All posts by oldwarrior632015

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About oldwarrior632015

A retired chaplain/pastor who thinks.

And on September 10th All Was Well

Theology

I was 253 days into retirement from the Army on September 10, 2001. It was a beautiful Monday as only a Washington Monday can be in September – just a hint of the autumn that would soon be upon us and a remembrance of the summer almost gone. It was a day like any other day when the world is at peace, when people are going about their daily grind, and we are more concerned with family and friends and work and vacations than we are about discontented Muslims in some far-off and distant land plotting the restoration of the caliphate in Spain and Portugal and the overthrow and American hegemony in the world. As I say, it was a Monday like any other. I went about my daily routine and when evening came, I watched the evening news, read a little, and retired for the night.

Then came the morning. My alarm was set for 0600 and when I awoke that Tuesday morning the radio was saying something about a plane that had struck one of the twin towers of the World Trade Building. Must have been some sightseeing plane that had gotten in trouble, but no the newsreader said it was a passenger plane. And then the second plane struck the other tower and I knew we were under attack and a new war had begun.

We went from peace and calm to war and chaos in an instant. And that’s how it will be in the time before The Return.

Jesus said, “But concerning that day and hour (the time of The Return) no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:36–39, ESV)

And Paul wrote, “While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” (1 Thessalonians 5:3, ESV)

No one, at least no one of whom we are aware, knew an attack was coming. It just came, as it were, out of the blue. So will it be when Christ returns. Those who are ready now will be those who are ready then. So, as it is written, today, if you hear his voice calling you to repentance and renewal, answer the call. Don’t be caught unawares and unprepared for what is coming on the world.

On Vaccination and Vaccine Mandates

Politics and Society

Let me state upfront where I stand on the science of vaccination: I believe that vaccination is a gift to the human race from the God whose acts we observe in the physical world as science. (Is this a convoluted sentence or what! I’m trying to say nature is the result of God’s creativity and science is the methodical observation of his creation.) Partially because of my military life and partially because I’ve looked at the science, I’ve been vaccinated against every disease that would reasonably be expected to be a threat to my life and health. I know I’ve been vaccinated against smallpox at least three and maybe four times – I’ve lost track!

I also believe that when a disease appears that becomes an existential threat to the lives of the population and the stability of social systems, vaccination, if available, can and should be required by the established government. The US Supreme Court was correct when in 1905 it ruled that the government could require people be vaccinated against smallpox. Before vaccination, smallpox was a devastating disease often killing up to one-third of those who contracted it. (And that is in populations that had been exposed multiple times to the disease. When it came to the Americas from Europe back when my ancestors came here from the British Isles, it found a native population that had never been exposed to this virus and entire populations were wiped out.) I find it hard to even imagine a disease coming into town and killing one out of every three men, women, and children, but that was the case before God granted wisdom to those who were searching for a way to prevent that common outcome.

Having said I believe vaccination is a gift of God, and that I believe God has given government the right and responsibility to require vaccination when the threat of disease is greater than the threat of tyranny, I am conflicted about government mandates regarding Covid. My conflict is this: Covid is not an existential threat. It is a serious disease right now but its reach is too short to be feared. It is new and so it will take some time for it to infect enough people frequently enough to enable it to join the other four coronaviruses that cause the common cold.
The fact that some 96% of all doctors in the US have been vaccinated against Covid says a lot about what they think about the safety and effectiveness of the current vaccines, and I have happily been Pfizered as well. But we must be honest and say Covid kills very, Very, VERY few people. (But when it does kill, it’s not pretty. Suffocation is not the most pleasant way to exit this life and I would hope that young people would attend that.) It’s new; it’s scary; but it’s not highly lethal. So is a government mandate designed more to protect the medical industry that the welfare of the populace something we should embrace? Some of the medical professionals I respect are pushing mandates because the Delta version of this virus is far more contagious than previous versions, and it is infecting younger and healthier people than before. I don’t know!

