Don Hawley

October 22, 2001

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One definition of the word alien is "related to beings supposedly from other worlds." I’m not into that sort of thing, and I don’t believe God has allowed us to have visitors from other planets. Why would he permit us to export our soul sickness to other worlds?

On the other hand, another definition of the word alien is "different or separated." From that standpoint, Abraham was one of the earlier aliens on planet earth.

Anyone old enough to remember WWII is almost certain to be an alien to our nation’s present culture. The "Greatest Generation," the one that fought to save the entire world from descending into a long nightmare of repression and persecution is now out of step. The Baby Boomers usually see the 60s as a high point in American history. I see that period as the absolute nadir of our American experience. Almost everything stable and decent, including the family, took a heavy hit. Wounds were inflicted that never can be truly healed; even if they wanted to, younger people cannot go back to where they’ve never been.

The sexual revolution of the 60s brought us broken homes, cohabitation without benefit of marriage, aggressive homosexuality, and badly damaged children.

Honesty and ordinary decency seem to be completely out of date. I find it difficult to relate to what today passes for music, art, and poetry.

The old movies, still the greatest, packed more real passion into a kiss than our present offerings generate with a totally nude couple, or more, engaging in violent intercourse.

Any movie with less than an "R" rating is tempting fate. The average cinema attendee wants to know he’s going to have reasonably heavy doses of filthy language, bloody violence, and raw sex. A Christian wanting to take in an occasional movie often is hard pressed to find one he can attend with a clear conscience. It’s usually safer to rent one of the great old films—still better than what Hollywood turns out today.

I’m thankful for reruns of "I Love Lucy," "The Honeymooners," and "The Dick Van Dyke Show." They’re still truly funny, and it was all done with decency. Now we have the so-called sitcoms, full of snickering, adolescent off-color jokes. The smirks on the faces of the cast telegraph, "I said a naughty word, I said a naughty word!" These shows seem to be designed for the mentally retarded and the under-14 crowd. I’ve discovered the formula the entertainment industry uses to churn out one "successful" program after another. It’s a very simple blueprint: jump, jiggle, jerk and act like a jackass.

• "Natashya Brooks, 38, of Berkely, Calif., supports her three kids . . . on a welfare check of $768 a month and $220 in food stamps. The kids have three different fathers, but Brooks has never been married and isn’t looking to be. ‘When [the kids] see the stability of a nuclear family they ask me, ‘Hey Mom, why don’t you get married?’ And I answer; ‘Why get married? I already had the kids.’" (It is a sad commentary on our times that this woman seemed proud to pose for a picture in Newsweek magazine, May 28, 2001, p. 55.
• "Children living outside marriage are seven times more likely to experience poverty and are 17 times more likely to end up on welfare and to have a propensity for emotional problems, discipline problems, early pregnancy and abuse." Ibid.
• A typical movie review reads, "R for language, nudity, adult situations, violence; mature high schoolers fine."
• "Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones spent a reported $2 million on their wedding, which included lobster and lamb for 250 guests and $14,000 for a Christian Lacroix bridal gown." Newsweek, Dec. 4, 2000.
• I’m not going to detail some of the activities of the homosexual community, but you may be able to guess at "rimming, fisting, golden showers, and mud rolling."
• Every day 6,000 Africans die of AIDS; another 11,000 are infected. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) estimates that by 2010, the number of orphans will rise to 40 million.
• "In 1995, Elyse Pahler was lying on her parent’s bed watching TV, when the phone rang. The 15-year-old was invited to a nearby eucalyptus grove to hang out with friends. But once there, three acquaintances wrapped a belt around Pahler's neck and stabbed her to death. (They also had sex with her corpse.) What drove the teens to murder? The killers, devotees of the heavy-metal band Slayer, believed they needed to commit a ‘sacrifice to the Devil’ to give their garage band, Hatred, the ‘craziness’ to "go professional.’" Newsweek, Dec. 4, 2000.
• A wrestling program "WWF’s Smackdown" airs regularly at 8:00 p.m. An audience of 6.2 million people watched its premiere, and 1.2 million of them were children between the ages of 2 and 11! In one event a wrestler cooked another wrestler’s dog and fed it to him, causing the second wrestler to vomit on screen.
• CBS put foul-mouthed Howard Stern on network television. Announcing his show at a national press conference, Stern said, "There will be a lot of nudity and lesbians" and the show’s rating should be "V for vagina"! He has delivered on his promise. In his second week he featured the following slimy conversation with a dominatrix:

Move over, Sodom, you’ve been outclassed.

