have no part in it, but also oppose it.
We have seen a shift in the past several years, now members of Congress and their allies who claim to represent Christianity, are willing to call themselves Christian Nationalists. They're willing to say, "what's so bad about wanting Judeo-Christian values to prevail?" without dealing with the reality that the prevailing in question is a matter of domination not persuasion, of coercion not repentance. As a Baptist I shudder to see so many fellow Christians, people whose service to others over the years demonstrates that their faith is genuine, being deceived by this path, and I shudder to see that history's lessons are being ignored once again. "Power tends to corrupt, absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely." - Lord Acton. The Church is not an exception to this rule.
By way of answering a question about why our sinfulness doesn't make God's holiness more glorious, the Apostle Paul refutes a heretical path that might potentially be ascribed to Christians, "Let us do evil that good may result."
Why can't evil methods or processes lead to good (righteousness)?
Among the reasons why this is fundamentally impossible are: the nature of evil, the nature of God, the power of God, the wisdom of God, and the will of God. In order to believe that evil can result in good one must misunderstand all of these things.
In what ways are (have) Christians accepted this dangerously false premise? In our personal relationships, our collective actions as a Church (think Crusades, Inquisition, burning people at the stake, and a host of immoral behavior to gain power and control over various portions of the Church), and growing more toxic each year, our politics as American Christians.
In the end, we must reject the false siren's call that we can utilize evil without being corrupted by it, whatever else it is, such a path is not God's.
The Bible doesn't support Democracy. Then again, the Bible doesn't denounce it either. In fact, the Bible mentions Democracy not at all. Most people familiar with the Bible and world history would assume this already, but there are numerous modern topics that were not part of the conversation in the Ancient World. The Bible doesn't address any of these topics directly. How could it? What language would it use, and how could the original audience possibly understand it if it did and thus be edified by it? Remember, the portions of scripture that collectively make up the Bible were first given to specific people on specific occasions, for specific purposes. Because it is God's Word it has meaning and application beyond those initial considerations as part of its enduring quality, but not without them. In other words, "It cannot mean for us what it never meant for them."
The Bible was written in a world that knew only variations of one-man rule (occasionally one-woman rule). Emperors, Kings, Chieftains and the like, some kind and benevolent, some vain and cruel. It did not know Communism, Republics, Constitutional Monarchy or Democracy {The short-lived experiment in 'pure' Democracy in Athens being, if anything, a cautionary tale thanks to its demise, and by the time Rome became a part of the story in the New Testament it had long since ceased to be a Republic}. As such, the Bible neither supports nor condemns modern concepts related to other ways to govern a nation. This gives Christians freedom of conscience when considering what type of governmental system they prefer. Instead of commands in this area, the Bible gives Christians principles to seek to apply such as the Golden Rule, "Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:31) or "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)
That being said, there is a growing trend in the West (Hungary is already there, but also Poland, France, and America) of Christians (a mix no doubt of self-professed cultural 'Christian' and genuine disciples of Christ) supporting Autocratic tendencies in government. In response to societal pressures and fears, a growing number of Christians are beginning to prefer a 'strong man' type leadership to the leadership derived from fair elections. In other words, they would rather have their team win without democracy than risk losing with it. There are increasingly supporting having the policies they champion imposed by any means necessary, regardless the legality of the methods or the rights of others. The most common rationale is to view modern politics as a war, one in which it doesn't matter how you play the game, only whether or not you win or lose. In this view, democratic norms and morality are naïve, only power matters because the stakes are too high {There is much Christian Apocalypse related imagery and reasoning here as well.}
I have written often about the dangers of choosing power over principles, might over right, but what about the danger of choosing Autocracy over Democracy? Are Christians obligated as a matter of morality to support, even defend, the modern concept of liberal democracy?