If Covid is not going to crush our society and wipe us out, is it a legitimate act of government to require vaccination to control it? I don’t think so. (I am by nature very skeptical of political motivations and propaganda, so I own my biases.) But if we are not to allow government to overreach on vaccination mandates, we must be willing to accept that there will be more serious, and at times, even fatal outcomes for those who have chosen not to be vaccinated.

Let me say this: we must accept that it is appointed unto all men (and women) to die at least once, and if some choose to leave this avenue to death unblocked, then that’s their choice and I have no argument against it. They are not going to take entire communities with them to the grave. Covid is still primarily an elderly disease. We who are elderly expect to die sooner rather than later, and there are far worse ways to exit this life than a few weeks with Covid.

When the Natural Is Not Natural

Politics and Society, Theology

Jeremiah 24:10
And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.” (ESV)

If it’s any consolation, the ancients rejected the idea (fact, really) that God would use the natural world in unnatural ways to accomplish his purposes every bit as much as people do today.

This word from Jeremiah (I was going to say, “prophecy,” but that gives too much cover to those who are blind to the reach of God into our everyday existence) came during the final years of the Kingdom of Judah before Nebuchadnezzar sent his army in to burn its fortresses and palaces, and to tear down its walls and temple. God said, through Jeremiah, that he was going to use international conflict and local criminal enterprises, climate change and its consequent food shortages, and pandemic diseases to bring a nation that repeatedly rejected his right to rule to a catastrophic end.

Are we any different today? Are not Joe Biden and the Congress and Courts as set in their rejection of God’s sovereignty as was Zedekiah, the last king of Judah? Have not the American people, and the peoples of the world generally, chosen to worship their gods of gold and silver and stone rather than the Creator of heaven and earth? Is not wealth and fame more important than character and fidelity? Have they not embraced the LGBTQ perversion? How many violate the “No wed, no Bed” decree? Has not marriage become a renewable-term contract rather than a lifelong commitment? Do we not slaughter infants on the goddess’s abortion altar? Do we not teach our children in the public school system that there is no God and that man is the master of his destiny?

I could go on for pages detailing how we are no different than our ancient forefathers. Their rebellions are our own. The human heart and soul hates God unless it has been transformed by his Spirit, and every attempt to replace him with science so-called, or philosophy, or enlightened religion that has no place for a sovereign God, or the mindless pursuit of pleasure and entertainment, are but mankind whistling past the graveyard.

Just as our rebellions are the same as the fathers, so God’s judgments follow a similar pattern. Look at our world torn with wars, rumors of wars, and crime. Do you think that all the murders on our streets are just happenstances? Do you not believe the consistent rejection of Jesus Christ results in death here as well as in the hereafter? And yes, the climate is changing. It’s always changing, but can you not see God’s hand in the California fires, the gulf coast hurricanes, and the New York floods? I mention these three because California is the heart of the sex-is-god worship, New Orleans is dedicated to human decadence, and New York is, well, is New York. Need I mention Covid? It is sweeping millions of men and women around the world to their graves – many of them Christless graves from which there are no second chances to repent. If we would accept it, Covid is a call from God to turn to the One who has revealed himself in nature and in Jesus Christ.

I know some will read this as the rantings of a silly old man. And maybe I am! But silly and old, this I know: if there is a God, he has revealed himself in the natural world and in the supernatural revelation of himself in the prophets and in his Son, and if there is no God, then eat, drink, kill, and fornicate to your heart’s content because we are all just going to die and that’s it. But before you decide which course you are going to take, at least take a look at Jeremiah and maybe, just maybe, hear the voice of God calling you to faith, obedience, and life.

Sorry, Mr. Biden, Abortion Is Murder

Politics and Society, Theology

Jeremiah 44:15–19
Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: “As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you. But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster. But since we left off making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” And the women said, “When we made offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ approval that we made cakes for her bearing her image and poured out drink offerings to her?” (ESV)

Two signs held by young women in front of the Texas Capitol tell us the worship of the ancient gods and goddesses has never ceased. One reads, “Sex is beautiful. Reproduction is optional. Abortion is healthcare.” The other reads, “Fetuses are not babies. Abortion is not murder. Women are not incubators.” More on this after a little biblical exploration.