If you detect a bit of anger in my voice, you’re right. I’m decidedly angry at what poses for culture in our society today. I’m even going to suggest that if you aren’t angry, if you find it possible to be tolerant about what prevails, then you need to remember the following text.

Although we serve a God of love and mercy, I believe that at this point in history he too is angry. Very angry. And that should cause us to take notice.

Speaking of his Son, the Father said, "You love what is right, and you hate what is wrong." Heb. 1:9.

When God’s anger reached a certain level millenniums ago, he sent a worldwide flood. When the "culture" of Sodom sank to a certain level, he sent a destroying fire. Isn’t it reasonable to assume that right now the cup of iniquity must be overflowing?

Billy Graham had it right when he said, "If God doesn’t do something soon, he’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah."

No wonder many so nations of the world don’t want to import the kind of lifestyle we in the U.S. offer for export. Just because the Taliban way of life is even worse, doesn’t excuse our own debauchery.

By the way, I don’t believe the Sept. 11 tragedy was punishment from the hand of God; it has the handwriting of Satan all over it.

God is about to do something much beyond merely chastising America, he will bring the entire world into judgment, thus putting an end to the pain that began in the Garden of Eden.

Jesus had a lonely walk while on earth. Virtually no one understood him or his mission, not even his own disciples. Jesus died because he didn’t fit in to any popular cause of his day.

Christ certainly wasn’t unsociable. His first miracle was wrought during a wedding party. He was no hermit. Jesus was very much in the world, but never of the world. He cared greatly for the widows and the orphans, but he also drew attention to the climactic events ahead.

The mainline churches in America faded because of their focusing almost exclusively on the "social gospel," trying to create heaven here and now.

When I was young the world seemed so much simpler. The line between white and black, right and wrong often was obvious. Now we have a thousand shades of gray. The devil has worked it out so that sometimes we are forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. We have lots and lots of questions, but few answers. Some serious problems will never be solved in this present world, because the solution calls for a change of character, not merely a change in thinking.

It seems to me that an earnest Christian today is likely to be an alien to much of what goes on around him.

There’s another matter about my country that troubles me, but I don’t want to discuss it until I establish myself as a loyal patriot. It sometimes takes a war to sort out those who are patriotic and those who are not.

Not all wars rightfully can be termed "a just war," but a few can be so designated. WWII was such a war, when the entire civilized world was in danger of being swallowed up in a maelstrom of hate, repression, and dictatorship.

There had been a strong peace movement in the United States. We could see what was happening in Europe and Asia, but hoped to remain isolated. That misplaced luxury ended with the surprise bombing of Pearl Harbor. Overnight, the peace-at-any-price rhetoric ended. Those who could fight signed up, and those who couldn’t be in the military went to work to provide our fighting men and women with the best possible weapons of war.

Gasoline, tires, sugar, butter and a host of other commodities were rationed, but few complained. The Axis partners, Germany, Italy, and Japan challenged the Allies, a powerful coalition determined to protect freedom at any cost. That cost proved to be enormous, but it made our nation safe for coming generations—including the highly vocal peace-at-any-price students on today’s university campuses.

I believe it was General Sherman who said, "War is hell," and he was right. Prior to World War I America was totally naïve about such matters, and our troops went off to Europe as cheerfully as if going to a homecoming football game. The years of mud and blood on the European front put such quaint concepts to rest.

By the time we entered WWII, we were no longer innocents. Our young people knew that real horrors lay ahead, and that many would never return. But they went. That’s part of patriotism.

I didn’t wait to be drafted; I enlisted. I turned down a desk job on an Admiral’s private staff in order to take part in battle. I spent three years in the U.S. Navy, two of them in the South Pacific, most of that time on an LCI Gunboat. We saw a lot of action, including having our ship knocked out of action by hitting a magnetic mine off Balikpapan, Borneo.

My best friend, Jack Stewart, didn’t make it back. A German shell in the Huertgen Forest blew him apart during his first offensive.

Upon my return, I appreciated the government helping me obtain a college education, but I didn’t feel I was owed me. Or a bonus either. Most WWII fighting men and women just wanted to see the despotic powers crushed, and then hurry back to civilian life.

After totally smashing both Germany and Japan, the United States then did what no other victor ever did. We turned around overnight, and helped our former enemies to rebuild their nations. I think it truly was the "Greatest Generation."

I confess that Vietnam was a much different war, and in retrospect I’m not at all sure we should have been engaged. Nevertheless, although our young people were less enthusiastic about signing up, most went and gave their best. The cold reception they received upon returning from that difficult war is one of our nation’s greatest shames.