The answer is yes, and the reason doesn't have to involve a philosophical discussion regarding governance. One need only ask this question, "If democracy falls, what will replace it?" History has shown, repeatedly, that the answer is: something less just, less fair, and more prone to evil. It would be the height of folly to believe that this time it will be different. That we can hand power over to one man, one family, or one cabal, without watching our society descend into persecution of those who oppose the regime. Until the invasion of Ukraine, it was fashionable in some Christian Nationalist circles to view Vladimir Putin as a 'savior' of Christianity against the forces of Islam and Liberalism. As the mass graves in Ukraine, the rape of a country previously at peace attest, autocrats are no friend to Christian morality. There is NO scenario where the American system of elections, of sharing power based upon their results, is replaced by one in which 'our team' has permanent rule that does not involve a massive increase in Evil.
Perhaps some Christians are thinking, "this time it will be different, you'll see." They're wrong; both history and human nature make trusting the leadership of a nation to an autocrat to be a folly, but let's move to a 2nd line of reasoning: Do Unto Others. Would you want to be on the losing side of an Autocratic regime? Would you want your rights taken away by 'them', your role in choosing your nation's future reduced to nothing? The answer is no, it would be tyranny and you would hate it. HOW then can any Christian support the notion that Autocracy is just fine when my team wins if they would violently oppose it if the shoe was on the other foot? If Christian Nationalists are not willing to live with permanent rule of the Democratic Party, how can they cheer on the notion of permanent rule by the Republican Party? To do so, those trending toward autocratic methodology must consider the people on the other side to be less than us: they are less than those of us who are the 'real Americans'. An ethic that follows the teachings of Jesus Christ, that views every person as your neighbor that you must 'love as yourself' cannot tolerate this dissonance. In fact, to embrace us over them, even to see the world as divided into these competing camps, is to begin to walk down the road that negates the truth that every person is made in the image of God. {Yes, the world is divided into Redeemed and Lost, Sheep and Goats, but those are not the lines being drawn here, this is political not spiritual warfare}
Can a Christian, in good conscience, turn against Democracy in favor of Autocracy? Not if he/she loves their neighbor whom such a system would harm, as Jesus commanded us to do.
In the process of explaining to those who think they're on God's good side, but who in fact have stubborn and unrepentant hearts, that they are in fact angering God and storing up wrath for themselves, the Apostle Paul hits upon a universal truth: Good will be rewarded, Evil will be punished. It may not seem like it now, but ultimately Justice will prevail. Why? Because God is Just, it is his nature. That God offers grace to all who will repent and believe does not negate this fact, God didn't ignore the sin's of humanity, Jesus paid for them. The implications of this truth are voluminous, among them the hope and encouragement those living righteously by faith receive knowing that their labors are not in vain.
Nine people murdered at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015. In August 2017, White Supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia marched with torches shouting, "The Jews will not replace us!" Eleven people murdered at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2018. Twenty-three people murdered at an El Paso, Texas Walmart in 2019. Fifty people murdered at two mosques in New Zealand in 2019. And now, ten people murdered at a grocery story in Buffalo, New York on May 14th, 2022. All of the killers were white men, and all of their targets were chosen because of race. It is racism at its most vile, empowered by the ability of one person to murder dozens in a few moments, but otherwise little different in terms of the hatred involved and the goal desired from the lynching's of the Klan. The history of this attitude in America also includes the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and the Know Nothing party's anti-immigrant rhetoric, and similar such efforts to preserve America for people 'like us' in skin tone and culture.
It would seem like an obvious response to condemn the ideology of those who perpetuate mass murder, it was certainly what happened in America after 9/11 to Islamic Fundamentalism, but in fact the "Great Replacement" has been gaining acceptance and supports from well known pundits and politicians in recent years (in the midst of the ongoing slaughter of innocents), most notably from Tucker Carlson.
How does one avoid politics, my goal, when pundits (and politicians) are advocating an ideology that continues to inspire mass murderers? In this case, I cannot. What America's immigration policy should be is another conversation, but what cannot be mainstreamed is the notion that White lives are of more value than non-White lives. There is not way around the conclusion that the "Great Replacement" theory embraced by Tucker Carlson (and others) is making this 'us' vs 'them' mathematical calculus.
Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Galatians 3:28 (NIV) There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Revelation 7:9 (NIV) After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
I have heard Galatians 3:28 quoted against those fighting racial injustice, along with MLK Jr's famous, "I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Both of course out-of-context uses that twist the meaning in the opposite direction to protect racial injustice. In fact, it is the White Supremacists, and those adjacent to them advocating the "Great Replacement" who ignore the call of Scripture to ignore race for the sake of the Gospel. To God, our Creator, it is anathema to proclaim that 'we' cannot let 'them' replace 'us'. Who do 'we' think we are? By what right do we deserve this land, this nation, any more than they? Nationalism gives us reasons to thump our chests and call it 'our land', but a Christian Worldview that affirms that we are but stewards of God's Creation must reject such claims of preferential treatment, we live here by the Grace of God, not our own merits.
The Church is growing rapidly in the non-White parts of the world, it has been for the past several generations at the same time that is has been shrinking in Europe and America. The Church is less White today than it was thirty years ago, and that trend continues. That the Church in the West is struggling is cause for grief, repentance, and renewed faithfulness, that it is growing rapidly in much of the rest of the world is cause for celebration, joy, and hope.
The Gospel rejects, utterly, racial superiority. The Gospel rejects, utterly, tribalism and nationalism. The Church in America must have none of this, millions of self-proclaimed Christian Americans may look to Tucker Carlson and others pushing the "Great Replacement" as some sort of 'savior' of Christianity, but like Vladimir Putin has monstrously proven himself to be, this is a false hope, an anti-Christ (in the New Testament sense, something against-Christ). One cannot 'save' the Church through racism, one can only stain the Bride of Christ.
Addendum: Following the revelation that the Buffalo shooter was influenced by the "Great Replacement" Theory, Tucker Carlson responded by defending his ongoing use of it because, in his mind, it isn't a conspiracy theory but a reality. That this 'theory' is based upon an us vs. them mentality, viewing the lives of American citizens as inherently superior to those of the rest of the world, reminds us that its roots are in Nationalism and Racism, concepts that are anathema to the Universal Church.
It was recently revealed that the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was deeply involved in trying to prevent the inauguration of President Joe Biden. The politics of that decision will ripple through 2024 and beyond, but one exchange (of those thus far made public) between Ginni Thomas and then White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, should concern all Christian Americans who do not believe that God is an American or Jesus is a Republican. In other words, if you are willing to see the distinction between Church and State, between Church and America, and between Church and the Republican Party; it is frightening one of the most influential people in the ear of the formerly most powerful man in the world apparently did not. Here is the quote:
"This is a fight of good versus evil. Evil always looks like the victor until the King of Kings triumphs. Do not grow weary in well doing. The fight continues. I have staked my career on it. Well at least my time in DC on it."
There are heretical problems with this quote on several levels for Mark Meadows who has publicly, on numerous occasions, declared himself to be a Christian (and has made his public proclamation of being a Christian a central part of his appeal to voters, thus increasing the scrutiny his faith has earned).
1. American political discourse is not 'good versus evil'.
While it may not be blasphemy to declare one's political enemies to be 'evil' (it is certainly false testimony, another sin), it is blasphemy to declare one's own side to be 'good' in the sense that Meadows uses the word. This is apocalyptic, binary choice, type language. Meadows is declaring the Republican party to be Righteous and the Democrat party to be Wicked, in a sheep and the goats, wheat and the tares, type language familiar to those who have read the Gospels. This type of political rhetoric is common, I've heard all my life from people I've known personally, sadly often in church growing up, that 'they' (typically meaning Democrats, liberals, etc.) were 'evil', with the insinuation made, at times explicitly, that 'they' are in league with Satan. If 'they' are on Satan's team, then surely 'we' are on God's team, right? Here's the thing, there are things about the Republican Party, its policies and leaders (now and in the past) that are biblical, moral, and just, AND there are things about the Republican party, its policies and leaders (now and in the past) that are unbiblical, immoral, and unjust. The exact same thing is true of the Democrat Party, and the exact same thing is true of all the parties in all the countries in the world, always has been, always will be. Why? Because they're human creations, led by fallible and fallen human beings, and tempted by the "root of all kinds of evil" (1 Timothy 6:10), that is money.
