It doesn’t take great powers of observation to see how the West is going through great convulsions that have it teetering on the brink of an almost inevitable collapse christian mysticism. New powers are at work determined to advance their goals – goals that are on a high-impact collision course in an intense power struggle. On one hand there is aggressive secularism, and on the other a militant new Islam, both intent on squeezing out the last vestiges of Christianity. We need a clear understanding of this situation, but be careful which lens you use. Here, I am using my biblical Christian worldview. Aggressive atheistic and secular humanism have been gaining increasing control of attitudes and civil legislation. The once well regarded Judaeo-Christian values of the sanctity of human life have all but been abandoned and in their place come sustained appeals to extend legislation permitting abortion, euthanasia, and to increasingly normalise homosexuality and same-sex marriage, for examples – activities which are now presented as basic human rights. What people want is theirs by right to possess and are merely marks of maturity, healthy freedom and normal to our evolving human behaviour.
But there is a high cost to pay for what is actually a slide into moral chaos, as we inevitably reap what we sow. Look at what has grown up in our towns and cities; the street violence, racism, sex trafficking, vicious gang-land crime, long-running feuds, substance abuse, the widespread abuse of power, addictive gambling, unethical business practices – the sheer corrupt institutionalised cunning that has left whole economies devastated, the decline in mental health, emotional disorders, fear, anxiety, a callous insensitivity to grief and pain and a terrible dread of the future – all this imploding, tottering decadence shackles our “liberated” West, which has virtually lost all semblance of moral integrity.
The secularised West that thought the human mind unfettered by Christian values and accountability to God would be free to reign supreme is beginning to discover that it is destroying itself. This was the age-old dream of autonomous humanity – the new Age of Reason – free to pursue its own goals of self-fulfilment. The humanity that would dispose of God once and for all and by phenomenal advances in science would boldly reach for the stars and rule the universe!
But other forces were also at work. With the slow death of empires came the resurgence and ascent of Islam, the religion of sheer fiat and aggressive domination. Islam looks for one thing – your surrender to its total claim on your life and the Islamicisation of our Western democracies merged into a Shariah-governed Islamic world. And whatever moderate middle ground there may be, it is yielding to sheer fanaticism. Yes, there are definitely factions within Islam and a more moderate, Western-influenced flank, but it has little capacity to reason with the storm of fervour driven by the despotic radicals. A proud father called in to the radio station to share the story of how his 38 year-old son had been contacted by the blood bank. It seems that another man, unknown to him, was losing his fight with leukemia and he had only one more shot at a cure. So far, every procedure they had tried had no effect and they were down to one last shot… a bone marrow transplant. The blood bank administrator told him that he was a perfect candidate and asked him if he would be willing to go through this very painful procedure for this stranger. After prayer and long deliberation he made the decision to become a donor and go through this very painful process for an absolute stranger.
Now, while this is a touching story, this is not what grabbed my attention. What did was this. Did you know that when someone receives a bone marrow transplant, their entire DNA becomes identical to the donor? Even the blood type of the recipient changes and becomes the same. I didn’t know that. It’s like they become a completely new person. Amazing, huh?
Another amazing part of the process is that the donor and the recipient are not allowed to meet each other for at least a year after the procedure. The reason is because, even though the two people are perfect candidates, there is never a guarantee that the recipient’s body will accept the new marrow. So, there is still the possibility that, even though the decision was made and the procedure had been completed, there was no guarantee that a new life without the suffering caused by the leukemia would actually be a reality. And it is this fact that really made me start to think about spiritual parallels. Here is what I mean.