Take a look at the Jeremiah passage and let’s have a little historical context. Josiah was perhaps the best king to have ever ruled over the southern kingdom of Judah. He was only 8 when he came to the throne (640 BC), and he came in troublous times. Judah was a subordinate state of Assyria and had been since the erasure of the Northern Kingdom of Israel some 80 years earlier (720 BC). Trouble was brewing on the borders of the Assyrian Empire as the Babylonians were growing stronger and the Egyptians to the south were looking to expand their reach. (Josiah would die in battle against the Egyptians in 609 BC.)

Josiah’s subjects were dedicated worshipers of every god but the God of heaven. The people of Israel were always of two minds when it came to worship. The gods of the day were gods who scratched where they itched. God made us sexual creatures. His first command was to have sex and make babies. Sex is essential to our continuance on this earth, but when sex becomes the object instead of the means, it becomes an idol. It’s an attractive idol, and an idol that easily displaces the God who devised it for the pleasure it bestows. The queen of heaven was one such god. Her worship and the worship of her consorts were sex parties where anything goes. The land was filled with pleasure palaces and glens, and sacrifices were made, often the lives of infants and children, on their altars.

Josiah set about changing the mindset of sex for sex’s sake. He destroyed the pleasure palaces and salted the glens. He restored the temple in Jerusalem – the priests and the Levites were as into these gods as were the people – and with the prophets, called them to worship God with all their hearts, minds, AND bodies. For awhile it looked like real reform, a real return to the God of the Exodus, was taking place. Throughout the reign of Josiah, the worship of Baal, Astarte, Moloch, and all the other gods of Canaan, Assyria, and Egypt, plus whatever gods they picked up on their travels along the trade routes of that region, disappeared. Well, not disappeared really. They went into the closet only to come back full force as soon as Josiah died and Jehoiachim took the throne. He and those who came after worshiped the gods and goddesses of sex for sex’s sake full bore until Nebuchadnezzar tired of them and their intrigues and completely destroyed the nation in 586 BC.
Off the remnant of the land run to Egypt dragging Jeremiah along. And this is where our text comes in. Jeremiah gives the message that their sins brought this destruction upon them, and they respond by telling him he’s full of it and they are going to worship these gods and goddesses just as they and their fathers had done as far back as memory could take them. And they killed Jeremiah.

This brings us back to Austin, Texas. Texas just passed a law saying that as soon as a heartbeat is detected, that which is in a woman’s womb is not her body, but is another person. This is anathema to those who worship the goddess. Sex is for pleasure, they cry, producing the next generation is an afterthought. An infant developing in a woman’s womb is just a blob of tissue and an abortion is no different that cutting one’s hair or trimming one’s nails. But they are deluded! Indeed, we are told in 2nd Thessalonians that they are under the sway of Satan and that God has sent them a powerful delusion that they might believe his lie that there is no God, and that they might be reserved until the condemnation of Judgement Day. It pains me to say this, but these women and the men who support them are the enemies of God, and thus of God’s children. Any enemy of my Father is an enemy of mine!

What’s a Christian to do? Speak the truth in love. These women are deluded children of the devil and must be identified as such. Do not smile and pat their hands. Tell them they are just one step from hellfire and although the door to heaven is not yet closed, they are pushing against it. Can God forgive a woman who murders her child? Yes, as he has forgiven countless repentant murderers throughout the history of our race. He forgave David for murdering Uriah; he is willing to forgive any and all who confess and forsake their sins. But do not be deceived! Murder is not a woman’s right to choose. I don’t know how many children have been sacrificed on the altar of the goddess since seven God-hating men determined the murdering of children to be written in invisible ink in our Constitution. One would be too many, and millions weigh heavily against the future prosperity of our republic. Should God send his judgements of Famine, Plague, and Sword upon The United States of America as he sent them upon Israel and Judah, those whom he has redeemed can say naught but Amen.

