Part One – A Parable of Hope

Right now, my personal Facebook feed feels like a little microcosm of our entire country. I have friends and acquaintances who, thankfully, don’t hold to the same perspectives and passions. I have extremely liberal friends and utterly conservative friends. There are advocates for Black Lives Matter and those who primarily focus on All (or Blue) Lives Matter. There are intense supporters of Donald Trump and extreme opponents. There are supporters of Hillary Clinton’s campaign and people who absolutely loathe her. In looking at the news and delving into other realms of the internet, it’s pretty safe to say that there is deep and obvious division in the “United” States of America. The rhetoric and vitriol hasn’t reached such a level of passion and hostility possibly since the days of Lincoln’s presidency.

And yet our country has also not been poised for such transformation since Lincoln’s presidency.

In the midst of all this conflict, I believe there is a wisdom to be discovered and unwrapped; a wisdom that rises above our ideological differences and allows us to look deeper into the issues at hand. One that also recognizes the agendas of fear and control that want to continually divide us. It is a wisdom that sees how every conflict, even the most intense, can make way for the most beautiful of opportunities. As I write this my mind is wandering into the field of marriage counseling. Foundational to such counseling is a recognition that the deepest arguments between spouses can hold the key for unbelievable growth and intimacy.

But of course, both parties need humility to get there. They need to step into each other’s shoes and understand the hurts and fears of the other, even if they do not believe the other person’s feelings are rooted in reality. Love steeps low and looks into the eyes of the “other,” even taking on their sin, bearing it, forgiving it, and transcending it. It is an otherworldly act. But it creates the most dynamic and solid relationship possible. And sometimes the deepest hurts between two parties can make way for the most incredible relationship ever (as long as the door to love stays open and the lock of fear and blame is courageously kept to the side . . . as much as that is possible).

I submit this entire piece of “The Cold Civil War” as a hope of bridging some gaps and providing some direction and vision regarding some of the issues at hand. I also feel prompted to issue a hope-infused warning. When I say that this warning is “hope-infused,” I want to wholeheartedly acknowledge that I believe our nation is ultimately headed in a good direction (despite the doom and gloom proponents throughout the world). And yet there is a warning for certain destructive paths that individuals or whole segments of the population can take, which would make for a rougher detour to get there . . . but we’ll still get there!

The following piece will be rooted in Christian thought. It is planted in the soil of belief that God is guiding and speaking to humanity, calling us to maturity (which ultimately lies in discovering our true identity in Christ). However, if you are reading this and you have skepticism to this assumption, I hope you can still hear through the spiritual lingo and discern the real-world issues that we will tackle. This will not be a super-conservative piece, nor will it be super-liberal (and nor will it keep its head in the sand and call that “peace”).

We need hope more than ever. And we need dialogue.  My prayer is that this opens up both, bringing about a healthier dialogue and a greater measure of confidence and wisdom—especially as we prepare for the elections in November. I would venture to say that this otherworldly wisdom is not found in media outlets or in the seas of shouting arguments typed out on keyboards in an impulsive rage. Rather it comes from above, and it is full of mercy, gentleness, and grace. I believe such wisdom is being extended in this hour.

Modern Parables

Following in the footsteps of Jesus, the one known as the “Prince of Peace,” I’d like to begin this discussion with a parable. Parables are symbolic stories that have a way of speaking into the soul of the listener and bypassing some of the exterior blockages and buzzwords that keep us from hearing each other. So I want to guide this discussion by using such a symbolic story. However, this parable is not my own . . .

In the past five years a string of movies has come out with a particular “parable” for the nation. Fittingly, the movies I’m referring to are the Captain America series. I’m particularly thinking of the third film, which is called Civil War. Modern cinema and art often functions as a parabolic messenger to society, speaking to issues in a way that political speeches and YouTube rants cannot always do. Books and film have long been carriers of prophetic messages. It’s not that we look under every Hollywood bush or paperback rock to discover a prophetic word, but we shouldn’t ignore the blatant and obvious.

This is the case of the blatant and obvious.