It doesn't matter what issue Meadows, or anyone else is talking about, the battle between political parties in America is NOT 'good versus evil', it is blasphemy to say so because anyone who does is associating the things of mankind with the will of God, and tarnishing the reputation of God through guilt by association. God is not the exclusive property of any one party or philosophy, period. The Church belongs wholly to Christ, when it fulfills its calling by living righteously, by overflowing with the Fruit of the Spirit, it can rightly claim to be fighting a battle of 'good versus evil'. The Church often fails to live up to this calling, it wasn't given to America, nor was it given to the Republican Party, and neither this nation, nor that political party, are God's representatives on earth, neither are living by faith through the Spirit. The blurring of the line between Christian faith and politics, between Church and political party, has always led to this sad conclusion: blasphemy. Mark Meadows is far from the first, he wont' be the last.
Stop for a moment and consider the affect of this rhetoric on a democracy. Is it any wonder that we're seeing more and more political violence in America when those who are supposed to be responsible leaders are stoking the fires of religious zeal against fellow Americans? If we are 'good' and they are 'evil' the emotional distance one needs to walk to justify killing 'them' is terrifyingly short.
2. The allusion to Jesus' eventual triumph over all things is misapplied, at best.
It is absolutely true that Evil seems to triumph in this world, and it is absolutely true that Jesus Christ will triumph in every way possible when he returns (Philippians 2:9-11). When one makes that allusion, in the context of the 2020 election, it is not the eventual triumph of Jesus that comes to the fore, but the grossly misunderstood Christian Republicanism that assumes that the will of God MUST be that 'our team' wins elections, that 'our team' triumphs in this generation. There is gross arrogance in the assumption that the anyone could understand the will of God for any nation, or in the assumption that God's will and our own hopes/purposes are in alignment, especially when the topic at hand is the power, wealth, and fame of politics. The King of Kings will triumph, that outcome is assured, but it has ZERO to do with any American election.
3. "Do not grow weary in well doing" is Scripture abused, painfully.
Galatians 6:9 New International Version
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
I would give Mark Meadows credit for knowing this verse of Scripture (he appears to be quoting the KJV) if he wasn't using it in a way that would have made the Apostle Paul throw up. Once again we have the false equating of 'good' with Republican party priorities, in this case the retention (against the law) of Donald Trump as President. How can this possibly be 'good' in the sense that Paul intended it? Here is the actual context of Paul's statement:
Galatians 6:7-10 New International Version
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
God cannot be mocked!! A few sentences before the quote that Meadows uses for political purposes is a warning against mocking God! And immediately after the quote is the command to do 'good to all people', especially fellow Christians. Joe Biden is a Christian, attending Mass regularly. Disagree with his politics all you want, but this command from the Apostle Paul applies, and is binding between Mark Meadows and Joe Biden, yet Meadows is using this out-of-context portion of God's Word to urge Ginni Thomas to continue working against the 'evil' Joe Biden. It is a sad commentary on the Church in America that so many self-professing Christians treat each other like foes to be destroyed and not brothers and sisters to be loved, as God commands them to do. God will not be mocked, those who use scripture to prop up partisan goals will stand in judgment before God and answer for it {And don't think I don't hold myself to that standard, every minister of the Gospel will be held to account for misuses of God's Word for personal goals}.
Conclusion:
The text message from Mark Meadows to Ginni Thomas reveals a deeply flawed theology of equating the Republican Party with the Church, the priorities of the Republican Party with the will of God, and the choices/leaders of the Republican Party with 'good'. This is a subset of 'Christian' Nationalism, and is as blasphemous for Mark Meadows to utter as it was for the Pharisees to assume they held a monopoly on understanding the Law of Moses, the Pharisees were blinded by self-righteousness and hatred of their enemies, history is repeating itself here.
