As for the general view that the Church was discredited by the War—they might as well say that the Ark was discredited by the Flood. When the world goes wrong, it proves rather that the Church is right. The Church is justified, not because her children do not sin, but because they do.
In light of the recent mass murder in Orlando, I think it is time to dust off this quote and consider its implication.
First a quick history lesson: the Great War, aka World War One was perhaps one the most worthless, waste of human lives in the history of all man. Now, this is saying something, as all war is the worthless wasting of human lives. However, this was was especially worthless, and especially wasteful. During the latter half of the 19th century, the world was undergoing a radical shift in living conditions. It was progressing faster than any other time in the history of man. Yet, all this came to a halt in 1914, when an assassin sparked a series of military escalations between rivaling alliances. This escalation led to over 30 million people being killed or injured. The aftermath included a worldwide pandemic, a global depression, and the rise of fascists and communists, both of which killed hundreds of millions of others.
If you were a soldier during the war, you could expect constant bombardment of artillery while in your trench. Then, it would be time to cross the battle field, sometimes known as no man's land. Crossing this patch of earth meant running from crater to crater, getting passed barbed-wire and mines, jumping over stacks of dead bodies, all the while charging towards entrenched men who were shooting at you. These charges back and forth across the field rarely lead to any major gains in land. In other words, you would make suicide charges to capture a few acres of land, only to have said land taken back by the enemy's suicide charge.
If you want to know more of the brutality and futility of this war, I suggest Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast titled "Blue Print for Armageddon". It has really opened my eyes to the idiocy of war.
In short, World War One was stupid, pointless, and a waste of human life. It is an evil that we are still suffering from in this day.
This leads me back to the quote from Chesterton. It was the opinion of many in that time that the war was a reflection upon the failure of the Church. Catholics killed Catholics. Protestants killed Protestants. Christians were slaughtering each other whole sale. On all sides, men were led to believe they were fighting not only for their country, but for God. The logical problem with this is that all sides believed in the same God! How can God be on the side of all who were fighting? More importantly, how could God allow them to murder each other without impunity? This evil, people said, was proof that the Church was wrong, and ultimately that God is either not real, or not caring.
This type of mindset is common to this very day. Already people are blaming God, or using this an a reason to say God is a fraud. Yet, as Chesterton points out, this very evil deed actually does not discredit the Church, but proves the very basis of the teachings of the Church.
For 2000 years, Christians have preached the sinful nature of man. Yet, one does not need to be a Christian to see that man is evil. Simply look at Orlando. Or Iraq. Or 9-11. Or World War One. Or the mean spirited words that people speak to each other. Or the sexual assaults on young women. Or perhaps the hateful feeling we hold in our hearts. I can go on with example after example, and people would say that yes, these are evil things. Yet, the same people will scoff when the Christian preaches about the horrors of sin, and the need for cleansing from our evil ways. To me, it is a side irony, asking why evil exists while mocking those who speak about evil and the need to rid ourselves of.
This brings me to today, Sunday, June 12th, 2016.
What we have seen over the last 24 hours has been nothing less than disgusting. Looking past the horrific deed of mass murder, we need only to look at Facebook posts and Twitter feeds to see the awful nature of mankind. We are not even 24 hours after the brutal murders of 50 people, and there are millions of Americans who are fighting each other online or in the media. And this is not just a one time event. This happens after the news of any national tragedy.
It starts with the pointing fingers before facts are ever stated. "Oh, it must be a right winger nut job!" "No, it has to be a radical Muslim" People are so quick to blame, because their biases tell them it must be this "other" group that is so awful and bad.
Then as the facts come out, one side smugly does the "I told you so", and says this is more proof that the "other" group is bad.
Now the slimy politicians use the opportunity to fire up their base, painting the opposing politicians as supporters of bad people, or the very least, supporters of bad policies that help bad people. By the way, they don't do this because they believe it will actually solve anything. They do it because they are self-centered narcissists who want any spotlight, negative or positive, on them.
The fact of the matter is that Americans have a pride issue. As a Christian, I can tell you that pride is spoken about very negatively in the Scriptures. In fact, if you were to go into a church on any given Sunday, you probably will hear someone talk about the negative impacts of pride.
The actions that we see happening after national tragedies are the result of pride driven people. How else can you explain politicians turning the spotlight to themselves during a tragedy? How else can you explain people using the death of others to justify their political biases? It takes an awfully prideful person to do such a thing.
Sadly, people do not see the damage that pride brings.
Imagine if a family member of one of those who were murdered, were to come on to Twitter or Facebook to see what people were saying about this tragedy. Do you think they will get comfort from the endless flame wars in comment sections? Will their loved ones come back to life because you get to say "I told you so"? Is your smug sense of self righteousness more important than their suffering? Is it more important than those who died? Because that is exactly what it comes off as when you act the way you do.
Even if you are an Atheist, you should take heed the warnings of Scripture when it says (paraphrase) that "Pride comes before the destruction". You might reject all of Christianity and what the church has to say, but our reactions to these national tragedies are absolutely justifying what the church has spoken on the evils of pride.
Our culture cannot survive our collective pride. In these days, everyone has an opinion that they must share. I know, because I am one of those people! In fact, I might be among some of the worst! I have an opinion on everything, and I am very quick to say it. Social media makes it a lot easier to have this mindset. But really it boils down to our pride saying "people will want to hear what I have to say, because what I have to say is good and worthwhile". In reality, what we say has likely been regurgitated by millions across the country. We are not as smart, witty, or special as we think we are when we speak our opinions. All we are doing is putting together a bunch of words, to make us feel better about ourselves, at the cost of the peace and unity of our culture.
These events should draw us closer together, to support one another. Yet, our egos are allowing us to drive wedges within our communities, even our families and close, personal relationships. Great evil will be coming to this country in the form of increased isolation, division and hatred. As a result, we can see more senseless acts of violence. Our world is going entirely wrong, and it is proving entirely right what has been long spoken in our churches- pride leads to destruction and downfall.
What happened to the LGBTQ community in Orlando on Sunday morning was entirely senseless. It is as senseless as all the killing that took place in the Great War. What did it accomplish? But we should ask of ourselves, what do our reactions to this tragedy accomplish? Are they building bridges? Or are they burning them down, just so we can be right in our own minds?
Do not allow your pride contribute to the further deterioration of our national community. Instead, swallow a dose of humility, turn off your social media, go out into the world, and see how you can make a change for the better. Start by getting to know your neighbors. Or volunteer to help those in need. Or simply meditate on how you can be better in responding to those who share opposing viewpoints. What ever decide to do, just do it, and do it well, and with a pure heart. That is the only chance we have in stopping the kind of hatred we saw in Orlando, and see daily across our nation and around the world.
Blessings,
Thomas
