The Lessons of History

Before anyone gets too excited about the overthrow of Mubarak in Egypt, and begins proclaiming this as a great step for democracy in the Middle East, they would do well to examine the lessons of history. Allow me to point out a few from the last 100 years.

• Czar Nicholas of Russia was overthrown by the Bolsheviks, and Lenin began the Communist regime that led to the death of 30 million (conservative estimate).
• Chiang Kai-shek was overthrown by the followers of Mao Tse-Tung in China, resulting in the imprisonment and slaughter of what some have estimated to be 60 million Chinese.
• Pol Pot and the Khmer Rogue took control of Cambodia and murdered between 1.5 to 2 million Cambodians.
• Fidel Castro and his forces overthrew the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, creating a communist state that has put death an estimated 100,000 Cubans.
• The Shah of Iran was overthrown and replaced by the Ayatollah Khomeini and created an Islamic state that threatens the peace of the Middle East.

Was today, February 11, 2011, a great day for Egypt and the world? Time will tell.

The Chaos in Egypt and The Unshakable Kingdom

Mubarak's speech, telling the Egyptian people that he had stepped aside and was no longer running the government, brought to mind the scene in the Wizard of Oz when Toto discovers the "Wizard" behind the curtain manipulating the controls producing the "giant talking head." The Wizard says, "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

Mubarak was telling the people in the streets of Cairo to "ignore the man behind the curtain." I seriously doubt that the protesters are that stupid. Promising reforms, elections in September, and supposedly turning the reins of the nation over to his vice-president, who is the former chief of intelligence, is like throwing a bone to a raging pit bull. It only sets the stage for more chaos and bloodshed in the streets. The fuse on the dynamite has already been lit, and Mubarak's patronizing speech, expressing his sorrow for those who have died in the streets, falls on deaf ears.

It appears to me that the United States has been left on the sidelines in this conflict. Mubarak is a dictator, but he is "our dictator." He has been an ally in the war on terrorism, he has helped maintain peace in the Middle East, and has helped serve our national interests while we supplied them with billions in foreign aid. On the other hand, the United States cannot ignore a cry for "democracy" without looking complicit with an oppressive regime. It is a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation.

The wild card in all this is the "Muslim Brotherhood" and the influence they are exerting in this climate of chaos. If one examines the history of this group formed in the 1920's, you find that they had ties with Nazi Germany, and have been a breeding ground for Al-Qada. The leadership vacuum that can be left by Mubarak's removal, which I believe will ultimately come, sets the stage for a far worse situation in the Middle East as the fire spreads beyond the Egyptian borders.

If I did not believe in a sovereign God who rules over the affairs of men, and the power of prayer, knowing that he is still seated upon His throne, I would be unduly alarmed. But I do believe in these things, and rest in the fact that He is in control. Hebrews 12:28 tells us that we, as believers in Christ, have received "a kingdom that that cannot be shaken." Though the kingdoms of this world are being shaken, economically and politically, God's kingdom remains unshaken.

Remembering Reagan and Rise of Political Consciousness

Tomorrow marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States. Whatever one's opinion may be of his presidency, one must acknowledge that Reagan served our nation at what was a crucial time in our history. He was the "Great Communicator," who brought pride back to America after Watergate and the "malaise" of the Ford- Carter years. When he died in June 2004, I wrote the following article to call attention to one aspect of Reagan's influence.

In August 1980 a significant event occurred which changed the course of evangelical Christianity here in the United States. That event was the National Affairs Briefing. Evangelical pastors and laymen gathered to receive a “briefing” on what the could do to restore the moral foundations of our nation. Held in Dallas, it was touted as the largest gathering of its type in history. Ronald Reagan was the only candidate for president who agreed to attend, and the conservative, grass-roots views expressed at that gathering convinced him that Christians were serious about having a political voice. Reagan’s opening statement was, "I realize this is a bipartisan meeting and you can’t endorse me, but I want you to know that I endorse you!" If you want to date the origin of the Republican Party's evangelical swing vote, date it with that meeting. Reagan made it happen.

Prior to that time most evangelical leaders were uninvolved politically (with certain exceptions) and disinterested in the “dirty” business of politics. Most of us who were old enough to vote in 1976 voted for Jimmy Carter, not because of the political platform on which he stood, but because he was unashamedly a “born again” Christian. But after four years of the peanut farmer from Georgia, and the continual decline of “traditional moral values,” evangelical Christians were beginning to be awakened politically out of a long slumber.

In the Presidential election of 1980 evangelicals turned out in large numbers to support the Reagan candidacy. Suddenly voting became a Christian duty. Politics began to be viewed as “spiritual” and believers became aware of political issues. It was the dawn of a new day for many of us. Certainly there were others besides Reagan responsible for this new political consciousness, but Ronald Reagan was the candidate that believers felt they could rally around. He was a man who held firm convictions, a man who spoke about his confidence in God, and a man who was aware of the threat of atheistic communism.

Since that time we have faced many disappointments. The triumphalism that some of us expressed in those days has met with reality. Undoubtedly at times we placed too much confidence in the arm of “political” flesh. We were naive and at times were taken advantage of by the politically ambitious. We at times “married” the Kingdom of God to the Republican Party. But nevertheless, 1980 was a turning point for many of us. We can never go back to the retreatism of the old days. In 1980 I began a journey, which continues to this day, to seek to understand how God’s Kingdom is to effect the social and political agendas of this present world. Ronald Reagan helped start me on that journey for which I am grateful.