Some young men refused to go to Vietnam out of sincere objections to war, and they willingly went to prison instead. I can, and do, respect such individuals with strong convictions.

On the other hand, there were many young men who had no real moral convictions; they just didn’t want to get shot at. They didn’t do jail time, but ran off to Canada to sit out the war. As best I could discern, they spent their time there smoking pot and trying to impregnate the Canadian girls. I have no respect whatsoever for that type of peacenik. I don’t believe they should have been granted amnesty after the battle ended, at least for several years.

I don’t believe it an exaggeration to label or present military action the start of WWIII. As a Christian, I look at it as the physical aspect of Armageddon. There aren’t many "just wars," but I believe this again is such a confrontation. If what happened on September 11 doesn’t get through to some people, it’s because they’re unreachable.

What has taken place thus far is only a small beginning, and we little imagine where it will finally lead. Once again, our young people will be called to respond to a worldwide threat of evil.

I’ve been observing the rising peace chants on university campuses, and wonder where we’ll find young men and women willing to pay the price for freedom. Ultra left-wing professors influence these myopic students. Newsweek magazine pointed out that our oldest and most honored university, Harvard, won’t allow military representatives on campus to talk with the student body. It is perfectly acceptable, however, for the young communist league to have a formal organization on campus.

So, just say I’m a flag-waving, "God-Bless-America!"-singing, citizen of the United States of America. I’ve taken time to establish this fact, because I do differ with some stands my nation has taken.

I confess that when Israel and the Palestinians are trading blows, I find myself emotionally attached to Israel. However, a proper policy isn’t necessarily based on emotions.

President Bush is leading out in one of the most complex and difficult periods of U.S. history. The world situation is so fluid and complicated that alliances between nations and powers can shift overnight. I believe those nations that could be deemed our true friends could be counted on one hand.

Bush rigorously has sought to build a coalition with moderate Islamic nations, but with only modest success. While most of the Muslim world agrees that what happened in New York City on September 11 was a terrible and unpardonable act of terrorism, they also seem to feel that the U.S. should take no determined action to seek justice. Unless Osama bin Laden voluntarily turns himself in (no one is holding his breath on that count), America should just forget about the World Trade Towers. Or any upcoming terrorist acts.

A recent Newsweek cover headline was "Why Do They Hate Us?" Good question, and one that demands our attention. Could it be that something about our foreign policy in the past has created such hatred? I fear that is the case.

It all started a long time ago, right there in the Middle East. Sarai, Abram’s wife, got impatient with waiting for a promised heir, and decided to take matters into her own hands. Her solution was to give Hagar, her Egyptian servant woman, to Abram to raise up children. Bad choice. Abram thought it sounded like a good idea; another bad choice.

Once she became pregnant, Hagar began to lord it over Sarai. At which point Sarai said to Abram, "It’s all your fault!" (I don’t think I’ll comment on that one.) Abram gave Sarai permission to deal with Hagar any way she wanted, and Sarai got so mean that Hagar ran away.

God sent an angel to minister to Hagar in the desert, and to urge her to return. The angel promised:

Reading this prophecy it isn’t difficult to see it as a description of Ishmael’s descendents, the Arabs. Sarai did have a son, just as God promised, and he was named Isaac—the progenitor of Israel. Isaac and Ishmael didn’t get along then, and their descendents aren’t getting along now. I don’t think any peace pact will ever heal this long-standing feud.

In the Newsweek issue dealing with "Why They Hate Us," the following letter to the editor disturbed me.

For that particular issue Newsweek wisely printed letters only from overseas. We often seem surprised that the rest of the world isn’t madly in love with us, but there are reasons for the gulf between. It isn’t only our culture that palls, but also our foreign policy. As I read the letter above, I could easily see how I would feel if I were a young Arab male living in Palestine. I think I too would be desperate, humiliated, and frustrated. The United States has provided Israel with the best military weapons, but I would largely be held to throwing rocks.

I’m not attempting to hold up the Muslim world as a shining example. Personally, I believe that Islam is even now receiving better press than it deserves.

Israel has been a good friend to the United States, but I think we could have been a bit more evenhanded in the Middle East. God showed favor to Sarai and Isaac, but he also showed mercy to Hagar and her offspring.

I know many believe that Israel has a divine right to the land of Palestine, and that no doubt has had a lot to do with our nation’s policy in the area. But I question that claim. Perhaps Israel has the same right to Palestine that we Americans do to the 48 states. We whites had guns while the Indians had to do with bows and arrows; just so, Israel had better weapons than its competition in the Middle East. If might makes right, then Israel has a good claim to the land. But a divine right? Let’s look at the record.

