Forget the Reformation for a moment.
October is also the centenary of the Russian Revolution. Lenin (who tellingly seems to have coined the phrase ‘political correctness’) founded the first modern totalitarian state. Currently, the greatest military threat for a generation hangs over the Western world from just such a regime, North Korea, led by its dictator Kim Jong Un. Despite the ratcheting up of sanctions, this Communist state is relentlessly pursuing the capability to launch missiles with nuclear warheads able to reach America or its bases in the Pacific. In early September, Nikki Hayley, the US spokesperson at the United Nations, spoke of this totalitarian country as ‘begging for war’. (We need to be praying for governments – 1 Timothy 2.1,2.)
Three ingredients
One of the essential elements of totalitarianism is to have an enemy – someone to hate. And the US fulfills this role, not only for North Korea, but also for extremist Islamic states like ISIL and Iran, where it is known as ‘the great Satan.’
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 …