Hindsight Is Not All It’s Cracked-up to Be

Politics and Society

It is often said that hindsight is 20/20. It’s not.

Three days ago, Mr. Biden stumbled the United States out of a 20-year conflict in Afghanistan. His retrograde operation is a testament to the courage and creativity of our Armed Forces even when given a poorly thought-out order. Soldiers don’t get to select the best strategy, they often don’t get a voice in choosing the best operational concept, but they execute the mission like the true professionals they are. Their bravery and professionalism isn’t measured by the wisdom of their Commander-in-Chief but by their commitment to one another and to their assigned mission.

The anti-Biden talkingheads are laying into Mr. Austin, the SECDEF, and GEN Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, for not having a better plan to exit Afghanistan. The truth is, none of us really know what advice they and their staffs gave Mr. Biden before he latched onto his plan to abandon our best base there and rush for the door before a methodical exit could occur. Get off it! I don’t know if Austin and Milley are competent military leaders or not – and neither does Laura I. or Shawn H – but I do know this is the military leadership we have and I’ll support them until they are proven evil or incompetent.

I have genuine empathy for Mr. Austin especially. He advanced up the general officer ranks under Mr. Obama’s presidency and was appointed the SECDEF by Mr. Biden because he was black – or at least that’s what the liberal media wants us to believe (and the other side encourages). Under the tribal spoils program Mr. Biden and the Left in general are promoting, a person’s gender, race, and sexual preference are the primary qualifiers for public office and not professional competence. So Mr. Austin serves under a cloud of suspicion because of the people who promoted him and not based on his own professional missteps. (And yes, he did and said some things while he was in command in Iraq and Afghanistan that have proven to be far off the mark. But you find me anyone whose judgment at the moment is flawless – especially when they are supporting the policies of their President, whoever that might be.) I think we can do better than judge a man by the color of his skin.

Afghanistan (and Iraq) is George Bush’s failure. He and Donald Rumsfeld took what should have been an expeditionary mission to eliminate al Qaeda and turned it into an attempt to convert a feudalistic Central Asian nation into an Americanesque state. Every failure of American policy, every dime spent, and every life lost must be laid at his feet. Even Mr. Biden’s stumble to the exit belongs to George Bush. I’m sorry those few Afghans (and it is only a few thousands in a population of 40 million) who embraced American social and political ideas are disappointed in the American exit and might well loose their lives in consequence. You were given false hope. Afghanistan is surrounded by Islamic nations; how could anyone not expect them to be the same?

I could rant on ad infinitum. Suffice it to say, yes, Mr. Biden is an incompetent, far too old to be in charge, president. Yes, he bungled the Afghanistan exit. But it’s an exit that should have happened 19 years ago before George Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump made Afghanistan the mess that it is today. The buck stops with Mr. Biden, but it should never have dropped on his desk.

Covid Is Still Here?

Politics and Society

I’d never have guessed a year ago that Covid would still be the center of our public conversation. Here’s what I’ve gleaned from all the information and misinformation with which we are being bombarded. (By the way, The Hawaii public heath website has the easiest to understand graphic on the relationship by age cohort between Infection, Hospitalization, and Death. Check it out. It should put parents’ fears to rest concerning their children.)

Anyway, here’s how I’m reading all this that is flowing both from government propagandists and actual virologists. This SARS-CoV2 is going to infect humans until Christ gives us our new bodies at The Return. It is never going to go away and government efforts to make it do so are both futile and counterproductive. Whether we like it or not, God has designed our immune systems to build resistance over multiple exposures to these coronaviruses. And there are two ways of getting these exposures.

