Unveiling the Light

This blog will attempt to look at current events and issues in the light of Christian revelation. The revelation I refer to has nothing to do with the end times. It refers to what Christians consider to be the fullness of revelation, given us in Jesus Christ. Jesus gave us both instructions and an example in Himself as to how to live. How should this be applied to the world in which we live?

How ironic then that I begin this blog during a time of war and one with so many religious components. The Jewish nation is battling against Muslim extremists, in the land of Lebanon which once was overwhelmingly Christian but today barely holds a plurality of Christian population. This is chaos. Many would point to this as an example of how wars are often caused by religion. I believe that religion is often used by those who wish to wage war. It is not the reason for the war but is used to cloak the politics of just plain hatred that motivates one people to kill another.

Christianity is often blamed for some of the historic and bloody wars of Europe that followed the Protestant Reformation. In fact, Protestantism was often used as a tool to break away from the Holy Roman Empire. The kings and princes did not go to war over religion in itself. This was the time of Europe dividing itself into various nation states and Protestantism was a handy tool to use to separate the people from that Catholic empire. Had the Roman empire of the time been secular, the wars still would have occurred. The tribal peoples were growing more unified and the nation states were a natural outgrowth as sections of Europe became unified within themselves and differentiated from others.

In the Middle East today, I believe the cause of the war has more to do with racism and power grabbing than religion. Israel has become largely a secular nation. While the Jewish faith is very strong and has influence, most Jews have become secularized. Like the United States, they often look towards religious people with some suspicion. For the extremist Muslims, I believe their faith is a thin veil over the underlying hatred and racism that drives their revolt. It may have poverty as an underlying cause but it is fanatical leaders that drive them towards hatred of a people.

The Christians seem to be sitting this one out, except as victims of the war taking place in their country. This may be a matter of self preservation as they are surrounded by hostile Muslim extremists. I remember my visit to Israel when it became apparent how little influence Christians had in a country dominated by the Jewish and Muslim faiths. It is common practice for extremists to use Christian homes to launch attacks against the Jewish nation. In that way the Jewish army would bulldoze the Christian home, sparing those of the Muslims.

The hard part is to apply Christian principles to this war. Should we seek peace at any cost or is there a growing evil in the Middle East that needs to be confronted. Is Israel justified in its response to hostile incursions into its nation or should it turn the other cheek? How should the U.S. be involved or should we? Certainly there is great need to help the Palestinians and alleviate their poverty but can’t they at least acknowledge Israel’s right to exist? There are no clear answers in this region of the world but evil seems to be having its way. Many of the countries in this area have eerily similar doctrines to Nazi Germany. Some are even openly in admiration of Hitler.

I give you no clear answers but many points to ponder. This one is still being processed.