by Tom Brennan,
The “Trump Phenomenon” has shaken politicos, pundits and a few media types into a state of disbelief. Predictions of self-destruction, gaffes and “electability” seem to be falling by the wayside as a public cheers on the business tycoon-reality show-real estate mogul. On the other side of the crevasse is an avowed Socialist, Bernie Sanders from the Ben & Jerry’s State of Vermont with more cows than voters. Will a Trump-themed flavor of the month be far behind?
To be honest, “The Donald” has done this before. But times have changed. Voters and people in general have less faith in the usual gang of political aspirants than ever. The UK’s Labour Party has just selected a Karl Marx-aficionado for its leader. Sometimes Israel seems like the only sane place on earth as far as leadership and stability go. Israel dwells in reality by necessity, even as far as working with formerly deadly enemies like Egypt, Jordan and now the Saudis against the Mahdist Tehran Regime.
The war against Israel, rising anti-Semitism and brutal actions against Christians in the Middle East are being ignored by an increasingly delusional White House as it leads the battle against Climate Change and prepares to admit 100,000 battle-ready, fit and well fed Syrian Jihadists as refugees. But what of “The Donald”?
Realistically, he is not a nice man. His image is well hewn, engineered and it works very well. A brash, arrogant, ruthless and forceful business tycoon with hair that defies gravity, that’s Trump. But what he is doing is working. What can we learn from him?
First of all, we are at war. War takes many forms. Often it’s a war of words and posturing. Marching and drilling, alerts and preparations, speeches and occasional confrontations. All of these are intended to intimidate an enemy. The Caliphate has demonstrated by its obscene brutality that it fears no one, will execute anyone it considers an enemy or infidel and produces videos to show they mean what they say. Calling the Caliphate the “JV Team” drawing a red line in Syria and then failing to back up anything removed America once and for all as a force to be reckoned with or respected. Russia is now supporting the amazingly resilient Assad regime with military force while America supports rebel forces. Nature abhors a vacuum and so does Geopolitics. Advantage Putin!
Christians can no longer be passive or even silent about what is going on in the region. When your enemy chants “death to America” and states their intent to destroy Israel ,what can be clearer? We are stewards of our families, lands and faith. Ignoring an overt threat against them is disobedience to the One Who ultimately holds possession of all. We are told to love our enemies. True but when our enemy has vowed to destroy us the duty required is to protect our stewardship. The enemies we face now will respect only force, Israel knows this.
Trump speaks from a confidence built and supported by billions of dollars in his personal fortune. He is often crude. But the usual pablum and speechmaking of the past are useless in these dangerous times. Our enemies seek to destroy us and are succeeding. They will not negotiate and view our system of negotiating and treaties and “deals” as weakness. Only by facing reality, dealing with the enemy as an enemy can the violent sects of Islam in Syria, Iraq and Tehran be defeated.
Instead of comforting sermons on Sunday, talk of “love”, even BDS against Israel, the faithful must be reminded of Israel’s eternal covenant. And eternal is not open to negotiation. We must be bold, fearless and face up to the war that is about to enter a wider and more violent stage on every non-Muslim nation’s home ground. The events in the Middle East are moving too fast to hope for elections, red lines or coalitions. “The Donald” is forceful, addresses issues that are of critical importance and is fearless. How much more fearless can we be when our confidence is based on Scripture and the promises made by the King of Kings.
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