The first, best, and most dangerous means is natural infection. There are many components to a virus, and when the immune system is exposed to a virus it builds a multifaceted, wide-ranging response to it. In other words, our God-given immune response to a virus is as complex as the virus itself. Multiple exposures to the virus will build a very robust immune response. This is why children get really messy colds and old folk like myself seldom get a cold, and when we do it is very mild. My colds last about two days and are at worst a mild annoyance. (This is true until our bodies start getting serious about preparing for death. When that starts happening our immune systems start turning off so whatever comes along can lay us in our graves.)

The second best way of building an effective immune response is vaccination. Some vaccines like the measles vaccine use the virus itself and they almost always convey lifelong immunity. The Covid vaccine is not this type of vaccine. It only replicates the spike protein, the key the virus uses to unlock the cell and inject itself into it. That is very good as far as it goes. It will prevent a massive viral invasion and it greatly reduces the likelihood of serious infection, hospitalization, and death. BUT because it only targets one portion of the virus and not the whole thing like the immune response to natural infection, the possibility of the virus mutating on that one spike protein and evading the immune system is greater.

The best way, as far as I can tell, to build a robust resistance to the Covid virus for the entire community is to vaccinate as many as possible and not promote masking and avoidance. Allow, encourage, vaccinated people and previously infected people to mix and mingle. Let those whose immune systems have been fortified either through natural infection or vaccination be exposed to the virus and let that exposure strengthen their immune systems against serious illness in the future.

Again, this virus is not going to go away, but God has designed us to adapt to its presence and overcome it naturally. We can help the process along with vaccination, but vaccination will not solve the problem. That will require time and multiple infections which we must allow. And yes, those with weak immune systems will die with the disease and there is absolutely nothing we can do about that; about .9% of the population dies every year with about 80% of them being over 65.

On a Dream – Or Fight On!

Politics and Society, Theology

Many years ago I was a pastor in a Christian sect that has a long history of pacifism, yet I felt an overwhelming desire to go into the Army as a chaplain. How could I reconcile the pacifist beliefs of my denomination with the ministry to soldiers whose duty was to fight and kill as necessary in the nation’s service? Could I tell a soldier who was drawn to Christ that he must lay down his arms and study war no more? (As I had been instructed when God called me to himself when I was a young sailor.) As you can well imagine, I was torn. Was it to be the teachings of the church or the calling of God (as I believed then and yet still believe)?

I am a “Whole Bible” Christian. I know that David’s God is my Lord Jesus Christ, the second member of the Trinity. So I was reading the stories of Abraham rescuing Lot, and the conquest of Canaan, and the wars of David and feeling the tension between what I had been taught and what my bible related.

Let me throw a clarifying paragraph in here. My former denomination has many faithful followers of Christ on its pews. No human institution, and denominations and churches are human institutions run by men, has a grasp of the absolute truth of God. No preacher or professor is right on everything – and that includes me! So while I am convinced from scripture that what I had been taught to believe by my church was wrong, that does not mean they were wrong about the big things like what is contained within The Apostles Creed and the other historic creeds of the church. There are churches and denominations and there is The Church, the body of Christ, the redeemed of the Lord, the congregation of the born again to which some members of denominations (churches) belong. Churches that are faithful to the Core of the Christian Faith (The Kerygma) are part of Christ’s Church; those that are not, are not.

Now back to my story. I was pitched on the horns of a dilemma and knew not how to get off. In my troubled state I had a dream and my struggle was resolved. In this dream I was driving my Bronco down a city street and came upon a group of young men beating and robbing a man. I stopped, prayed, “Lord God, give me strength and courage!”, and leaped out to join the fight and rescue that man. When I awoke I knew that fighting to defend the right is right and I should become an Army Chaplain. Long story short, almost three years later I was reporting to Fort Hood, Texas and the First Cavalry Division as a Chaplain (1LT) and embarking on a ministry non-pareil.