Commenting on the social media feeds of others is "like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." I recently wrote in support of a post from a fellow minister (who lives outside PA) who had shared a story from The Gospel Coalition regarding a statement released by ten seminaries that were formerly behind the Iron Curtain against Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. {10 Seminaries from Post-Soviet States Issue a Joint Statement - The Gospel Coalition}. The response to that posting from an individual that I don't know anything about (other than we have one mutual FB friend) was shocking, to me. This individual called the Gospel Coalition's story propaganda, "TGC has a tendency to push the accepted narrative, and in this case they're apparently declaring which side God and the Church is on and/or routing for. It reads like propaganda." After further discussion, with myself and the clergy member who posted the link, he wrote, "I don't believe Putin is trying to harm civilians—he certainly has more important locations in mind. There's going to be wars and rumors of wars until the Lord returns, and I don't plan on falling for the cookie cutter narrative pushed by the mainstream media and big tech any time soon." In the end, I walked away from the conversation (and that of another commenter on the post who shared Russian posts and claimed it was a 'civil war'), as there seemed to be no common understanding of the facts that allow a fruitful discussion to take place, if the video of residential buildings on fire and refugees fleeing don't make an impact, neither will my words.
As the war in Ukraine unfolds, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, displacing millions of refugees, wrecking cities, destroying the Ukrainian economy, and of course maiming and killing countless innocents, it seems clear to most, myself and every clergy person I know included, that this war and the person primarily responsible for starting it is Evil. Yes, the capital 'E' is on purpose. It pains me to think that there are Americans, hard to say how many, who could look at the actions of Vladimir Putin over the last two decades, the litany of murdered dissidents, journalists, and exiles killed in the countries they had fled to, plus the cities leveled in Chechnya, Syria, and now Ukraine without being able to call this evil. It should disturb us all if some claiming to follow Christ can only view this war through their own American Culture War glasses {the dig at the 'mainstream media' being my clue as to that motivation, I don't know the writer of those words at all, but he claimed to be a follower of Jesus} If this litany of bloodshed, if this repetition of violence isn't evil, what is?
Isaiah 5:20 (NIV)
Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter.
This is indeed an ongoing danger to the Church, one that has reared its ugly head many times in Church history, when those who claim to follow Jesus at the same time embrace for themselves, or others, doing acts that are exceedingly immoral whether in service of 'the greater good' (The Crusades, Inquisition) or enslaved to their own sinful desires (such as Putin's dream of a new Russian Empire for which he is willing to kill many thousands).
Should we pray for Vladimir Putin? Certainly not for his success or the continuation of his autocratic rule, for his desires are evil, and actions causing suffering on an epic scale. For the salvation of his soul? Absolutely, the same as we pray for the Lost the world over, for by the fruit of his actions he has repeatedly declared himself to be in need of repentance. God can forgive the vilest of sinners, but not until they turn from their wickedness, of that we have yet to see any sign.
The Holocaust was Evil, and so were the actions of everyone who aided it. Anyone who cannot see that, who either denies that it took place, or attempts to minimize or justify it, is living in darkness of heart and mind. There is no comparable action in human history to the Holocaust, it is the ultimate example of the depravity of humanity both singularly (Hitler) and collectively (his willing executioners). I dislike both as a student of history and a minister, attempts to compare people to Hitler and events to the Holocaust. To say that something is less egregious, or less evil, than the Holocaust is a given, but sadly there are still many others things that rightly deserve the label, they may not be the ultimate example of evil, but evil they are. Unless Putin unleashes nuclear weaponry and threatens the existence of life on this planet, he will remain a notch below Hitler, but with every passing day that this war continues, he moves further down that path.
We may not always agree on what ought to be, on what the best path forward is (and that disagreement can be, to an extent, healthy for the Church), but God help us as a Church if we can't see evil for what it is and denounce it.
