What Woolwich Means

A brazen attack happened today in Woolwich, England, a part of southeastern London. Two men ran over a soldier who lived in the nearby barracks and got out and hacked him so badly that they decapitated him. They used a machete, a knife, and had a gun on them. They dragged his body. They bragged about the killing to onlookers who were horrified and covered the dead soldier’s body, preventing the attackers from doing more damage. Those onlookers are very brave.

These two men then recorded a video and released it showing one of the killers with his hands bloodied, holding the weapons, bragging about the killing. They apologized that the women had to see that live, but in their country, apparently, this is how they live every day. They said that England will never be safe and that the British government doesn’t care about its populace. They encouraged the people to do away with their government. One of the killers asked a bus driver to take his picture, because he was proud of what he’d done.

Finally, the police arrived and the two killers charged them with their weapons drawn. Fortunately, the police officers shot them and they are now in police custody and were airlifted from the scene in a helicopter used for medical emergencies. You can read more about it on Huffington Post, but there is graphic video included and a very uncomfortable story told. I wish I hadn’t seen the video.

You know, after the tornado that almost wiped out Moore, Oklahoma, this week; French conservative/far-right-wing nut jobs killing themselves publicly over the new gay marriage law and threatening more violence; a lesbian Florida cheerleader facing a completely rough life now that her girlfriend’s parents pressed indecency-with-a-minor charges against her after she turned 18 for having a lesbian relationship (that they don’t like) with their 14 year-old daughter (even though they had been dating and sexually active before the older girl turned 18), I think we’re nowhere close to being “done” with confusion, bedlam, and exhausting society to the point where we essentially live in anarchy.

The Arrival of the Son of Man will take place in times like Noah’s. – Jesus, Matthew 24:37 (The Message)

God saw that human evil was out of control. People thought evil, imagined evil—evil, evil, evil from morning to night. – Genesis 6:5 (The Message)

The Earth is trying desperately to cool itself and/or right climactic wrongs, but we still pollute it, creating a greenhouse effect with all the carbon we put into the air without enough trees to convert it into oxygen. We de-forest to make room for more housing and businesses that won’t last ten years. We poison the earth that God gave us dominion over and get surprised by more and more severe weather patterns. A hurricane hit New York City. In late October! WHERE DEY DO DAT AT?!

So, there is environmental bedlam. Then there is social, political, and personal bedlam. Just about every religion is now being used to control people for a desired end-game, and the gullible are being taken in. Even Atheists are being taken in by themselves, adding to the mix with the aim of “liberating people from the shackles of religion” but often appear just as arrogant and out-of-touch as a fundamentalist lottery-playing Bible Belt churchgoer. Everyone has sides now. Us v. Them. Radical Muslims are mad at the world for not being 100% Muslim (and even if they are, they’d better fit the Taliban’s mold of Islam. Otherwise, there’s no point. Thus saith Al Qaeda). Conservative Christians defend every belief without ever sharing the love of the Gospel and feel that everyone is set against them because of Jesus. Oh, how wonderful it would be if the world only hated Christians because of the outrageousness of the Gospel message! Instead it’s (slightly over half) linked to some Christians being jerks in thought, word, and deed.

We’re falling apart as a world. We have so much wrong with poverty, education, finances, jobs, housing, wars, rumors of war, and everything else I just mentioned. Is it new? No. Is it getting worse? Yes. Rapidly? It seems so. The only hope I have in this is in Jesus, and while I believe that he never leaves nor forsakes (Hebrews 13:5), it feels like He’s gotten awfully quiet in the world lately. The author of confusion is Satan, and there is confusion at every level now. What Woolwich means for me is a harsh wake-up call to see just how bad the world is and further proof that humans are inherently evil and have to work at being good. It doesn’t help that these men are African and immigrants to England, which will cause more problems with immigration, xenophobia, and fear of anyone who doesn’t look, sound, or act British. More confusion!

So, how long until Jesus returns? Today? Tomorrow? Are we worse off than before?

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Tags: Bedlam, Christianity, Confusion, Gay, News, Politics, Woolwich, World

Category: Christianity, Gay, News, Politics