We are living in interesting times. The war between good and evil that began in heaven and has been waged on this planet since Adam and Eve is getting hotter, whether in Afghanistan, or the US Supreme Court, or the wars and natural disasters that are occurring around the globe – evil surges and retreats throughout history and ours is one of those times when evil is advancing. I am agnostic whether this is the prelude to the final battle or not. Christians throughout the millennia have always believed, “This is it!” whenever evil seems to be gaining the upper hand. What we can know with certainty however is that the battle is at hand and there are no pacifistic bystanders – not now, not ever – everyone is fighting on Christ’s side or Satan’s. Every pastor, every elder is called to be a chaplain encouraging their soldiers to face the enemy and fight. Victory is certain; Christ has promised it to all who will stand and fight.
So be of good courage! The Lord will gain the victory with many or with few. All who believe an obey shall wear the crown of life. Fight!

Everybody Knows God Is

Theology

Psalm 19:1–6
[1] The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
[2] Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
[3] There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.
[4] Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
[6] Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. (ESV)

A serious question deserves a serious answer. As Christians we are often asked how it can be fair for God to declare all humanity deserving of death for its rebellion against his authority when not everyone has heard the gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed in the bible. That’s a reasonable question to which the 19th Psalm provides the definitive answer.
God’s existence, declares the Psalm, is made clear by the testimony of the natural world. Just as buildings and other infrastructure tell us that human creators exist and tell us much about who they are and what they value, so nature tells us about The Creator. It makes it clear that there is a God, that his creation is a wonder and thus he must have creative capabilities far beyond our grasp. The more we study the natural world, the more awe-struck we should be at the one who formed it from the beginning. There can be no other rational explanation for the complexity of the universe and of the planet on which we reside – as well as the complexity of life itself – other than that there is a Creator.

Once it is obvious that there is a Creator, it becomes the duty of every thinking creature to discover all that it is possible to know about him. All of science should be dedicated to knowing the One who gives knowledge. “Why?” should be on every lip. But there is more to God’s revelation of himself than the handwriting in the skies. Nature tells us absolutely and incontrovertibly that there is a Creator, but it doesn’t tell us with certainty who he is. For this we need further revelation. Hence the next portion of this Psalm. Nature tells us of Elohim, he tells us, through special revelation, that he is Yahweh, the great I Am.

It is in the Old Testament scripture and then especially in Jesus Christ that God tells us who this Creator is, what he is like, and how we can know him fully. Because nature speaks so clearly to the reality of a Creator, it is living in denial to not dedicate our efforts to discovering who he is. This is why all humanity can be judged and found guilty for not knowing him and his will for his creation.

Let me choose a modern-day example of willful denial that is bound to make someone mad – and I do so on purpose. I want to make clear that denial pays a price. Covid. We know Covid can be a serious disease, for some because they are old and feeble, for others because they are young but diseased, and for others because of reasons unknown (there is so much about the natural world of which we are ignorant). Whatever the reason, this virus kills some people. Reason dictates, therefore, that we dedicate our efforts to finding a way to mitigate its reach. We look around and see that a vaccine has been developed that, while not preventing infection, is very effective in preventing the disease from becoming life-threatening. But some can see that the virus is deadly and still refuse to take the next step in limiting its reach. Well, that’s what just about the entire human race does with God’s revelation of himself in nature. It is seen clearly that nature’s existence demands a creator – only the most foolish or simpleminded can deny that. But they don’t choose to pursue the question. They don’t feel a need to know this creator. And in not knowing they find themselves under judgment and condemnation for willful ignorance and rebellion.

The heavens declare God’s glory; the scripture declares his character and purpose.

Who Is Responsible for the Collapse of America in Afghanistan?

