MikeLigalig.com

by Haddon W. Robinson
Our Daily Bread

Russian revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Lenin spoke of communists as “dead men on furlough.” Those dedicated followers of the atheistic philosophy were willing to die for the cause, and each new day was simply a reprieve.

If people were willing to risk everything for a cause based on a lie, how much more should we who know Christ be willing to do so for the truth! Jesus told those who wanted to be His disciples that they had to be willing to follow Him to death. It was to be a commitment of their entire life, no matter what the cost.

In his book One Crowded Hour, Tim Bowden describes an incident in Borneo in 1964. Nepalese fighters known as Gurkhas were asked if they would be willing to jump from airplanes into combat against the Indonesians. The Gurkhas didn’t clearly understand what was involved, but they bravely said they would do it, asking only that the plane fly slowly over a swampy area and no higher than 100 feet. When they were told that the parachutes would not have time to open at that height, the Gurkhas replied, “Oh, you didn’t mention parachutes before!”

Jesus calls us to follow Him with a similar kind of commitment and courage, willing to risk all for His sake.

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What a very interesting topic, a poignant article, and a thought-provoking statement by Ben.

Philosophies tend to either agree or disagree with each other, and the manner in which they manifest in physical form depends on the individual who believes in the said philosophy. The saying can be put to physical form when we remember the atrocities committed by German soldiers who believed in the cause of National Socialism, in the tenets of Adolf Hitler's promise of a 'German Third Reich', the belief in the evils caused by what Hitler called the 'International Jewry and supporters.' Over 10 million German soldiers and civilians perished in a war that they publicly supported, made obvious by giving the Mandate to Rule to Adolf Hitler and members of the National Socialist Party. The core tenet of the German National Socialist Agenda was obviously ethnocentric, racist {xenophobic}, as well as militant in nature.; just by reading scholarly articles that they presented , one cannot help but notice the obvious scapegoating tactic it utilized. It was clearly anti-Jewish, anti-Slavic, anti-communism, anti-capitalism etc. It was a political philosophy that took control of the religious, cultural pillars in that country during that point in time.

In regards to the 3 Abrahamic faiths , namely: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, there are similarities in their teachings, as well as theological differences (namely salvation history, and attainment of salvation). But if one reads their philosophies, without adulterating it in a political agenda, there really is no violence. {Tho there are some specific verses in the Q'uran that has a militant attitude, for the most part, it is similar to the Bible and the Talmud in the emphasis of peace, spiritual atonement, faith-inspirational readings}

In the end, Ben, we all make choices in life; some die for a cause, some die without a cause. This reminds me of a beautiful transcendentalist phrase by Whitman:


"To thee old cause!
Thou peerless, passionate, good cause,
Thou stern, remorseless, sweet idea,
Deathless throughout the ages, races, lands,
After a strange sad war, great war for thee,
(I think all war through time was really fought, and ever will be
really fought, for thee,)
These chants for thee, the eternal march of thee...."

-To Thee Old Cause,  by Walt Whitman



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