nikolai_42
Well-known member
No...I'm not asking if politics or christianity is more dangerous - rather indicating that there is a necessary crossover between Christianity and politics here. Since this is the politics thread, I want to make sure that as many Christians respond as possible. Non-Christians will possibly have significantly different views, but at the core of the post is a recognition that there has always been a crossover between the two in the US.
Looking over the last 60 to 75 years, one sees a change in focus in the American political arena - at least as far as national security goes. In the 50's through at least the 70's it was the Communists. In the 80's and 90's there was a greater emphasis on globalism and dealing with the One World and New World Order movements. In the light of 9/11 (and even extending back some to 1993, to be more precise), Islam moved to the forefront. While there is still, to some degree, concern over all 3 forces in the world (no, Communism is not dead!), politics tends to be faddish. Whereas prophecy in scripture has never changed. Americans tend to read prophecy through the lens of the newspaper (more than the other way around). The Antichrist has been (mis)identified over and over again and the threats of the last beast rising out of the sea change character with each decade seeing new candidates for ultimate evil(Nixon, Kissinger, Reagan, VISA etc...).
But in the end, in the grand scheme of things, few people seem to think long term these days. Dispensationalist futurism seems to cater to the eschatological whims of the masses. Dispensationalism is not responsible for bad eschatology - people come up with that all on their own (which is why pulp fiction sells so well). But it happens to be the culprit this time. Yet even that is not my point. My point is that while there may have been immediate threats posed by Communism, globalism and Islam over the past couple of generations - and American politics has historically been intertwined with Christianity and the associated prophetic view - the long term threat is more what the scriptures look at.
So, from a political as well as a Christian (prophetic) standpoint, what is REALLY the biggest long term threat? How much are Christian views of prophecy being shaped by the political hot topics and potentially missing the long view that the bible holds?
Looking over the last 60 to 75 years, one sees a change in focus in the American political arena - at least as far as national security goes. In the 50's through at least the 70's it was the Communists. In the 80's and 90's there was a greater emphasis on globalism and dealing with the One World and New World Order movements. In the light of 9/11 (and even extending back some to 1993, to be more precise), Islam moved to the forefront. While there is still, to some degree, concern over all 3 forces in the world (no, Communism is not dead!), politics tends to be faddish. Whereas prophecy in scripture has never changed. Americans tend to read prophecy through the lens of the newspaper (more than the other way around). The Antichrist has been (mis)identified over and over again and the threats of the last beast rising out of the sea change character with each decade seeing new candidates for ultimate evil(Nixon, Kissinger, Reagan, VISA etc...).
But in the end, in the grand scheme of things, few people seem to think long term these days. Dispensationalist futurism seems to cater to the eschatological whims of the masses. Dispensationalism is not responsible for bad eschatology - people come up with that all on their own (which is why pulp fiction sells so well). But it happens to be the culprit this time. Yet even that is not my point. My point is that while there may have been immediate threats posed by Communism, globalism and Islam over the past couple of generations - and American politics has historically been intertwined with Christianity and the associated prophetic view - the long term threat is more what the scriptures look at.
So, from a political as well as a Christian (prophetic) standpoint, what is REALLY the biggest long term threat? How much are Christian views of prophecy being shaped by the political hot topics and potentially missing the long view that the bible holds?
