Monday, September 30, 2024

Part I

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The Humbling and Deadly Effect of Hurricane Helene: Entire Communities Devastated, Even in the Mountains of Western North Carolina

In the scale of the created cosmos, we are very small. It certainly feels that way when you stand at a place like the Grand Canyon and recognize just how immense it is, how small a mere human being is. When it comes to storms, a hurricane may be the most powerful phenomenon that makes us feel so small, and it makes us feel so small in so many different ways. First of all, it makes us feel small just given the immensity of any storm that ranks as a hurricane or a tropical cyclone. We’re talking about 70 miles an hour of sustained winds. We are talking about a storm of immense size. We’re talking about something that generally begins as a form of depression but then turns, rather rapidly in some cases, into a very powerful storm.

That’s what happened with Hurricane Helene. It emerged as a weather depression in the Gulf, and then within a matter of just a few days, it was a category four hurricane. And when I say a few days, in some of the most crucial periods of the storm, it was just a matter of hours, but a hurricane also makes us feel so small when we look at the devastation that it leaves. It’s honestly still hard for me, growing up as a boy even in Florida and witnessing some very historic storms, it is still an amazement to me that any force of nature of that concentration can bring that kind of power over such a large area.

But there’s another area when it comes to these deadly storms, another issue in which it turns out that we look very small. And that is, even given so much of the modern technology forecasting ability, we have, computer modeling, no doubt many of those things have saved lives, the reality is that we just don’t know exactly what any of these storms is going to do. But we were reminded of that in a terrifying way when Helene went into that area of Florida where, quite frankly, the area had been spared of hurricanes of a deadly force for a very long time. Some people there thought it was unlikely to happen, but now it has happened repeatedly in a short number of years. You’ve seen the devastation. Some of the beach homes simply wiped off, such that nothing remains except a concrete pad.

When it comes to the storms we call hurricanes, and they’re such major events that for a matter of many years now, we name them as if they have a personality, the reality is that these storms are so absolutely massive that they come with two forms of immediate danger, and it’s an interesting argument as to which is more deadly. In the end, it matters where you’re standing and what part of the storm you are experiencing. When it came to Helene, the first major issue was the winds that came with a tidal surge. That tidal surge was so large, 20 feet in some areas. And for that matter, a matter of seven to 10 feet throughout much of coastal Florida and the Gulf coast, it came with absolutely devastating effect. The winds, combined with a tidal surge of that immensity, meant that it basically swept to just about everything in its immediate path away.

But then there’s a second big dimension, and that is the rain. The long debate has been, which is more dangerous, the wind or the rain? The answer is, well, both, but it sometimes depends upon the storm and where you are in the storm. And that’s where the odd turn that has taken place with Hurricane Helene has resulted in an incredibly deadly effect, for example, in Western Carolina, Western North Carolina, where quite honestly, it has been a very long time since anything like this has taken place. And so you look at a storm. The immediate concern is there on the Gulf coast where the storm is likely to hit. When the storm hit, it landed just about where the forecasters said that it would, and at just about the power and threat that had been forecast, but then it went on its way, very fast, and it brought record hurricane winds to places like Valdosta, Georgia, Macon, Georgia. It caused flooding in much of Atlanta, and then it went further north.

It eventually would dissipate over the very area of Kentucky from which I’m speaking. But the massive rains that lasted for so long, bands of successive rainstorms that simply inundated Western North Carolina, what you had there was an unprecedented flood of rain, falling on an area of absolutely beautiful landscape, but that means mountains and that means creeks flowing into rivers, and it means entire communities now inundated, and many of them absolutely isolated. The isolation has been caused by the flooding that has caused landslides. It is simply devastated highways and county roads. It has cut off communities. I had contact yesterday with a pastor who, with his family and congregation, had to be airlifted out of Western North Carolina. And so that landscape that is so stunningly beautiful became, in just a matter of hours, stunningly deadly. The modern world has come with many promises, and many of those promises have been unfulfilled, or maybe to put it more accurately, they have been partially fulfilled.

