In the HBO movie Band of Brothers, there was a scene that depicted a briefing before D-Day—the invasion of Europe.1 Paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division were instructed to study the plan carefully and to know not only their own responsibilities but to understand also the assignments of each unit. In addition to the oral briefing, the soldiers were given aerial photographs, maps, and sand tables.
The sand tables were topographical depictions of the drop zones and surrounding area that showed roads, railroads, bridges, buildings, and other landmarks that could help the soldiers navigate once they were on the ground.
The paratroopers were inserted behind enemy lines in France about five hours before the main invasion force landed on the beaches. The role of the paratroopers was to neutralize enemy assets to maximize the probability of a successful invasion. The paratroopers were required to navigate with stealth and cunning to evade the enemy and accomplish their mission.
As the aircraft carrying the paratroopers approached their respective drop zones, the enemy resistance was intense. Scores of aircraft were damaged or destroyed and many soldiers were killed. Of those who survived, many lost their equipment during the drop and/or landed in the wrong drop zones. Consequently, most were separated from their units and disoriented.
Not all the soldiers obeyed their commanders and studied the sand tables, but those who did provided salvation from the chaos.2 These soldiers were able to identify their locations and develop plans to conduct their missions. Perhaps the obedient soldiers were modern-day examples of the men of Issachar in Old Testament times. These men “had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.”3
If the Christian community is facing a global war—Christianity against atheism and agnosticism—there is a great need for Christians to understand the times and know what to do.
For example, consider the threat from the growth of atheism and agnosticism. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, these worldviews were embraced by only about 0.03 percent of the global population. Today, atheism and agnosticism combined have the third largest number of adherents (~16%), Christianity is first (~30%), and Islam is second (~20%).4
From 1800 to 2013, the total global population grew at an average annual rate of 3 percent; Christianity grew at a rate of 5 percent and Islam at 8 percent. However, atheism and agnosticism combined grew at an average annual growth rate of more than 1200 percent.5
Perhaps the reason for this dramatic expansion in the number of atheistic and agnostic adherents was the surge of naturalism and humanism. These are not new ideologies, but they have grown dramatically since the seventeenth century. Naturalism claimed that physical reality was the only meaningful reality. Humanism claimed that mankind, as the greatest of animate beings, innately possessed the power and right to define the terms of physical existence.
Through most of human history, mankind embraced theistic philosophies. But about one thousand years ago, an idea called nominalism was introduced. This ideology challenged the supremacy of God over his creation.6 By the fourteenth century, nominalism was widely accepted, and the implications began to be explored. The Creator was no longer the supreme reality; mankind became the prime focus.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, modern science developed a mechanistic view of the universe. Though the leaders in this scientific reformation were mostly theists, the few atheists and agnostics alive at the time seized the moment. They asserted that the universe could be explained by natural cause and effect; therefore, there was no need of a god hypothesis. Naturalism arose, and humanism, emboldened by nominalism, put mankind in the place of God.
In the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin proposed his theory of evolution to explain the existence of the universe without the need of a Creator. By the middle of the nineteenth century, the atheists and agnostics asserted that naturalism and the theory of evolution supported their worldviews. For the first time in history the atheistic and agnostic worldviews became credible. The implications of this ideology began to sweep over the world, like a giant tsunami, overturning widely accepted societal norms.
The atheists and agnostics sought to transform the education systems, political systems, economic systems, and social systems. This attack was global but was particularly devastating to the USA because of its strong connection to Christianity.
Education was disconnected from God. Knowledge was assumed to exist independently of the Creator. Increasingly any influence of Christianity was viewed as a bias against true knowledge.
Public policy was progressively disconnected from Christianity. In the USA, the doctrine of separation of church and state assumed the state had to be protected from the church, which was increasingly viewed as toxic to the culture’s welfare. In addition, the judicial philosophy was challenged. Before the acceptance of atheism and agnosticism, judicial rulings were made based on a Christian worldview. But since the early part of the twentieth century, the judicial philosophy has changed. The Bible is no longer the immutable guide; the judicial philosophy is based on the mutable will of the people.
Before the 1930s, economic systems were based on commodities. Currencies could be exchanged for precious and semi-precious metals. When the Great Depression occurred, commodity-based currencies were replaced by fiat money that inevitably led to inflationary cycles. Furthermore, governments with fiat currencies were emboldened to print and issue more money to fight the global recessions. Debt was used liberally at all levels—from inidividuals to sovereign governments. Globally, debt became the new financial norm.
Finally, before the middle of the twentieth century, biblically based social standards were challenged. There was no longer a biblically defined moral compass. Sexual morality was redefined; sexual relationships were considered acceptable based on mutual consent. The conception of life, marriage, and the basis for divorce were redefined. Gender identity was disconnected from biology. Consequently, today the definition of right and wrong is based on human standards not the Creator’s standards.
The presumption of atheistic and agnostic worldviews is that people can live as they please without fear of divine consequences. The assumption is that there is no God who has defined right and wrong; therefore, there are no moral absolutes and there is no judgment day. The atheistic and agnostic worldviews assert that each person is free to do as he or she pleases. Human autonomy is the highest virtue. This is moral relativism.
Hopefully you can readily see that relativism is doomed to failure. If you believe that a stable, safe society must define actions such as murder, lying, rape, abuse, and theft as wrong, there must be societal agreement to this absolute standard. Without accepted ethical standards, a culture will be unstable and unsafe. Humanism, however, leads to moral relativism, not universally accepted moral absolutes.
Atheism and agnosticism as a basis of a society cannot produce a sustained healthy, productive, safe, and stable culture. Furthermore, if God is the Creator, an education system divorced from the Creator is flawed. Public policy and judicial rulings separated from God’s standards will not be just. And economic systems disconnected from divine norms will fail.
The destructive consequences of atheism and agnosticism should be evident to all. Nevertheless, the rejection of God and his norms continues with increasing alacrity.
This reality defines the battle; it defines the sand tables that depict the growing conflict. Can you see it? Are you going to ignore it? Are you going to dismiss it as too negative or too complicated? Or are you going to be like the men of Issachar who understood the times and knew what to do?
If you believe that a Christian worldview is the antidote to the flawed ideologies of atheism and agnosticism, then you must engage in the fight. You must be willing to seek the Lord with Christians worldwide to understand and execute your role in the battle.
In 1944, the key to successfully defeating the atheism and agnosticism of Nazi Germany was a well-developed and well-executed plan by the Christians who lived, largely, in Great Britain and North America. One of the keys to this victory was the sand tables that helped prepare the solders for battle—to know what to do when the chaos came. Will Christians today be wise enough to see the sand tables and engage in the battle or will they simply allow atheism and agnosticism to drive the world into increasing chaos?
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I would like to acknowledge and thank my friend Randall Hobson who drew my attention to the imagery of the sand tables and provided inspiration for this Gleanings.
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1.
HBO, Band of Brothers, season 1, episode 1, 55:40ff minute mark.
2. Ibid., episode 2, 16:40ff minute mark.
3. 1 Chronicles 12:32 ESV.
4. http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html.
5. http://christianityinview.com/religion-statistics.html.
6. Rod Dreher, The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation (Penguin Publishing Group, Kindle Edition), 26ff.
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