In a recent interview on the Holy Post podcast (with Phil Vischer), Wheaton College New Testament professor Esau McCaulley makes the case that the United States (and the Church within it) missed a golden opportunity after 9/11 to "repay evil with blessing" rather than with greater destruction. Admittedly, there was zero political will in the country, and very little opposition of any kind, to the idea of crushing the Taliban to get to Al Qaeda as justice/revenge for the lives lost on that horrific day. I live through 9/11 as a young man, an educated Christian man, and my own thoughts were primarily of our military response. Like so many other times in history, the way of peace, the forgiving of enemies, was not tried. In the interview McCaulley also makes the point that what the Church needs is more Christian politicians willing to lose spectacularly. In other words, willing to advocate for principles that while unpopular with the American people, are consistent with a Christian worldview. What we need to do is prize morality above power, obedience to God above 'winning' in the here and now. The Church would be far healthier, he believes, if those claiming to be Christian politicians lost more elections. I found McCaulley's honesty to be very refreshing as it echoes much of my recent seminar: The Church and Politics , which was itself largely derived from the writings of Pastor Gregory Boyd in The Myth of a Christian Nation {The Myth of a Christian Nation by Gregory Boyd: summary and response}, the practical experiences of Cal Thomas and Ed Dobson working for the Moral Majority, as outlined in Blinded by Might, and the worldview underpinnings of Harry Blamires in The Christian Mind, all of which can trace foundational theological heritage back to the Apostle Peter's words in 1 Peter 3:8-17 (among other biblical passages on the topic including: Romans 12:14-21, 1 Thessalonians 5:15, and of course the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:38-48). The point is, there is a tremendously powerful and convincing theological case to be made in favor of choosing forgiveness over wrath, mercy over justice, especially if we are truly going to model our behavior after the life of Jesus himself. But, and this is the important conjunction, most Christian throughout history have preferred Realpolitik to living by the teachings of Jesus in these matters. And that has consequences.
1 Peter 3:8-17 New International Version
8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,
“Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech.
11 They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
The interview with Esau McCaulley from the 26-54 minute marks is highly recommended
Can we 'take America back for God'? Gregory Boyd's book explains why such a goal is impossible, because no such thing as a 'Christian nation' was ever intended by God, Thomas and Dobson illustrate in their book that a concerted effort sustained over a decade by the Moral Majority failed to move the country any closer to that supposed goal, and Blamires made the case back in 1963 that modern Christians were largely incapable of such an effort (even if it were possible) because they don't THINK like Christians. Now Esau McCaulley is adding a modern example, the American response to 9/11, to further illustrate the point. That his suggestion, sending aid to Afghanistan after 9/11 rather than planes loaded with bombs, would have been widely mocked, and someone suggesting such a course of action would have been accused of being 'soft on terrorism' or even a traitor, just illustrates how far from the mirage like goal of being a 'Christian nation' America truly is. The Right does not offer a Christian worldview, and neither does the Left.
So, what will the consequences be when a nation that is majority Christian (by every poll and form of self-reporting) acts with little difference than a nation that is majority Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, etc? At the very least, evangelism will be negatively affected. Throughout the world what America does is conflated (fairly or unfairly) with Christianity. The Pope or other ecclesiastical authorities may speak in opposition to American choices acting upon the world stage all they want, to the billions of people around the world, American foreign policy and culture speaks much louder.
For the Church in America, when those inhabiting it reject Christian morality in favor of American priorities, our own discipleship and transformation toward Christ-likeness is delayed, even derailed. In this we are no different than the British Imperialists of generations past, or of the Pope's more interested in the wars of the Papal States than the spiritual health of the Western Church. We cannot compartmentalize our lives, behaving as Americans on the one hand and Christians on the other. As far as our national values are misaligned with our spiritual ones, those values are to us immorality, and as much as individual Christians (self-proclaimed or genuine) reject the calling to imitate Jesus, preferring Might to Right, we will be tolerating a cancer within the Church.
Is the battle lost? I wouldn't be typing this if I thought so. We know that the Church itself, global not national, will triumph at the end of history. We don't have any idea how many years or even millennia before that day comes, but we know it will because God proclaimed it. We know that voices like McCaulley, Vischer, Boyd, and smaller ones like my own, continue to proclaim the need for the Church to let go of the chimera of worldly victory through power and embrace the promise of spiritual victory through servanthood. At this point, these voices sound more like John the Baptist, people look at them like a crazy person wearing a camel hair shirt, eating locusts and wild honey. But then again, God vindicated John (although he lost his head in this life standing up for morality against a corrupt system).