For one thing, much of the modern age, and in this stretch, I’m going back to the early 19th century, much of the modern age came with the promise of human conquest over nature. And it has been a partial conquest. We split the atom. We’ve been able to turn coal into energy. We’ve been able to create electricity. Human beings have done marvelous things, even controlling much of nature, damming up massive rivers to create reservoirs and hydroelectric power. You just go down the list. But the problem is, when it comes right down to it, nature is still really big and we are small. Furthermore, the biblical worldview reminds us that nature is not morally neutral, that the created order itself is showing the effects of sin. And so we are not in Eden with a hurricane. We are in the world after the fall east of Eden, and we are facing these storms. We do appear very small.

In the conquest of nature, human beings said, “Well, we’ll control much of it. And what we can’t control, we will be able to predict.” And here’s where you have to say, again, the victory has been partial. We know far more about these storms. We see them coming. We have satellite imagery, we have all kinds of computer modeling systems. And once again, for the most part, those modeling systems did incredibly well in predicting what would happen with Helene. But there is a very clear limit to that knowledge. There’s a very clear limit to that control. There’s a very clear limit to our ability to predict. No one was able to say, “Look, these bands of storms are going to just sit over Western North Carolina and are going to turn rivers and creeks into absolute torrents of water that will tear apart roads, that will tear through communities, inundate entire neighborhoods, cut off cities, and require human beings to be airlifted just to be able to take them to safety.”

And these storms have not been tamed. They’re still very deadly. We’re talking about the death toll for Helene approaching 100, and we’re talking about 30 of those deaths, at least 30 of those deaths in one county in western North Carolina. Just think about it, when we saw Helene coming and approaching the Florida coastline, there was the anticipation that there would be some deaths there in Florida, perhaps into Georgia. But Western North Carolina? This just demonstrates to us once again that we are able to predict a very great deal, but nature is beyond our absolute prediction. Nature humbles us. And with the Christian worldview in mind, we understand that nature will continue to humble us. Even as there are those who think we will have a final conquest over nature, it can virtually, with assurance, be predicted, nature will not be subject to a final conquest by human power, human ingenuity, human engineering, human politics.

We need to pray for those who are suffering in the aftermath of this storm, and in particular, that means Western North Carolina and the direct path of the storm going through much of Georgia, and of course, all the way to the Florida coastline. And this needs to be said, even as I am speaking right now, there is another storm system that is developing in almost the same place there in the Gulf and could well be headed along the very same path of development. Then again, it is interesting that the weather forecasters and the National Hurricane Center are saying it’s about a 50-50 proposition at this point. Well, that’s one of those situations in which the greatest and most disciplined human wisdom is at a loss. What exactly do you do with 50-50? Frankly, it’s out of our hands.

Part II

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An Axis of Resistance Rises in the Middle East: Militias and Terrorist Groups in Middle East Now Pose Organized Threat Traced Directly to Iran

Next, we need to turn from the world of nature to the world of human politics and warfare, and in particular to the attacks that were launched by Israel against the terrorist group Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon. And as we went into the weekend, reports came that a massive attack had been undertaken by Israel in order to damage at least the lethal potential of Hezbollah. And there was the claim that Israel had been successful in killing the leader of Hezbollah, and that would be its Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. That was not confirmed for a matter of hours, and then it was confirmed. And we need to understand that this is sending shockwaves throughout the entire world system. This is a story so big that if anything, the danger is in underestimating what this means for Israel, and frankly for the rest of us going forward. In order to understand that, we need to do a bit of history.

