We must remember two great truths from the wisdom of Solomon- there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9) and that there is a time for peace and time for war (Eccl. 3:8). This notion that we are entering into the 5th generation of war, fought through slogans, memes, propaganda fails to embrace the wisdom of the first. The failure to recognize we are at war is a failure to recognize the second.
Consider, for a moment, the rise of the Third Reich. If we are ignorant of history we imagine they came to power through a violent coup. If we are mildly informed we recognize they were democratically elected into office. If we were wise, we’d understand it was both/and rather than either or. And we’d learn to recognize the same in our day.
The first wave of the Nazi putsch over Germany began with young thugs, hoodlums, fighting in the streets. There was precious little advocacy for Nazi ideals. People were not persuaded by well-honed arguments. It just got to the place where if you didn’t take the side of this fringe party, they’d pummel you in the streets. Recruitment by fear writ small became eventually suppression by fear writ large. Street thugs in brown shirts became deadly bureaucrats in black skull-adorned uniforms.
Which brings us to the Twitter Wars, the online version of street fighting. We live in an age where affirming that Jesus was Jewish leads to a barrage of accusations of being gay, fat, and stupid. Countless anonymous “scholars” will debunk your view by taunting you a second time while blowing raspberries your way. Suggest that genetics are not destiny, that character counts, that red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, and you will be shamed, cancelled and condemned. By anon keyboard heroes.
My concern has never been that baptized fascism would win the day intellectually. But then I’ve never seen an intellectual argument in defense of fascism. I see anger at people of different ethnic backgrounds. I’ve seen Scripture twisted beyond all recognition. I’ve seen theological ancestors with the same weaknesses lionized as heroes. I’ve see baptized fascism as the lone bulwark against leftist bunk.
Mostly though I see chest thumping, insults, screeching. I’m afraid, however, that too many of us will be too afraid to hoot this nonsense off the stage. And that the next stage will be a beerhall putsch, followed by a night of long knives, electoral respectability, scapegoating, and a coup disguised as mere political machinations. The next thing you know we’ll be telling each other to sing louder while the boxcars roll by.
Don’t let the ridiculousness of these fools fool you into thinking they will never succeed. Neither need you think that what is needed is properly footnoted dissertations, or alliances with the equally foolish woke left. What is needed is courage and faith. The courage to be willing to be hated by haters, and faith in the One who loves all His brothers and sisters, the Elder Brother in the one family we’ve all been irrevocably adopted into. The Lord reigns.
One of my professors was, as a young man, a Hitler Youth. After living the life through WWII, he eventually escaped East Germany and ended up teaching at a small College. He showed repeatedly in class and at dinner that it is not a matter of left or right wing labels. Its about anti-Christ making bad selfish decisions look wise. It’s present today on both sides of the aisle. Our King, though, is still King. More proclamation of THAT is the answer.