The West is beginning to show it is vulnerable.
And people like President Putin of Russia and extremist groups like Islamic State know it.
Recently the defence secretary Michael Fallon warned that Russia would test Nato’s resolve in the Ukraine and that it is likely that President Putin will soon seek to destabilise the Baltic States. The tactics are subtle. Nato’s Article 5 of mutual defence in the case of invasion is circumvented by Russia supporting dissident pro-Russian groups within a state.
Meanwhile Islamic State continues to carry out atrocities with the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians in Libya and the capture of around 200 Christians in Syria. Simultaneously, Britain is embarrassed by the number of British Muslims joining Islamic State, the publicity given to three teenaged girls from London who have travelled to Syria, and the identification of ‘Jihadi John’ as Mohammed Emwazi who went to the same London school as two others who have joined Islamic terror groups.
The re-emergence of heavy shepherds
What would you think if you received a letter from your church leaders that read like this? ‘Are church members …