When you look at the entire Middle East and you look at the struggles that have shaped that area of the world for so long, it’s very easy to say, well, let’s say immediately, we’re talking about the dynamic of Israel over against most of the Arab states, at least since about 1947, 1948. But you also have to understand that before that, there were the wars of empire, and before that, there were the wars of territorial aggression between kingdoms and caliphates. You also had the situation that if you take Israel, the Jewish state, out of the picture, and you take European nations from the age of empire out of the picture, you still have a big problem because Islam itself is divided between the Sunni Muslims in the vast majority and the Shiite Muslims, the Shia, who, though less numerous, are perhaps, if anything, even bigger in terms of looming world headlines in recent decades.

So that’s a basic battle, and often that has been a battle to the death. But one of the more ominous developments in recent years has been the unification, at least tactically and often militarily, of the Shia and Sunni Muslim movements in opposition to two major forces. The first, of course, and most proximate, is the Jewish state of Israel. It is a lethal hatred that drives so many of these, especially in those groups designated as Muslim terrorist organizations, to seek nothing less than the death of Israel and the death of a Jewish state anywhere in the region. They will put their intra-Muslim conflict on abeyance, so to speak, for a while in order to address the mutual enemy, which is Israel.

But I said, there’s a second enemy, and that second enemy is the one called by the Iranian radicals, the Great Satan, that is the United States of America. And you have to keep that dualism very much in mind. The fact is that it is Israel and the United States seen largely as two fronts of one threat that unites much of the Muslim world in opposition. And so even as Israel is taking the direct military action against Hezbollah, more on that in just a moment, the reality is that the Muslim world sees the United States behind this. And quite frankly, given recent developments, there is no way of hiding the fact that the United States and Israel, if not working in concert, are at least working against common enemies. Now, one of the other interesting developments has been the fact that Iran has emerged as the great energy behind so much of the effort to try to eliminate Israel.

Now, you may remember that President George W. Bush, during the time that the United States was most actively involved in warfare in that region, and that came after the Islamist attacks of September 11, 2001, President Bush spoke of an axis of evil. But in more recent years, what has emerged is what is self-consciously called an axis of resistance. That’s what Iran calls this network, an axis of resistance that includes terror cells and militias such as Hamas, which, by the way, is Sunni, and Hezbollah, most crucial to our discussion today, which is Shia, and other groups including the Houthi rebels in Yemen, but also Shia groups in particular in Syria and in Iraq. This axis of resistance includes, as I say, Hamas.

So looking at Hamas and Hezbollah, you’re looking at the two most direct threats to Israel, one from the north in Lebanon, that’s Hezbollah, and then Hamas, of course, there in Gaza. And so we are looking, all of a sudden, at Israel facing its two deadliest enemies at the same time. And we are looking at the fact that the United States is not a casual observer to this picture. The death of Hassan Nasrallah by Israel’s very direct bombing, and it is likely that that included 2000 pound bombs that Israel had by its arrangement with the United States. It was a targeted bombing, but just like Hamas and Gaza, Hezbollah hides itself, embeds itself in civilian populations in order to require civilian deaths if you are going to get at Hezbollah. But Hezbollah is not just like Hamas. If anything, Hezbollah is a far more deadly danger. So let’s look at the history.

Hezbollah emerged in the aftermath of the Iranian revolution that brought the Ayatollah Khomeini to power in 1979 and 1980. It was a Shia rebellion, and of course, it was a revolution that brought about an historic Islamic regime there in Iran. And as I said, from the very beginning, the United States has been identified as the Great Satan. But also, from the very beginning, Iran in the modern age has sought the elimination of Israel. And so Iran, not wanting to go directly at war with Israel nation versus nation, it has been building these militia groups, this axis of resistance. And Hezbollah has been so well-armed and is so well-manned in personnel, that it is considered by most military specialists to be the most lethal and deadly non-state actor on the world scene today, and that’s really saying something. Hezbollah emerged as a militia trying to model itself on the Iranian regime and its armed forces, and in service to Iran and its armed forces. Again, the common bond there is Shia Islam.

