There is an intriguing debate occurring, mainly in academic Roman Catholic and Anglican circles, on the current state and prognosis of Europe.
There are those who argue that the end of Europe “as we have known it” is inevitable. Europe is a dying continent. It has deserted its historical roots, has supinely lain itself down in the false love of promiscuous tolerance, has gutted residual unifying national identities with the cleaver of the European Union—a bureaucrat's paradise—and has deliberately turned its back upon its Christian roots and worshipped at the altar of pagan secularism.
Marriage as an institution is finished. Birth rates are falling. It is afflicted with “metaphysical boredom.” Because Europe stands for nothing, it will fall for anything. Most likely it will fall to Islam—which has clearly set its sights on taking over the continent, reversing the defeats it suffered in 732 at the Battle of Tours and in 1683 when it almost captured Vienna, the seat of the Holy Roman Empire.
Protagonists in this camp include George Weigel, Bernard Lewis, Daniel Pipes, Bat Y'eor, and Mark Steyn.
The opposing side, while acknowledging that Europe is “not in a good place” at the moment, argues that the doomsayers overstate the case. Much of Islamic influence in Europe is a paper tiger; Islamic immigrants tend to be poor and their religion cultural; as they assimilate into Europe they become just as secular as society. While institutional religion has all but died in Europe there are surprising signs of informal Christian faith. The leading protagonist of this view is Philip Jenkins, Professor of History and Religious Studies at Penn State University. (A good introduction to the debate by Richard John Neuhaus can be found at The Much Exaggerated Death of Europe.)
By all accounts Europe offers some striking parallels with Judah during the time of the Kings, when institutional faith had all but died out, the Temple being firstly filled with idol altars and worship, then closed completely, then reopened, only to become a centre of idolatry again. Or a further parallel is provided by the Inter-Testamental Period when the covenant faith was radically compromised by an onslaught of hellenic religion and its attendant cultural practices. The only way Israel's religious and political elite could see to survive was to join up with the hellenic tidalwave—and so they did. Ultimately this resulted in the great judgement of AD 68—70.
For modern Europe, substitute the secular humanistic tidalwave for the hellenic tidal wave and we see an historical pattern playing out again. An eerie thing is that secular humanism of Europe is really hellenism revived in modern garb. The religious and philosphical motifs are the same. It is the same Hydra.
In the debate referred to above there is one glaring lacunae—the J-word. We refer of course to God's Judgement of nations and peoples. While for modern academics the notion may seem a little strange or extreme—a little academically non PC—the Scripture is blindingly and persistently clear. The Governor of history is the Lord of Hosts. Has it ever not struck you as strange that one of the most frequently employed names for God in the Old Covenant is the name “Lord of Hosts”—which speaks of His militant activity in the world on behalf of His Kingdom and people—is virtually never uttered or heard of today? What does that tell us about modern misconceptions of our Lord?
In this regard many forget that the Ascension of our Lord to the right hand of God was to assume the responsibilities of Universal Commander-In-Chief for war—total war. He was invested as the Lord of Hosts. All His enemies He will cast down.
There is a grimly amusing event recorded in Joshua when the great Captainof Israel was before Jericho, contemplating the battle to come. We read,
“Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, 'Are you with us or for our adversaries?'
And he said, 'No, rather I indeed come now as Captain of the host of the Lord.' And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, 'What has my Lord to say to his servant?'
And the Captain of the Lord's host said to Joshua, 'Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing his holy.' And Joshua did so.”
Joshua 5:13—15
It is amusing that Joshua, the great Captain of Israel, did not protest and say, “Captain of the Lord's Host—that's my job.” He knew immediately that he was in the presence of the Lord, the pre-incarnate Christ, and he fell on his face and worshipped. This is a picture of the Son of Man as He is now.
Similarly, Jesus Himself warned the High Priest that he would live to see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven to judge him and all Israel. (Matthew 26: 62—64) Jesus was about to depart from His humiliation, rise from the dead and ascend to heaven to take up the duties and responsibilities of the Universal Commander in Chief of the Lord's Host. Look out!
So while modern Christian academia apparently finds the notion of God's judgment of nations and cultures somewhat offensive, even crude, the Scriptures leave us in no doubt.
What then can we say of Europe? Firstly, it is populated by people who have been granted the light of the Gospel for generations. Their spiritual privileges have been immense. Their covenantal opportunities extensive. But in general the last three hundred years have witnessed a persistent turning away and a rising tide of idolatry, false belief, and unbelief. The Bible makes clear that the Lord will not leave such people unpunished. To whom much has been given, much is expected.
Secondly, Europe has already been ravaged by divine judgements, but she has neither heeded nor listened. Horrors such as the Terror of the French Revolution, totalitarian Communism, National Socialism, and militant Napoleonic nationalism have racked the Continent with suffering and wars for over three hundred years. The scale is unprecedented. Were it not for the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbour, the two “world” wars of the twentieth century would be more clearly seen for what they were—European affairs resutling in the ravaging of Europe. But—and here is the point—all these “isms” and “movements” are directly descended from the Enlightenment—in both its French form of militant secular rationalism, and its German form of idealism.
Europe turned away from the Christian faith, and turned to the Enlightenment which was hellenism resurrected, and centuries of judgment have followed. Remind anyone of the time of the Kings of Israel and Judah?
Thirdly, despite these judgments Europe has not listened. They have only served to accelerate its increasingly frenzied drive to unbelief. Since the idols became broke in the Temple of Baal, the universal response across Europe has not been repentance and a turning back to the Covenant—it has been instead to a desperate, frenzied rebuilding of the idols. Again the parallels to Israel during the Intertestamental Period are illustrative. Despite all the suffering and affliction of Israel during this period there was no revival in the truth, no covenant renewal, no national repentance—only a more rigid determination to walk in the paths of the nations around about them.
In the light of the Christian philosophy of history, then, the outlook for Europe is not bright. Is there any Elijah, or Isaiah or Jeremiah in sight? Are there signs of any latter day Hezekiah or Josiah? Hardly.
Meanwhile, in other parts of the earth, the Gospel is running to the shores of a swift sunrise. Paul condemned the Jews of his generation with the sarcastic sentence: “Since you judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles.” Europe collectively has likewise judged itself unworthy of eternal life. The Lord has turned to those who have never enjoyed Europe's spiritual privileges and covenantal advantages, particularly in the southern hemisphere, and they are receiving the Word with joy.
Let us humble ourselves before the Lord and worship Him, the Lord of Hosts indeed. And let us pray for Europe that, even at this late hour, He may extend His gracious mercy, before it is too late. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.
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