Back in Feb and March, the Pew Research Center did a survey of 5,035 adults in America and asked them if they could recognize news as factual (capable of being proved or disproved by objective evidence) or an opinion (which reflects beliefs and values of whoever is making the statement). A majority of Americans were able to correctly categorize at least three of the five statements in each category (facts / opinions), but statistically speaking, that’s not any better than random guessing. Almost 25% of Americans mis-identified all ten statements! The whole purpose of the survey was to see if the “public sees distinctions between news that is based upon objective evidence and news that is not” http://www.journalism.org/2018/06/18/distinguishing-between-factual-and-opinion-statements-in-the-news/).
We are in a “faith war” in modern American society. Of course, there really hasn’t been a time when God’s children have not been in a “faith war.” The key text chosen for our VBS this year, that fits the theme, is Ephesians 6:12: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
We do not fight against flesh and blood. It is easy to understand what Paul is talking about. As Christians, we do not wage our spiritual battle in the physical world. We, as Christians, are not in battle against Muslims. As Christians we do not fight Muslims to make them Christians. We do engage with Muslims in the battlefield of the mind over Islam as a theology, as an accurate view of reality, as facts. That fight goes on in the mind, in the intellectual battlefield of arguments and ideas.
That’s the next point Paul is making here in Ephesians 6:12. We are in a struggle (in classical Greek, this word refers to a wrestling match; it is only used here in the NT) against rulers, powers, world forces of this darkness, the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” All these expressions are synonyms and they refer to the “dark side of the force,” to use our Star Wars theme.
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Speaking of Star Wars, one of the classic scenes from the movie takes place in the Mos Eisley Cantina. This cantina is a dimly lit tavern known for its strong drinks, hot music, and occasional outbreaks of violence that can end with a dead body on the floor. If you visit Tatooine, you’ll probably find yourself visiting the Mos Eisley Cantina to get out of the heat of the suns, to avoid unwelcome questions, or to find a pilot for your spaceship.
Let me use that bar scene, Mos Eisley, as a metaphor for the numerous faiths that challenge our own faith, faiths against which we struggle in the spiritual and intellectual sphere. In our “Faith War,” we do not battle against flesh and blood. Rather, we wrestle against Hinduism and her prince, Krishna, against Buddhism and Gautama, against Confucianism and her teacher, and we wrestle against Islam and her prophet, Muhammed. These are not the only battles. They are the battles I’ll consider tomorrow, but we also battle against atheism and the theory of evolution and we battle against all forms of Christianity that do not believe that the NT is a pattern to be followed, that do not believe Jesus’ commands should be taken seriously. The larger context of our war is against what is true versus what is error, what corresponds to reality and what does not correspond to reality.
Paul Holland