Politics and Society, Theology

Lamentations 2:1–5
How the Lord in his anger has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud!
He has cast down from heaven to earth the splendor of Israel;
he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger.
The Lord has swallowed up without mercy all the habitations of Jacob;
in his wrath he has broken down the strongholds of the daughter of Judah;
he has brought down to the ground in dishonor the kingdom and its rulers.
He has cut down in fierce anger all the might of Israel;
he has withdrawn from them his right hand in the face of the enemy;
he has burned like a flaming fire in Jacob, consuming all around.
He has bent his bow like an enemy, with his right hand set like a foe;
and he has killed all who were delightful in our eyes in the tent of the daughter of Zion;
he has poured out his fury like fire.
The Lord has become like an enemy; he has swallowed up Israel;
he has swallowed up all its palaces; he has laid in ruins its strongholds,
and he has multiplied in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation. (ESV)

Jeremiah 50:17–20
“Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones. Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing punishment on the king of Babylon and his land, as I punished the king of Assyria. I will restore Israel to his pasture, and he shall feed on Carmel and in Bashan, and his desire shall be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead. In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant. (ESV)

Daniel 2:20–21
Daniel answered and said:
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; (ESV)

Who is responsible for the debacle in Kabul? Who is it that has made America the laughingstock of the world and made her friends doubt her willingness to stay the course when the going gets rough?
It would be easy – too easy – to point the finger at Joe Biden and change the (D) after his name to (F). He, after all is the one who, following the lead of his predecessor, pulled the plug and walked away from America’s 20-year commitment to transforming Afghanistan from a backwater conglomeration of warring tribesmen into a semblance of a 21st Century nation-state. And it’s fair, I won’t say it’s not true, to say Mr. Biden has blown it and made America look like a feeble old woman instead of a confident warrior empire.

But I want to step back and look at the world through God-eyes, through the lens of scripture to see and know the truth. And here’s the deal: Joe Biden is the man responsible for the collapse of American power and influence in Central Asia, and perhaps the rest of the world. Joe is the man, but this man is but a tool in the hand of God as he works his will and way in the flow of human history. How do I know this to be true? The bible tells me so!

If we look at the history of Abraham’s posterity as recorded by the prophets, we see that it was the rare time that they took the worship of Abraham’s God seriously. Through most of their history they were professing devotees of God while the worshipped the gods of their neighbors and lived lives indistinguishable from the lives of – well to be honest – indistinguishable from the lives lived by Americans today.
God’s prophets kept warning them that their manner of living put them beyond the reach of God’s mercy and grace. They would make jabs at doing it right, but the bright lights of Vegas kept pulling them back to the depravity of their neighbors. Like them, they killed their unwanted children as expressions of personal freedom. Like them, they neighed after their neighbors’ wives like stallions in the paddock. (The expression of their desires are a little to graphic in scripture to be repeated here.) And they did it all while claiming to love God and to worship him. They would go to their happy-clappy “worship” services, offer their sacrifices (which they ate after giving the priests their portion), and hit the hay with their neighbors’ wives and husbands.

So, God, as Sovereign over all, first sent the Assyrians and then the Babylonians to strip the land bare, to slaughter these children of Abraham – man, woman, and child – and to send those left alive into exile as war refugees and slaves.
And that brings us to the question: Who was responsible for the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC and the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 586 BC? We can say it was Assyria for the North and Babylon for the South and we wouldn’t be wrong. Jeremiah said God would hold Assyria and Babylon responsible for the slaughter and devastation – and he did. Assyria fell to the Babylonian Empire and Babylon was consumed by the Medes and the Persians never to be seen or heard of again (except as eschatological analogy in the Revelation). But to stop there is to stop too soon. Assyria and Babylon were but tools in the hand of God to accomplish his purpose and to do his will.

Let me insert a cautionary here before I continue on. Babylon, in 586 BC was the most powerful nation in its area of influence. It had no rivals who could stand before it. Fifty years later, Babylon was no more. In 539 BC Cyrus attacked, and in 538 BC Babylon collapsed overnight. (See Daniel 5) Let us take fair warning. If and when God determines our nation as depraved and defiant as were those ancient kingdoms, we may fall into insignificance just as easily as did they.

