Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there’s been a lot of talk about how evil Russia is, to the point where it can seem like they are unquestionably the most evil nation on earth. But, we’d like to push back against that idea a little bit – not for the purpose of arguing that Russia is righteous because they clearly are not, but instead, to ask, “Are we judging Russia by a different standard than the one we use to judge our own nation’s past military actions?” We’ve posted a previous episode (linked below) where we talked about war and the Christian concept of Just War theory, and one of the things that is really important to keep in mind is that once a nation steps away from God’s word and its standards for how it should act, it becomes very easy for that nation to let fear and national interests justify any actions needed to satisfy itself.
In this episode, we discuss how easy it is to hold other nations to a higher standard than the one to which we hold the United States. We talk about how national identity and patriotism can cloud our judgment and cause us to overlook our own injustices, and we walk through a number of recent and not-so-recent historical examples of American military actions, some of which are frighteningly similar to Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
We do want to be very clear here: there are many people who take a great delight in claiming that everything about the United States and its history is evil. That is not our goal in any way. America has been blessed in so many ways by God’s providence and by the influence of Godly men and women who have shaped our nation. But it is so easy to go from “We have been blessed by God” to “We are a city set upon a hill and are a light to the world that can do no wrong”. God says that to whom much has been given, much will be required, and America has been given much. We need to make sure that we do not judge others more harshly than we judge ourselves. If we do so, we should certainly expect our pride to invite the judgment of God. Please join us as we consider these important issues.
Episodes Referenced:
Is the Israel Gaza War Just?
#IsAmericaGood
#IsAmericaBad
#SolaScriptura
#SufficiencyOfScripture
#TCT2022
Listen to the audio version here: http://theconqueringtruth.com/2022/04/in-gods-eyes-is-america-less-evil-than-russia-ep-64-audio/
Timecodes
00:00:00 Hypocrisy
00:08:28 Is America Better?
00:11:01 Iraq War
00:18:22 Vietnam War
00:20:30 Cuban Missle Crisis
00:21:32 Guantanamo Bay
00:25:47 Mexican American War
00:34:44 Monroe Doctrine
00:38:41 Back to Russia
00:44:22 Are We the Good Guys?
00:52:03 Fake Christian History
00:57:18 Final Thoughts
Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson