A Time of Testing

 But when isn’t it such a time….

As we watch institutions of every type failing in the West, the same is true of the Christian Church.  Not to get into denominational particulars, but we have recently gone through – and continue to go through – some very meaningful failures in Christian institutions and by Christian leaders.

Just consider the last ten years or so.  The embrace of pride, of every alphabet soup, of every challenge to God’s creation of man and woman.  Countless churches and congregations openly embrace this culture.  A striking position given that man and woman were both made in God’s image; to consider that God was somehow mistaken in that which He made in His image is foundationally prideful.

Then we went through covid.  Again, countless churches – and certainly the large, institutional / hierarchical traditions – almost joyously embraced the closure of churches for months and years.  They embraced every made-up rule, every restriction. Accepting made-up rules in order to prevent the proper gathering together of the faithful.  What kind of Christian leadership is this?

There were men who stood tall during these times.  We know them either directly, or indirectly through an online presence.  Now we come to a third recent episode, and even these men are not immune to contagion.

The state of Israel is slaughtering Palestinians.  This based on the pretext of October 7 last year – an event that, while prompted by Hamas, now has been openly exposed by Haaretz as an execution of Israel’s Hannibal directive (those paying attention knew this nine months ago).  Large portions, if not the majority of those deaths that day were caused by the IDF, not by Hamas.

The Israeli army did deploy its so-called Hannibal Directive, which allows the military to use all necessary force to prevent the capture of soldiers, during the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel, resulting in the loss of both civilian and military lives, an investigation by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz has found.

Further, while the official death count has remained almost stagnant at just under 40,000, a new study places the likely number as something that will approach 200,000 – far more likely given the continual bombing for ten months.

The study pointed out that the death toll is higher because the official toll does not take into account thousands of dead buried under rubble and indirect deaths due to destruction of health facilities, food distribution systems and other public infrastructure.

The study said the death toll is expected to be far larger given that much of Gaza’s infrastructure has been destroyed; there are shortages of food, water and shelter; and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has seen its funding cut.

But now, we have Christian leaders who stood tall under woke pressure and covidiocy crumbling under the weight of ethical (and, I would say Biblical) confusion.  This is present primarily, if not solely, in what is known as evangelical churches.

At my other blog, I recently wrote about the idea of reading the apostle Paul (and the rest of the Bible) through the lens of Jesus Christ in the gospels. 

So, let’s try it this way; read this:

Genesis 12: 1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

And this:

Romans 11:28 As regards the gospel, [the Israelites] are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Through this from Matthew 5:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

And tell me how we get evangelical cheerleaders and justifiers for the state of Israel.

Conclusion

Some men that I have previously looked to for Christian wisdom are completely failing on this issue today.  Now, I am certain that their views were always thus, but in this time of slaughter and genocide the contrast has not been so stark at any time since 1948.

There is one remaining strong (I am sure countless others, but at least one on a public stage of whom I am aware).  Chuck Baldwin has held fast during all three of these recent tests.  He continues to do so, and remains quite vocal about it.

He opens his most recent column (emphasis in original):

I must admit that this report is one of the most nauseating news accounts of a Christian pastor that I have ever encountered. I would count it as one of the most egregious betrayals of Christ’s New Covenant by a “Christian minister” that I have ever witnessed. The Scripture tells us, Ye that love the LORD, hate evil. (Psalm 97:10). Well, this is pure evil.

I have watched the interview that is the basis for this damning introduction.  Baldwin is right; it is nauseating.

I will leave it here.  Nothing I can add will be of any value after reading Baldwin’s post.