Psy-ops has a long and ignoble history in warfare. In poker it's called bluffing. In commerce, it's called marketing. Getting into the mind of your opponent or target can pay great dividends. Consequently, it is not surprising that in the Great Battle between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Man the latter would engage in psy-ops as often as possible.
One of the most effective psy-ops weapon is within your grasp when you have a chance to convince your enemies that their defeat is inevitable. There have been many deployments of this stratagem in our generations. Jesus Christ is passée. The Age of Science has replaced the former ages of ignorant myths. The real is the material; anything else is either fabrication or imagination. Only fools and horses still believe in the Bible. Nothing will be able to withstand the forces of reason and the science. And so on.
It is true that there is much that might discourage the Christian.
The Commentariat--almost to a man--both disbelieves and ridicules the Christian faith. The forces of our enemies are both numerous and powerful. They control the schools, the chambers of government, and the law. They are attacking the foundations of Christian society with stratagems such as legalising abortion, egalitarianism, along with claiming and promoting faux human rights such as homosexual degradation and euthanasia. They are not just attacking. They are winning.
You would be entitled to expect that Christians would be depressed, discouraged, and defeated. Yet in general the opposite is the case. Christians remain merry warriors, full of belly-laughter, fierceness, and the joy of battle. Why? Because Christians know that there is only one way this battle will turn out. They know that Christ will triumph on the earth. They know the world of Unbelief is going to crumble into dust. Our "retreats" and our "defeats" are our enemy's pyrrhic victories. The Kingdom of Man will crumble--inevitably and most certainly.
How do we know this? Because of the Scriptures relentless certainty about the future of human history. Christ has risen from the dead. He has been seated at the right hand of God. All authority in heaven and upon earth has been delegated to Him.
. . . and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1: 19-21)This age is the age of His dominion and power. The appearance of Christian declension is just that. It is false--at least in every absolute or final sense.
As we once again remember His death, resurrection, and ascension may our boards be laden and our wine glasses full as we feast to His glory and His, and our, full and final victory. The so-called victory of secularism will prove a rip-roaring joke. The triumph of Western rationalism will prove to be an empty shell. A mere paper tiger, as one of their kindred spirits and fellow travellers once said.
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