The Truth About the War

As the years pass I am increasingly burdened by the quantity and volume of lies that are perpetrated in the world. Truly it is a world of deception and manipulation. I think the reality and burden of this is something that comes with age as the whole of your knowledge and experience begin to weigh on you.

Or perhaps it is indeed getting worse out there. I'm not sure.

Speaking of truth in merely human terms, there was more truth and moral rectitude in this twenty minute talk by John Pilger than I would find listening to Christian radio for weeks on end.

And in that vein it must be admitted that apart from a handful of teachers, Christian radio hardly presents the truth of the Gospel or Scriptural teaching in accurate terms. I say this with both irony and sadness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUW5-LlLQ1Q

Pilger's talk, obviously in Australia is masterful in its concise assessment of present geopolitical realities and the moral bankruptcy of the system which now dominates the world. To be blunt, it is evil. Pilger knows this even though he struggles with this category and how to justify it. I don't share his hope or even his strains of optimism and yet his very real assessment strikes me because I believe only a small fraction of 1% of the Christian population would have the capacity to apprehend the subject matter, let alone agree with him. Most Christians I know would take great exception to his words and putting their trust in manmade systems and ultimately the works of their hands think they can find peace... through further violence, the creation of new technologies, weapons and systems of surveillance and control.

It is they who are in fact crying 'Peace, Peace' when there is none to be found. They think that if given the power and the will to use it they can forge a kind of peace in the world.

The irony is the very power they would use to create security instead generates more instability and war. Truly they are their own worst enemies and endanger the world. When this is viewed in theological terms or combined with a theological system it takes on a particularly pernicious nature.

It is grievous that in some cases it seems like the lost have more discernment and a more acute moral compass than the leaders of the Christian Church. That's a real indictment and one Paul makes in the early chapters of Romans. He directs his argument against the Jews of his day. We can just as easily use the very same language in reference to the masters and apologists of Christendom.

I don't share Pilger's optimism but at the same time I do not fear. As Christians we have a hope that he cannot grasp. Despite this, I found his evaluation to be both sharp in it awareness and blunt in its delivery. It was refreshing.