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Lesson 15: The Last Days

by Pastor Fritz Foltz on October 29, 2011 in Faith Behind the Headlines with 1 Comment

This is a topic that continually comes up, primarily because it is always in the headlines. It is about some nut case gaining news coverage by insisting he has figured out a date, a strange sect committing mass suicide, the Y2K scare at 2000, advertising for a movie, a televangelist charting earthquakes as signs, another Christian celebrity reading Revelation as a prediction, or a presidential candidate confessing she believes we are in the end times. Any of these lead the young people to suggest we look at the subject. I’m sure it will come up again this fall, because many wonder what it means for our nation when so presidential hopefuls speak for groups that threaten the end of our world. The following paper was used when people were discussing a popular movie. You can check on the typical discussions the youth have in the comments below.

The Last Days

What’s going on with the movie 1012? Is the world really going to end on December 21, 2012? Do we only have three more years? Will only 400,000 be saved on gigantic arks to build a new civilization? Is the movie really based on the ancient Mayan calendar? Did this ancient culture which flourished in Guatemala between 300 and 900 AD really know more than we do 1100 years later? Is this related to and maybe supported by the biblical book Revelation?

Well, the Indians who still live as Mayans and the scholars who have studied it answer “No!” to every one of these questions. They say the ancient calendar like most ancient ones thought events went through repeated cycles. The Year 2012 was simply the end of one of these cycles, which would be followed by another Year 1. In fact, the idea was not that this would be a catastrophic ending but a joyous rebirth offering all kinds of hope. Obviously Hollywood decided they could make a lot of money with sensational scenes that play on people’s anxiety about the future.

But is that all? Even though there may be nothing to the 2012 prediction, should Christians be afraid of the world ending soon? Will God bring great destruction that will cause people to suffer terrible things? Does the book of Revelation predict what will happen? Why do so many Christians think Revelation predicts events that will happen very soon?

Well, first this is nothing new. There have always been some people who have predicted the end of the world coming soon. They get people to follow them in troubled times, such as our current financial crisis. Over and over they have predicted specific dates, and guess what- every time they have been wrong. All such efforts have been failures 100% of the time.

So why does it happen over again? People who do this are just like Hollywood. They can get people to listen to them and make money. There is a televangelist who says God has told him to prepare people for bad times ahead by selling survival kits. Sounds like a money maker to me. There are others who describe terrible catastrophes ahead which people can avoid only by becoming Christians, preferably by joining their church. Obviously, this is using fear to make disciples. Jesus used love, not fear. In John 3: 16 he proclaimed God loves the world so he sent Jesus to save us.

The book of Revelation is not about the end of the world at all. It is about God bringing the fall of the Roman Empire which was persecuting the Christians. When the author gives a date, he says it will take place in 3 and half years. He is talking about what God is doing right then and there to make a better world.

There are other biblical passages where God promised to make all right in the future. Like the Mayan idea this was not to frighten people but to give them hope. They were to remain strong, even standing up to persecution until God established his peaceable kingdom. .

And never is a date predicted. Jesus himself said in Mark 13 “About that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come.” Until then we are not to fear but to love one another. I’m going to stick with Jesus rather than Hollywood or fear- mongering preachers.

Lesson 14: War and Peace

by Pastor Fritz Foltz on October 5, 2011 in Faith Behind the Headlines with 3 Comments

Lupe suggested we have to redefine sin in our time. That is at the back of many of the youth’s discussions. They charge the adult world of ignoring or denying what is going on and so failing to provide ethical insight. A good example is war and peace. The adult society acts as if we still have guidelines for “just war”. However, it takes little thought to realize drone bombings in nations with whom we have not declared war, the killing of civilians as “collateral damage”, and invading a country under false pretenses does not fit traditional “just war” theory. The young people in our groups might not represent all youth culture, but they have profound questions about our present military actions. That does not mean they necessarily oppose them, but they certainly believe our leaders have not supported them with ethical arguments. I sent them the following notes as a basis for discussion after the Young Adults noted an air strike placed us in a fourth “war” right after our leaders publicly promised to remove troops from other theaters. I had used somewhat the same notes when the high school group wanted to discuss Christian positions on war.

I. There have been three classical Christian responses to war:

A. Pacifism. For the first 300 years Christians refused to shed blood. Jesus told us to love our enemies and turn the other cheek. He came as the Prince of Peace on Palm Sunday and told Pilate he would not use force to bring his Kingdom. The first Christians followed his lead, trying to return good for evil. Of course, they could depend on the Roman army for protection.

B. Just War. After Emperor Constantine legitimized the faith, Christians had to take responsibility for protecting society. St. Augustine developed a just war theory which claimed Christians could participate in war if 1) there was a just cause such as self defense, 2) it was declared by a legitimate authority such as a recognized government, 3) it was based on a right intention such as the goal of restoring peace, 4) care was taken to make sure more good than evil resulted, 5) there was a reasonable hope for success, and  6) only proper weapons were used and never against civilians.

C. Crusades. During the Middle Ages Christians championed crusades as a form of holy war against pagans.  Although these have been an embarrassment to most Christians, George Bush initially spoke of the Iraq War as a crusade against the “axis of evil” and some right wing Christians speak of war in the Holy Land as necessary for bringing the Kingdom of God.

II. Christians are currently asking what our position should be in the modern situation.

A. Christians have practiced some form of just war theory most of our history. During the Revolutionary War a Lutheran pastor, Peter Muhlenberg, removed his robes to reveal an officer’s uniform and then led his congregation to battle. Lutheran churches in Gettysburg ministered to the wounded of North and South, although some of our leaders spoke against slavery. Just War worked during the 19th century which was rather peaceful. The World Court at The Hague was established to settle disputes without armed conflict. At the beginning of the 20th century churches believed we might have the moral force to end war forever.

B. However, the violent wars of that century have led many to question if Just War is still realistic. Terror has become a strategy. Governments bomb civilians to scare the population. Consider there was only one civilian death in the Battle of Gettysburg and people estimate there were 53.9 million civilian deaths from 20th century wars. Small illegitimate groups also use the power of technology to challenge huge powers. In fact, this great power prompts many to ask if the cost of war in terms of human life and destruction can ever be justified by Christians.

C. This has led some Christians to think we must return to pacifism as the only reasonable Christian position. Lutherans traditionally have believed government’s role is to hold back evil, enabling our members to participate in legally declared wars. At the time of the Viet Nam draft the ELCA said Lutherans could consider themselves pacifists if they established a foundation for their beliefs, such as speaking with their pastors. Previously conscientious objection was pretty much confined to Peace Churches, such as Quakers and Mennonites. Now our government has extended this to Lutherans, allowing them to take noncombatant roles.

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