On his way to Jerusalem and his crucifixion, Jesus told a story about the Kingdom of God. In the parable Jesus referred to himself as a nobleman who "was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return." Then he predicted the way he would be received by his own citizens.

This prediction was proven true a short time later.

The Jews openly chose a different king.

Through the years the Jewish people have suffered untold horrors, often at the hands of professed Christians. The reason frequently given for their torment is that they crucified Christ. How terribly wrong! No Jew of succeeding generations, and certainly no Jew living today, deserves any more guilt concerning what happened on Calvary than I do.

It’s true that though the centuries God made many wonderful promises to the Israelites. Most of them were fulfilled after the return from Babylonian captivity. Others were conditional upon their faithfulness to their God.

The biblical record clearly shows that Israel did not walk "in all his ways." More often they were in open rebellion.

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now look, your house is left to you, empty and desolate." Matt. 23:37, 38.

At the very moment Christ died on the cross, the veil in the Temple was torn from top to bottom and the Most Holy Place exposed. That dramatic event signaled the end of the privileged status the Jewish nation had enjoyed with Jehovah. The theocracy came to a close. Today anyone who serves the Lord is a true Israelite, whether Jew or Gentile by birth. My Jewish brother is invited to stand before God’s throne in the same manner as I—a sinner saved by grace.

Today many Christians seem more engrossed with the secular nation of Israel than they are with the coming Kingdom of the Messiah. It’s the New Jerusalem that should be drawing our attention just now.

Although we cannot know either the day or the hour of Christ’s return, he did encourage us to watch for the signs of his coming.

Today the signs of the end are shouting at us. Even if I were an atheist, I would be anticipating the end of all things. Knowledge increases exponentially, even as character and morals decline. In no way are we prepared to handle the sea of knowledge we swim in. Unless God intervenes, and he will, we have it in our power to destroy ourselves.

There are always those who call out "peace and safety," no matter how dire events might be. But don’t be misled. Between now and Christ’s coming the only peace we will know will be in our hearts.

We’ve relegated our young people to a back pew, or more often they’re exiled to some room in the basement. But this is wrong, as God has an important role for them to play at the end time.

Our young people have undiscovered spiritual gifts that they’re not allowed to utilize in the traditional church setting. They will feel more a part of the Body in the many small house churches now springing up.

Our present war quickly is teaching us the vital need for intelligence gathering; without it the battle does not go well. This also is true in the spiritual realm. The intelligence role in the Body of Christ is the domain of the prophetic, the watchmen on the wall. Through the centuries God’s people have a poor record when it comes to heeding the message of the prophets. Let’s not make that mistake in our critical times.

That doesn’t mean, however, that we should follow every voice claiming to be prophetic. We need the gift of discernment to be able to sort out the true prophets from the false. Today the devil is very active in the business of disinformation.

All ten of the virgins awaiting the coming of the Bridegroom were taken by surprise at his sudden return; our minds seem incapable of fully grasping where we are in the stream of time. Nevertheless, five of the virgins were spiritually ready with oil for their lamps.

In the Word, oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Note the focus of Jesus immediately prior to his departure from this world.

Christ had only a few days to prepare the disciples, those who had deserted him at the crisis hour, to be the founding fathers of the new Christian church. You can be sure there was no time for idle chatter; every word had to count for eternity. We do well to note the one thing Jesus considered of prime importance.

Everything Jesus said zeroed in on establishing his Kingdom of grace. That was what really mattered. Of course that called for divine empowerment, and he told his disciples how that would come to pass.

Here’s the heart of the matter, Jesus explained. I’m sending the Third Person of the Godhead to empower you for the establishment of my Kingdom on earth. I can just feel the excitement in Christ’s voice as he told them of the unbelievable event that would happen in just a few days—Pentecost! And their response? Note the very next text.

What a disappointment! They weren’t much interested in the Kingdom of God; they wanted to know what was going to happen to the nation of Israel! It was if they told Christ, "Forget about your Kingdom, Jesus, what about our kingdom?"

Jesus refused to satisfy their longing for empowerment to free Israel from the Roman yoke.

Having brushed aside their myopic view, Christ brought them right back to what was truly important.

Telling peopled everywhere has to do with establishing the Kingdom.

So Christ’s final act on earth was to appeal to his disciples to appreciate and receive the power of the Holy Spirit for the establishment of the Kingdom of God. I believe we are safe in saying that right now, in this crisis hour, Christ would have our main focus on preparing for the Kingdom of Glory.