-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- Fundamentalists and world peace By John M. Swomley There was a time, during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, when millions of Americans supported preparation for nuclear war — but only as a deterrent. Many of them would have been glad to engage in disarmament. However, throughout the Cold War and to this day, the religious right wing has strongly opposed any disarmament measures. According to its Armageddon theology, war is not only inevitable but ordained by God. Although the Jesus of the Gospels had a message of peace and repudiated the idea of a military messiah, right wing Christian broadcasters such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and, before them, Hal Lindsey (in his The Late Great Planet Earth and There's A New World Coming) have insisted that the Bible predicts the ending of the world in a fierce battle of Armageddon. Those who predict the battle of Armageddon — which is mentioned only in Revelation 16:16 — also refer to other biblical passages as part of their prophecy. Ezekiel 38 and 39 refer to God of the country Magog, which is far to the north and is therefore assumed to be Russia. One passage, 38:15-16, speaks of many people, "all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army... [who] will come up against my people Israel." A few verses later, God says, "I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many people that are with him, torrential rains and hailstones, fire and brimstone." According to Armageddon theology, this is a description of a nuclear holocaust. This prophecy is obviously an anachronism in the twentieth century, because the weapons in Chapter 39 are not bombs, missiles, tanks, and artillery, but "shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, handpikes and spears." Nevertheless, these religious fundamentalists, who believe every word in the Bible to be inerrant, are somehow comfortable assuming that Ezekiel's exact catalogue is a description of modern war. Zechariah 13:8-9 says that two-thirds of all the Jews living at the time of a prophesied disaster will be killed. The Jews that remain, according to Armageddon theology, must acknowledge Jesus as their lord or be sacrificed. In a Los Angeles Times interview published March 4, 1981, reporter Robert Scheer said to Jerry Falwell, "In your pamphlet on Armageddon you prophesy nuclear war with Russia." Falwell replied, "We believe that Russia, because of her need for oil...is going to move in on the Middle East, and particularly Israel, because of their hatred of the Jews.... And it is at that time when I believe there will be some nuclear holocaust on this earth, because it [the Bible] says that blood shall flow up to the bridles of the horses in the Valley of Esdraelon for some 200 miles. And it speaks of horrible happenings that one can only relate, in Second Peter 3, to the melting of the elements, to nuclear warfare." When Falwell said that Russia will be "totally destroyed," Scheer said, "Well, the whole world will, won't it?" Falwell said, "No, not the whole world, because then our Lord is coming back to the earth...and the church is coming with him, to rule and reign with Christ on the earth for a thousand years.... Most of us believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ. We believe we're living in those days just prior to the Lord's coming.... I do not think we have fifty years left." Pat Robertson, in his "The 700 Club" Christian Broadcasting Network program, said on June 9, 1982, "This whole thing [the battle of Armageddon] is now in place. It can happen anytime to fulfill Ezekiel. It is ready to happen.... The United States is in that Ezekiel passage, and...we are standing by." In 1995 he wrote in a sixteen-page booklet, "The Harvest Begins With You," that God gave him five years to take the gospel to the world. Then it would be all over. In Robertson's recently published novel, The End of the Age, he describes how he believes the world will end. In Prophecy and Politics, author Grace Halsell describes the influence of Armageddon theology on Ronald Reagan. She quotes James Mill (former president pro tem of the California State Senate) who said of Reagan, "Certainly his attitudes relative to military spending, and his coolness to all proposals for nuclear disarmament, are consistent with such apocalyptic views. Armageddon, as foreseen in the books of Ezekiel and Revelation, cannot take place in a world that has been disarmed. Anyone who believes it will come to pass cannot expect that disarmament will ever come about. It is contrary to God's plan as set forth in His word." Mills continued, "The President's domestic and monetary polities, too, are in harmony with a literal interpretation of biblical prophecies. There is no reason to get wrought up about the national debt if God is soon going to foreclose on the whole world." Reagan's support of his Interior Secretary James Watt "makes sense if seen in that way, too. Why be concerned about conservation? Why waste time and money preserving things for future generations when everything is going to come to a fiery end with this one?" This reasoning that Armageddon "cannot take place in a world that has been disarmed" is crucial to the religious right's entire perspective on world affairs. None of the right wing religious organizations has a doctrine of peace or reconciliation with its enemies. Its concept of Jesus is one of military messiah, not Prince of Peace. The mainline churches do not accept Armageddon theology. Armageddon theology and fundamentalist violence, wherever it exists, must be challenged not only by Christians, but by those of other faiths and of none, as a repudiation of the whole idea of a peaceful and disarmed world. Without major united religious opposition, there is little hope of world peace. John Swomley, former professor of social ethics at St. Paul School of Theology, lives in Kansas City, Missouri. This piece was adapted from his article published in Fellowship (July/August 1996). <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
