Holy War
The Koran calls it jihad. Christians speak of spiritual warfare. Theologian Abraham Kuyper uses the term anthesis, “ a conflict of faith and unbelief, between the Christian and non-Christian views of life.” The aging Apostle John writes of two spirits, the spirit from God which Christians call the Holy Spirt, and the spirit of the antichrist. Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. (I John 4:2-4). Good and Evil. Light and Darkness. Two powerful forces continually in conflict. Followers of Jesus are called to spiritual battle against the power of sin and the Devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12). A Holy War.
Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was well aware of the extent of human evil. His classic work, The Gulag Archipelago, exposed the political repression of the Communist system and the horrors of life in the Soviet prison system, known as The Gulag. He reminds us that this war is not waged and won on the battlefield, but in human hearts.
If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?
Ever since Rev. Jerry Falwell developed the political organization known as the “Moral Majority,” many conservative Protestants have engaged in a so-called “culture war,” a battle to restore the traditional, Biblical moral values that they believe had been lost in the political turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s. Led by Fundamentalist Christians, who had previously shunned political activity, conservative Christians have become a major voice in American politics and one of the largest groups that make up the Republican Party’s base. Their moral concerns are focused primarily on sexual morality. Other moral concerns, such as economic, environmental, and military morality, receive much less attention.
For these Americans, and for those on the political left who oppose them, the choices are simple. Our politics have become as binary as computer code. The issues are black and white. Whatever members of my party say or do is right. Whatever the other party says and does is wrong. To paraphrase Solzhenitsyn, the [name the opposing party] are people insidiously committing evil deeds, and we must separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. “Own the Libs.” “Protect Democracy from Fascism.” “This is the most important election of our lifetime” (which somehow is true of every election), “the other party is (or will) destroy our country.” It is all so simple. Holy War. “We” are good, on God’s side, “they” are bad, instruments of the Devil himself.
But it’s not that simple. Good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. In his first State of the Union address after the September 11, 2001 attack President George W. Bush identified a political “axis of evil”: North Korea, Iran, and Iraq. A 400-year-old catechism, used to teach the truths of the Christian faith, identifies a different “axis of evil”: the devil, the world, and our own flesh (Heidelberg Catechism, answer 127). These are our “sworn enemies,” according to the Catechism, and they “never stop attacking us.” When Jesus taught us to pray, “deliver us from evil,” he was not talking about external attacks, but attacks on our own heart and soul.
This inner battle against evil is where Holy War begins—and where it is won. Politicians seek to stoke anger and hatred in our hearts for their own purposes—to gain our vote. Jesus calls us to develop love in our hearts. A love so broad and inclusive that it includes our enemies. Jesus doesn’t call Republicans to “own the libs.” He calls them to love Democrats. He reminds Democrats that Republicans are not a “basket of deplorables” or “garbage,” but image bearers of God and are to be loved. It’s more important to love the candidates put up by the other party than to beat them.
According to Jesus, “the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart” (Matthew 12:34). In the Book of Proverbs we read, “The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil” (Proverbs 15:28). A modern paraphrase of these verses might be, “You can tell what’s in a person’s heart by what he posts on social media.” What does our postings on social media reveal about the true nature of our hearts?
My point is simple: as Christians we need to focus much more attention than we have in recent years on developing Christian virtues. The fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. “Against such things there is no law” writes the Apostle Paul (Galatians 5:22-23). Whoever occupies the White House is irrelevant in this battle. This Holy War is fought through a firm commitment to pattern our life after Christ, prayer, discipline, and most of all the power of the Holy Spirit. It is a challenge and a struggle all Christians must engage in, whether conservative or progressive.
I thought this posting would take less time to write than it did. I struggled to weigh my words and not gushed out evil, as the Proverb quoted above encourages. It was time well spent. I pray that God will bless President Elect Donald Trump and the United States of America. But even more, I pray that God will lavishly pour out the Holy Spirit on all those who identify themselves as Christians, and develop within us a virtuous love that will change the world. Or, to use the prayer words of Jesus, “Your Kingdom come; Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