But the common bond was also the fact that the leaders of Hezbollah, back especially in the 1980s, saw the Iranian revolution as the template for what they wanted to bring about in other states there in the Middle East. Now, as they did so, of course, they were directing much of their ire towards Israel. And when you had the development of Hezbollah a militia there in Southern Lebanon, it became two things at once. It became a genuine threat to Israel, but it also became a threat to the government there in Lebanon. By the way, it’s hard for most people these days to remember, but Lebanon at one point, let’s just say after the second war well into the second half of the 20th century, was seen as a vacation haven for much of Europe. It was seen as something like the French Riviera. That’s hard to believe today when Lebanon is now synonymous with civil war and continuing violence, and the home base of Hezbollah.

Hassan Nasrallah joined this movement when he was only 15 years old. As a 15-year-old boy, he wanted to become a member of the militia in order to join the effort to support the Ayatollah and to bring about Islamic revolution throughout the entire Middle East. He gave himself to it and he rose very quickly. After the previous leader of Hezbollah was killed, also in an military effort in conflict with Israel, Hassan Nasrallah became the Secretary General. That sounds like a very boring office, but basically just see him as the general in command of the entire movement of Hezbollah. And by the way, he has been understood to be very intelligent, very charismatic. His leadership was very inspiring to building Hezbollah as a militia, as a terrorist force, as a military force. His own 18-year-old son–he had five children, four of them are now living–the eldest was a boy. At age 18, he joined the military effort and was killed in conflict with Israel.

Now, that’s, of course, an unspeakable tragedy to a family, but you need to understand it became a part of the credibility of Hassan Nasrallah, because many of the militant leaders, the leaders of the militias and other terror cells, they get enough money and power, they send their own children off to study in Europe at university. Hassan Nasrallah did the opposite. He put his son in the army. His son paid with his life. That has given Nasrallah a lot of credibility. Nasrallah also gained a great deal of credibility by the fact that he was adaptable to the challenges of the time, and those challenges also yielded opportunities. Basically, under his leadership, Hezbollah became the effective government of Lebanon. Okay, now keep in mind this axis of resistance. These are groups that stand on their own, but they are funded by and directed by Iran.

They’re sometimes incompatible if you just take two of these groups, such as Hamas, which is Sunni, and you look at Hezbollah, which is Shiite, but they also work in concert when it is convenient. Hamas attacked Israel with deadly effect, you now remember on October the seventh of 2023, we’re coming up on the one year anniversary of that deadly attack, and the day after, Nasrallah, on behalf of Hezbollah, announced that it would be joining the effort against Israel. Now, here’s something to watch. It was clear, on October the seventh of last year, that Israel had not anticipated this attack by Hamas. At the same time, military observers in the United States and elsewhere, fully understood that Israel did see the danger of Hezbollah. And so the more recent effort in Israel’s attack upon Hezbollah has undoubtedly been based upon military planning that long preceded October 7, 2023.

Part III

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Israel Sends a Clear Message: Israeli Strike Kills Head of Hezbollah and Sends an Unmistakable Signal to its Enemies

But in both cases, here’s what we need to watch. Israel has decided to go for broke in one sense, not to eliminate Hamas, nor to eliminate Hezbollah, but quite frankly, to weaken them to the extent that it will be a very, very long time before they can pose the same kind of threat to Israel again. And Israel will justify that simply by stating the obvious. It lives in an incredibly dangerous neighborhood, and it is surrounded by forces such as Hamas and Hezbollah, who have dedicated themselves to the elimination of Israel and to the elimination of the Jews. With the death by the Israeli massive attack upon Lebanon, the death of Hassan Nasrallah, the reality is no one knows exactly where Hezbollah stands. Now, this came after Israel had degraded much of the force, had destroyed many of the barracks, the concentrations of troops by Hezbollah, had eliminated at least some of its laboratories and places where military weapons are being developed. And now, of course, we know it destroyed its headquarters and it killed the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. So what’s next? Well, here’s what else is really interesting.

When you look at these militias, you look at these terrorist organizations, they appear to be vanquished, and then all of a sudden, a new leader appears. That’s what brought Hassan Nasrallah on as the leader of Hezbollah 30 years ago. That’s what has similarly happened in terms of Hamas. But you also need to understand the way these things work. The way these things work is that Israel accomplishes its goal, but it also sends, simultaneously, a signal. Yahya Sinwar is the military head of Hamas. He has not seen in person in a very long time. He is known to be alive, but he is hidden from view. But so was Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah had not been seen in the main, he hadn’t appeared in public in about 10 years, going back about to 2014, precisely because he knew that Israel was gunning for him. But Israel got him, and Israel got him just in recent days.

Now, here’s something else to watch. How did the world respond? Well, many in the world responded by saying, “How dare Israel do this?” A lot of diplomatic noise. But how did the United States of America respond here? Well, President Joe Biden, who is himself sometimes Seemingly confused on these issues, was sufficiently clear-minded to come out and say, “This is no tragedy.” As a matter of fact, he cited Hezbollah’s direct action in killing about 241 US military personnel on an attack on the US military barracks in Lebanon back a matter of a generation ago. And the president, through the White House, put out an official statement that stated this.

“Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror. His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for as many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians. The strike that killed Nasrallah took place in the broader context of the conflict that began with Hamas’s massacre on October 7th, 2023. Nasrallah, the next day, made the fateful decision to join hands with Hamas and open what he called a northern front against Israel.” The President went on to say, “The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups.” Now, put into context, that is a very loud statement. It was, quite honestly, the statement the president of the United States needed to make.

But let’s understand that Israel made quite a statement, and you can count on the fact that Yahya Sinwar of Hamas, he is ever aware of the fact that Israel was able to eliminate Hassan Nasrallah, even as he was about 60 feet under the surface of the earth there in Lebanon, in a concrete reinforced bunker. It didn’t save him. And so Israel was not only sending a message to Hezbollah, it was sending, simultaneously, a message to Hamas, frankly, a message to all of these allied organizations. And interestingly, President Biden did the same thing. He named names. He actually went on to say that this was a message that was being sent not only to Hamas and Hezbollah, but also to the Houthis there in Yemen, and he continued down the list. In other words, the warning has been delivered.

Part IV

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‘He Was Martyred on the Way to Jerusalem’: The Theological Significance of Message on the Burial Shroud of Hassan Nasrallah, Assassinated Head of Hezbollah

There’s so much more to be said here, but I want to end by just underlining how important theology is in all of this. And when we’re looking at these Muslim groups, let’s remember that they are animated by their understanding of Islam. And you have differences between the Sunni and the Shia, but you also have a common Islamic root, and all Muslims that understand what was made very clear in the news today. On the burial shroud of Hassan Nasrallah were these words in Arabic, “He was martyred on the way to Jerusalem.” Now, just understand what that means. “He was martyred on the way to Jerusalem.” It was a statement in the context honoring him, but also making very clear what he had stood for his entire adult life, and that was the elimination of Israel and the claiming of the entire territory, most importantly, Jerusalem for Islam, for Islam, period.

And also remember that Islam’s understanding of how one gets to paradise, well, it’s more complex than we can describe here, but the shortcut is martyrdom in this kind of holy war. And that’s the entire context for this kind of language found on the burial shroud of Hassan Nasrallah. And that is because a central doctrine of historic Islam is that martyrdom for the cause, as in on his way to Jerusalem means instant transport to paradise. And while it is true that in the Western world and throughout much of the world, what we see is an increasing secularization, and we see an expanding reach of secularism, let’s just make this point very clear. If you look with the lens of secularism at what’s taking place in the Middle East, you not only will not understand this, you won’t understand anything. Theology matters. We as Christians understand just how much it matters.