Now let me address something before we get started: You may find superhero movies to be very corny and over-the-top unrealistic and irrelevant. You may even be appalled that I would connect the word “art” with a superhero film. Thus you might find them to be very far from holding any kind of value in political and social dialogue. If that’s how you feel, I would ask that you suspend any judgment for the time being as we won’t spend too much time on the movies themselves. The point is the greater issues that these films highlight, especially Civil War, which I truly believe holds a prophetic and parabolic message of hope for the nation. So let any judgment be directed at the message itself more than the vehicle it is carried in.

“Captain America”

Civil War just came out to video this month—apropos timing considering how things are heating up in the country. There is even a “blue vs. red” theme on the movie poster, succinctly highlighting the current state of the States.

This week, we’ll start by giving a general synopsis of the first two films. (Just a warning, there are some spoilers ahead.)

The first Captain America film takes place in the 1940s and centers around a young man named Steve Rogers, a weak and frail kid with the stereotypical image of being bullied and looked down upon. He loves his country and makes numerous attempts to join the army, but he is rejected each time because of his stature and health. Thankfully, a wise scientist sees Rogers in action and notices his attitude and passion, and chooses him to enter into a top-secret military program to become a super-soldier. He is chosen for leadership not because of what’s seen on the outside, but what’s on the inside—his heart.

Rogers enters the Super-Soldier program and becomes “Captain America” and goes up against an evil organization called “Hydra,” which we find is backed by Nazis with intents on taking over the world. Thankfully, the Captain overcomes them and destroys Hydra.

Unfortunately, Hydra shows up in the next movie—Captain America: Winter Soldier. In that film, it is discovered that Hydra has secretly infiltrated the great crime-fighting organization S.H.I.E.L.D, which employs Captain America and other great superheroes from around the world. Hydra leaves a computer program in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s system and has secret agents who slowly become a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. over the course of decades. As a result, Hydra secretly tries to use a military program within S.H.I.E.L.D. to destroy a good portion of civilization.

The program involves aircraft carriers that would circle the world and target criminals. Hydra hijacks these crafts in order to use them to kill off anyone who they deem as too “rebellious” or non-submissive. Promises of peace are given with smooth words and great ideas, but it is all manipulation with a hidden agenda. But thankfully, the plan is exposed and Hydra fails once again.

Parallels to Religion and Politics

Before we look at the third movie, there are two immediate parallels that can be drawn from these first two films. One relates more to the realm of religion.

In the Gospel, we discover the enemy has been completely defeated at the cross (like Hydra was completely defeated in the first film). And yet the enemy’s lies and philosophies have spread like a computer virus throughout the world, which can still exert influence (even though a total victory has been accomplished).

This infection has also reached the “church,” which is supposed to be like S.H.I.E.L.D., the ultimate “crime-fighting” entity that releases freedom, justice, and a shield of mercy to the world. But instead of this, religious control and deception has crept in right under the church’s nose and infiltrated the entire system. This has been the sad fact behind Christianity from its earliest days when it moved from being a group of people awakened to their identity and the grace of God, to becoming a formalized system run by man and fueled by guilt.  

In the end of the second movie, the whole organization of S.H.I.E.L.D. has to go down in order to destroy Hydra (there was also a public release of sensitive information along the way). In the same way, much of “traditional” Christianity needs to be exposed and brought down in order for the true Spirit of liberty to be fully released. Such exposure is happening at increasing rates, from the abuses in the Roman Catholic Church to the scandals in the Protestant and Charismatic arenas. Old forms of Christendom are dying and only those willing to move into realms of greater freedom will survive in the days ahead. A new wineskin is emerging that will be free from the guilt and manmade controls of the past. That is where we are currently headed and you can expect to see even more exposure and breakdown in traditional realms of Christianity.

But there is another way of looking at this story: the political realm.

Hydra speaks very much to the evils of strong government control, which always promise great things to people but ultimately ensnare them in a manmade system that yields death. There is a parallel to the fall of Hydra in Captain America to the historical fall of Communism. And yet just like the computer virus of Hydra slowly infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. over time, the “spirit” or philosophies of Communism have infiltrated the West in an effort to rise up again. (We’ll get back to this concept later and look at it in perhaps some unexpected ways.)

But Captain America: Civil War is really where the rubber hits the road and where we begin to address some the main dividing issues at work in our country. This is where we will focus next week . . .

Read Part Two Here