Theistic Providentialism

& the Long War with Evil

a commentary

Garry D. Nation

Note - In the course of an email conversation with several friends, the discussion turned toward a serious question: how can we continue to have hope for the future when we see evidence that an entire generation may be turned toward alien ideologies while freely surrendering its heritage of freedom and faith? What if we have already crossed the point of no return? The following is my contribution to the discussion. GDN

I reject all historicism—the inevitable march of history toward it’s end—whether the end be Utopian or Apocalyptic.  I repudiate as well any idea that history is random, or cyclical, or entropic (moving from order to chaos).  That is because as a Christian I hold to a philosophy of Theistic Providentialism.  All things that happen either are caused by the personal-infinite God, or are permitted by His decree. 

Our theology tells us that the good creation has been corrupted from within, but that through the cross of Jesus Christ it has been and shall be redeemed from without (i.e., above).  Jesus Christ is the Lord of history, but his Lordship is not yet manifest except through those whom he has effected his redemption by the New Birth.

That’s not an abstract doctrine to me.  It is the way I approach current events.  God is there and is superintending all things toward His purpose, which shall not fail.  That means that He has a purpose for us in this time just as much as He had for Paul in his time or for Luther in his time; moreover as much for us as for Charlemagne to defeat the Moors or for Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence.

Our world is a war zone, a battleground of good and evil.  The War ebbs and flows, waxes and wanes, but it never goes away.  There are times that are more benign than others, but every generation has its challenges.  Our parents’ generation had to recover from a Great Depression in order to save the world from fascism, and succeeded; but then they had to turn again to face off communism and wavered, but at least they staved off the “inevitable march of history” toward collectivism for a while.  But the Enemy did a great destructive work to undermine the foundations of human freedom, and our perils today are both from within and without.

But it is no accident that we were born to this day, “for such a time as this.”  You will, I’m sure, recognize those portentous words from the Book of Esther—a book that vigorously demonstrates the concept of Theistic Providentialism.  God has put us in this time to use what He has given to us, in order to accomplish His own purposes through us.  We can do so willingly or unwittingly; we might even join the rebellion, in which case God’s purpose will not be overturned, but we will miss out on the glory He has designed for us.

I was remembering this exchange from The Lord of the Rings:

Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.

I was also remembering (in the film Return of the King) words of King Theoden when his captain points out to him that their numbers are too few, that they cannot defeat the armies of evil: “No, we cannot. But we will meet them in battle nonetheless.”

We struggle, we fight, we war to win—but in the last analysis, it’s not up to us to win, only to fight; and truly, the victory has already been won, whether it appears to be so on the field before us or no.

But what if we lose?  What of the generation of our children and grandchildren?  One of the most debated topics in discussions of the “Last Days” is whether the church will go through the Great Tribulation—most of which I think are beside the point.  I agree with the black preacher who said, “If God wants you to go through tribulation, you’re gonna tribulate!”

God will still be God.  I believe that the God who delivered our fathers in the days of their tribulation can reveal His mighty hand for generations yet to come.

We must take a long, multi-generational view of all of this.  The principles of liberty that we cherish are based upon the Judeo-Christian heritage and have no other tradition, religion, or philosophy to thank for them.  They were brought into the world not easily but through great travail.  We must realize that we are not the first to have to defend them, and that the struggle will go on long after we have left this world.

Meanwhile we may have to do according to the slogan written above the door of a US Marine barracks in Afghanistan: “Embrace the suck.”  I.e., these are the conditions of the war, so embrace them in order to beat them.

In whatever socio-political,cultural, or spiritual war we may find ourselves, let us fight the good fight.  If we win, we have not saved our posterity from all war, but have saved something of worth for them.  If we lose, we will still have preserved principles and convictions of honor that others may return to in the future and find in them inspiration and instruction for the overthrow of tyranny in their own time—even as we ourselves found from generations that preceded us.

Alvis Duncan Hicks in the Civil War

and the 2nd Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, USA

Don’t call them ‘Yankees’!

A story of Southern Men in the Federal Army

A new work of historical investigation now in progress

Newly Posted:

Chapter IV

Burning Bridges, Part 1:

An Audacious Plan

&

Chapter V

Burning Bridges, Part 2:

Flames of Rebellion

1. ✤The great sabotage operation behind Rebel lines
   

2. ✤The invasion that didn’t happen
   

3. ✤How it affected the men of the 2nd Tennessee personally
   

4. ✤How it changed their war
   

Read it here for free