December 7 2022.
OUR MARCH OF FOLLY
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’
—Bob Dylan, “The Times They Are A-Changin'”
I have this book, bought in 1985, The March of Folly, by Barbara W. Tuchman, already famous for her The Guns of August and A Distant Mirror, the calamitous 14th Century.
In her March of Folly, she wonders why governments throughout history have pursued policies contrary to their own interests, noting how already in antiquity the Trojans took the wooden horse within their walls, assuring their defeat; how the Renaissance Popes provoked the Protestant secession; how the British lost America through their own stupidity and America betrayed herself in Vietnam.
Since 1985 we have witnessed an identical phenomenon in the 20-year war the USA waged in Afghanistan, a country with a history of failures for Alexander the Great, the British, and the Russians.
So, what about today? More of the same?
Now, almost 2023, we have arrived at a turning point in history, where again folly takes place, now in the fast lane. In earlier times, conflicts were between nations. Today our foolishness is altogether different: we now openly combat God, by waging war against his creation, in which we all, with very few exceptions, are eager participants. Isaiah 24 describes our situation perfectly. Have a look: the Bible is relevant for all times.
Ample warnings.
It’s not that we have not been warned: already Svante Arrhenius, a Swedish scientist, 125 years ago, suggested that the use of coal and oil would lead to global warming: since then, with James Hansen leading the way, the United Nations have had 27 conferences, each one with more urgent warnings.
Folly in the fast lane: Three ultimate dangers.
Our self-inflicted and unwinnable war is resulting in three predictable events: (1) Permanent Inflation and famine, (2) shortages of necessary components, stalling the economy and causing unemployment, and (3), financial turmoil leading to collapse.
Permanent inflation and famine.
Weather related events and regional conflicts will decrease food supply, cause inflation, as the easy to exploit natural resources have been used first, making new supplies more costly to obtain.
A possible world-wide depression.
Depression as occurred in the 1930’s cannot be ruled out. Increasing demand for government funds to compensate for floods, heat, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, new weaponry, will deplete government funds, aggravated by stalled or diminished tax revenue.
Financial Collapse.
Directly tied in with this is financial collapse as the entire economy is a Ponzi scheme: when one sector collapses, the entire structure stumbles.
How can we cope the best?
No simple answers. Our energy addiction is impossible to kick. Go back to a church where like-minded people seek refuge in community, prayer, and mutual support. Revelation 18 points to an economic situation with inflation and sufficient supply of luxury goods, but no demand: in other words: “Stagflation”. It also points to a very sudden end for all. Don’t get caught unprepared.
Is there really a solution?
Frankly, we have painted ourselves into a corner. We have erected a society totally dependent on fossil fuels. The efforts by the United Nations, through Climate Change Conferences – 27 so far – have proved fruitless.
The good news is that the efforts to alleviate the effects of Climate Change through solar and wind power, will bear fruit in the New Creation, evident from Revelation 14: 13, as ‘our good deeds will follow us.’
Admit it: as church, we have been foolish. We have followed the wrong track, believing and proclaiming that salvation was a matter of the soul, able to enjoy the ‘carbon-derived luxuries’, and then sail beyond, leaving our messy earth behind. Bonhoeffer calls that “Pious Secularism.” He was entirely correct when he stated that Christ came to teach us ‘how to live.’
Johan Herman Bavinck in his book, Between the Beginning and the End, a radical Kingdom vision, categorically wrote: “Salvation of the self and salvation of the earth go hand in hand: you can’t have one without the other.”
Yes, the times they are a’changing.
When representatives from more than 190 countries assemble in Montreal this week to try to negotiate a landmark agreement on global biodiversity, their focus will be on creation, called “Mother Nature” by scientists. However, their point is wrong. The real obstacle is our human nature. It is too late to change our ways.
But it’s human nature that will determine the outcome.
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’
We must prepare ourselves for radically different circumstances. It no longer is a purely physical matter: it is a spiritual change that is needed. We are on our own. The old ‘oil-based’ economy is killing us. A new mindset is needed.