Jetliner Air and Christmas

December 23, 2001

by John F. Schmidt

The headline screamed, Jetliner Air may be hazardous, study says, just before I boarded a jetliner homebound for Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After a week with the grandkids, I was not so sure I wanted to board, as I was being subjected to yet another airliner threat. Once seated on board, my thoughts began touching all the strange nagging things that had been bothering me about this brave new post 9-11 world: the real, not theoretical terrorist threat, the increased ’security’ at airports, assurances that the Federal government is the best authority to assure security at airports, the presence of armed sky-marshals (which, I suppose thankfully, were nowhere to be seen, but hopefully were there anyway), the economic effect of layoffs in the airline industry, and the ripple effects of the 9-11 disaster on other parts of the economy, the inability of the feds to allow pilots to carry weapons, when most of them were ex-military men, and on and on.

It has just been a lot to think about. And besides all that, it’s Christmas.

When the 9-11 disaster occurred, I was swept up in the whole milieu along with everyone else. I cheer our troops, and hope for bin Laden’s capture or death, and have been encouraged by the changes made in us, the American people. I have also been a bit saddened, although it was predictable, at the resurgence of the anti-Christian animus that was such a part of our culture before 9-11. That mindset has supporters both foreign and domestic.

And to be honest, I can appreciate the paradox that America presents to a mindset like bin Laden’s (not to mention how we appear to many American America-haters also.) Our culture, as seen through the eyes of TV, reveals such decadence and rot one’s stomach must turn. But bin Laden also sees the proclamation of the Gospel, and the obvious blessedness, power and prosperity of our country and people, and thus he must be struck with a massive paradox.

Bin Laden must believe that a just Allah would certainly condemn us to destruction for our idolatry and wickedness, not to mention our earnest rejection of Allah. So he launched his attack against us.

His Jihad reminds me of the King of Moab, Balak’s, attack on Israel. Before the Israelis crossed the Jordan and entered the Promised land, Balak, nervous about their numbers and imminent threat they posed to his kingdom, also saw their obvious wickedness and rebellion against Jehovah. He erroneously concluded that they were going to be easy to curse. But God had decided to bless and there was no changing that. All Balak and his erstwhile hired prophet Balaam got for their efforts was destruction. That is the same script for bin Laden and the Islamic Jihad.

Not to say there aren’t extremely deep and serious moral problems with us Americans. Churchgoers among my readers may recall the scathing observation that "if God spares America, He will owe an apology to Sodom and Gomorrah," and there is considerable truth in that saying. However, God has a bigger agenda at work than America. It is Israel, and His promises to Abraham (Gen 12:1-3 and others). As long as America supports Israel, God will protect America.

Which brings me to my airplane thoughts of Christmas 2001.

Christmas in today’s America is no longer the Christmas of George Bailey’s Bedford Falls. Mr. Potter is much stronger today than when George engaged him in combat for the good heart of his town. The Potters of today would not just debauch Bedford Falls, but would remove the very idea and hope of Christmas from the minds of those "others" living in his shacks on the edge of town. Today Mr. Potter has many of the elite and powerful in government, media, and academia, and even in many seminaries and denominations in his corner. Nothing less than a total eradication of God from our culture would satisfy them. In that light we might see the ACLU and the atheists and the so-called People for the American Way (which never was) as allies of the Islamic Jihad. Bin Laden also wants a total eradication of the God of the Bible from American culture. His goal is the establishment of a radical Islamic state here and in the rest of the world.

We see a renewed attack on Christ in the center of Christmas holiday. To the secularists, the holiday must be reduced to something that is ’religion neutral.’ I won’t waste the time to recount the many incidents of bans on the use of the term "Merry Christmas," or the elimination of Christ-centered hymns, or the banishment of Nativity scenes from most public places. What a vain venture! The very words of our basic language mock those who would eliminate all mention of God. "Holiday" is actually "Holy Day" in a shortened form. The road the secularists have chosen is a long and lonely road indeed. The Lord testifies of them that "they shall lie down in sorrow." (Is 50:11.) The hypocrisy and inconsistency of the critics of God in our culture reveal them to be interested in establishing a culture that is actively hostile to God. The spirit of Antichrist now sits in many seats of power in our country. That spirit is not interested in the Constitution or the will of the people, except to use it to pervert the good.

This is a spiritual war. And the weapons we use must be those of logic, fairness, appeal to law and historical American jurisprudence - political power - and also must be more fundamentally those of prayer. God has revealed in his word that we have the most powerful weapons in existence. 1 Corinthians 10:3-5 tells of their power: the ability to pull down strongholds of lies and error, to cast down high towers of rationalizations against the truth of God in any area the weapons are directed, and having the power to bring every thought - even the thoughts of the enemies of the true God - into captivity to Christ. That is power! It is available only through the earnest prevailing prayer of the saints of God.

As this Christmas season winds down and we enter the new year of 2002, let us take hope and present ourselves before the true and living God - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and let us lay hold of His promises and act on them, calling on Him daily to reverse the actions of the defeated enemy of our souls, Satan. The gates of Hell - Jihad or otherwise - cannot stand against the Risen Christ and His spirit-filled warriors. Let’s take back Christmas and then press on to seize the whole world from the enemy of God.

I guess jetliner air must not be so bad after all, if it can inspire such thoughts and invigorate a person to such hope. Merry Christmas, 2001!

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John F. Schmidt has written numerous articles over the last decade. Politically, he is an Alan Keyes-type Republican. Along with his wife, he has organized voter drives in Pennsylvania, and been active politically since the 1990 elections. His livelihood, until recently, was spent in automation engineering for a large global equipment manufacturing company, specializing in coal mining. WANB in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania hosted Schmidt's weekly talk radio program "Issues and Answers." His writing is intended to relate the headlines of today to the foundation of eternal truth - the Scriptures. He currently resides in Palm Beach County, Florida. Visit his website at: Inalienable-Rights.org

Send the author an E mail at Schmidt@ConservativeTruth.org.

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