So, back to Afghanistan and the American clown-show there. Who is responsible? First of all, I blame George Bush for not reading history before he decided it would be a good idea to overthrow the Afghan government and pour our soldiers into the Graveyard of Empires. Seriously, George? The Soviets had given up just 12 years earlier. Then his generals and military advisors, from Rumsfeld, to McChrystal, to Petraeus, to Allen, to Milley, and the thousands of other false prophets who keep saying we could win if we just tried a little harder. There’s enough blame to go around. Obama did poorly and Trump equally bad. But poor ol’ Joe gets to be the one who administers the coup de grace to American pride and American power in the region. But none of these men, regardless their competence or incompetence, bear ultimate responsibility for this disaster.
This is God’s doing! God is the one who sets up kings and takes them down. He, it is, who shapes the course of human history over years and decades and centuries and millennia. God has a purpose – we can see it in its broadest strokes in the bible – in his dealings with humanity. He is drawing us to a conclusion little different from the fall of Jerusalem and the collapse of Babylon. See Daniel 2! There is a coming kingdom that will grind to dust all earthly powers and empires. The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord, and he will reign forever and ever, amen.

So, what should you and I be doing? Throwing bricks at Biden? Maybe, but more importantly we should be searching the scripture and looking closely at everything that is happening in the world around us as we look for the tracings of God’s hand in human events.

Obey

Politics and Society, Theology

1 Peter 2:13–17
[13] Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, [14] or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. [15] For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. [16] Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. [17] Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. (ESV)

Romans 2:17–24
[17] But if you call yourself a [Christian] and rely on the law and boast in God [18] and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; [19] and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, [20] an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—[21] you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? [22] You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? [23] You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. [24] For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (ESV)

This Romans passage is written to point out to the most committed devotees to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – the devout Jews – that they were in as much need of the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ as were the Not-Jews they despised. I changed one word, the word “Jew” to “Christian” to illustrate that God’s modern-day devotees can be as equally blind to their need of grace as do the perverts and criminals we disdain.

I found myself under spiritual conviction this morning. The wife and I have been planning an end-of-summer shindig in our backyard for our church family on Labor Day Sunday. The grass is green, the weather is beautiful, and the burgers and dogs and baked beans and potato salad – and the church fellowship – were going to be fantastic! Then our governor, a man I consider without understanding or discernment, in other words, a secular man who puts politics above all else, imposed another masking mandate on the state.

My first instinct was to tell him to take a long walk off a short pier. How dare he MAKE free citizens bend to his diktat! Then the Peter passage appeared in my morning bible reading: be subject to (even stupid, brain-dead) governors! And these two bible passages melded in my mind.

I have been greatly disturbed by the bad governance God has given us. (Yes, I believe the bible teaches that even bad government is under the direction of heaven’s Sovereign.) Mr. Biden’s bumbling about with Afghanistan is but the latest iteration in a long list of governmental malfeasance. Whether it is the ongoing insurrection in Portland, OR, or the murder and mayhem in our major cities, or the non-scientific edicts of government bureaucrats, it is hard to support officials whose policies are unsupportable. I see the bummeries (my new word for “homeless encampments) with their consequent filth and accompanying crime rimming our streets and hear the judges and mayors telling us there is nothing we can do about them, and I find myself becoming an insurrectionist unwilling to submit to their authority.

Then the bible tells me I’m as bad as the rioters and the bums and the mayors and the judges and the governors and the president. Ouch! When these officials step outside the bounds of their authority and step into the place Christ has claimed as his and his alone, I have a duty to disobey. Tell me I cannot assemble to worship (A Zoom church is no church at all), or that I must embrace a satanic understanding of human sexuality or gender, or that I must offer incense on Caesar’s altar, and I must disobey. But when these misguided (evil and corrupt might be better adjectives but I’m trying to be kind) men and women tell me to wear the veil in a grocery, or not host a backyard party for brothers and sisters who are not related to me by blood, or pay my taxes that go to fund their ill-conceived schemes, or not run stop signs even when there are no other cars around, then, for God’s sake, I must obey. I obey, not because they are right or good or smart. I obey because God has told me to obey as long as they are within the bounds of their God-given authority.

So no garden party to mark the end of summer. I’m sad but obedient.