The Prince of Peace
The Hurt of War amidst the Hope for Peace
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. —Isaiah 9:6, KJV
One of my favorite Christmas carols, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, contains the same line in all five stanzas; that being the sweet refrain, “peace on earth, good-will to men.” [1] Yet lurking ominously in the midst of this song lies this reckoning which contradicts the hoped for reality:
And in despair I bowed my head: “There is no peace on earth,” I said, “For hate is strong, and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men.” [2]
With the exception of a few decades, the history of the world is the history of war.
Even now by announcing its move of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the United States government has taken a step towards its eventual recognition of Jerusalem not as an international city as currently endorsed by the world’s nations, but as the capitol of the nation of Israel. The announcement has been greeted by demonstrations and protests, both organized and spontaneous, with masked masses burning both Israeli and U.S. flags, shouting defamatory and inflammatory protests and raising clenched fists in the air as they call for war.
Then too, civilization remains under similar attack with so-called anti-fascists contradictorily employing violent means to seek a peace that is not there, with North Korea threateningly firing missiles over the Pacific Ocean towards the U.S. mainland, with Russia threatening by military conflict to seize eastern Ukraine, with ISIS and Al Qaeda, Boko Haran and other terrorist groups operating in the world, with massive movements of immigrant populations from one country to another the world over, all of this and more contradicts any romantic notion that there will be peace on earth and good will toward man any time soon. Perish the thought . . . but a devastating World War III may be just around the corner.
Throughout the world, terrorists have successfully interrupted the normal flow of civic life, especially where western interests are at stake. From Bali to New York, bombs have exploded and planes have been flown into tall buildings. The possible detonation of a dirty bomb by terrorists in a public place gravely concerns urban security and city officials. Dirty bombs not only do extensive damage in the vicinity of the explosion, but they will also emit low levels of radiation throughout an extended area several miles in diameter from the center of the blast. Just how severe a health hazard the radioactive materials pose over a long period of time is unknown. There may not be enough hospitals to treat the sick. Then too, if detonated in the stratosphere over earth, EMPs (electro magnetic pulse bombs) could send the world into chaos by destroying the electronic grid our utilities and communication systems (TVs, cell phones, Internet, etc.) absolutely depend on. Welcome to the new “dark ages.”
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