Norfords' Ramblings

Friday, December 11, 2009

And Mary said: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed,” Luke 1:46-48

There is a world of cultural distance between Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Barack Obama, president of the United States. Yet they have one thing in common: peace! Mary gave birth to the Prince of Peace, and Obama obtained the Nobel Peace Prize. In addition, both Barack Obama and the Prince of Peace also have one thing in common: recognizing the existence of evil!

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama is controversial. He must be the first person to receive a noble prize of any sort in hope of what he will do, rather than for the little he has done. Furthermore, his acceptance speech was far from peaceful, warning that war will always be possible, if not inevitable, as long as evil exists.

In this, he is probably closer to George W. Bush than he, or his followers would like to be. Bush’s phrase, “axis of evil” referred to the nations of North Korea and Iran, which remain a thorn in the American president’s side. Even more dangerous, the Islamists pose a worldwide threat that even Obama claimed in his speech could not be tamed by negotiation.

The difference between tyranny and Islamism is the difference between life and death. The leaders of rogue nations, usually tyrants must maintain life to accomplish their goals. Their death frequently ends confrontation. The danger from Islamism is greater because life is less important than death. Not only is death preferable if it will achieve what they consider God’s goals, martyrdom serves to reinforce and perpetuate the belief in others.

Tyrants will negotiate if it furthers their cause in some way. Note the on again, off again, overtures of North Korea and Iran to inch their way to their goals; for them, negotiation is a verbal war, not a means to peace. But for the Islamists, negotiation with the enemy is apostasy, death the preferred alternative. They must universally enforce their version of God’s will. To achieve it, any sacrifice of themselves or any device against the infidels who thwart that will is acceptable and necessary.

The liberal concept of evil is simply a correctable human defect (recall the name of the Canadian prison system: “Corrections Canada”!) This idea is naive, for it assumes that evil men are reasonable at heart and can be talked out of their intentions. Too often, as history has shown, the talk of rogues is simply a smokescreen to cover continued preparation toward their goals.

Christianity teaches us two things about evil. First, evil is a spiritual force to which we are all susceptible and thus available to the evil one’s manipulation; especially if his goals coincide with our desires. This dictates that evil is always present. Secondly, the Prince of Peace will only bring about peace on earth by force, not by softening hearts, Psalm 2:8–9 and Revelation 19:14–15.

That does not make the returning Christ a tyrant who enforces his will upon all. He will finally deal with the source and manifestations of evil in order to ensure a permanent and stable peace for those who genuinely desire it. His rule will ensure that, "Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid,” Micah 4:4.

In the meantime, we have the comfort of peace in our hearts because we have peace with God. We join the chorus of generations thanking Mary for her commitment, which enabled the birth of the Prince of Peace. He is Immanuel, God with us, come to dwell in the hearts of all who seek him.