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I am child of the 80s, having arrived at the age of 12 in 1980. I was a fan of punk rock music and all the angry young man/society ripping things of the Clash, the Ramones, the Dead Kennedys and similar bands. I never got my hair cut into a Mohawk or anything though. This lasted most of the way through the 80s, until in 1984 I decided my favorite band was U2. They are still my favorite band even though now they and all the music I liked back then is now considered “classic rock”. I guess you cannot stop time.

I had heard of XTC back then but I had never heard any of their music until a friend of mine played a song of theirs called, “Dear God”. That song has stuck with me and I am not sure why. It is a funny song against belief in God. It is funny to me because it address several things that I have had to think through in my own life and I have addressed several of the issues in my devotionals here. I would say it is more of a song of disappointment in God and in people of faith and says that God is to blame for all of mankind’s problems. Yet by definition, the singer is addressing nothing. He says in the song that people are starving because they cannot get enough to eat from God. Yet, he also says in the song that we created God. So he is depending on what he believes to be a fairy tale to feed people and  he is disappointed that it does not happen? Many of the arguments that I have heard from Richard Dawkins and other “intellectuals” on YouTube and other places sound similar.

It seems that a lot of people in the United Kingdom have been using the same reasoning and drinking the same Kool-Aid. For a long time many in the United Kingdom have been chipping away at the base of their national heritage of faith and trust in the values expressed in the whole Bible. Oftentimes, if I go to the correct websites, it seems like no one in the U.K. believes in God anymore. But the statistics show something different. According to the following website (http://www.vexen.co.uk/UK/religion.html) in 2011, Christianity is still followed by the majority of people. Those of no religion are not even half of the number of Christians. Regardless, I am sure those of no religion would still like to impose their beliefs on everyone.

Having said that, I believe that the U.K. and the rest of Europe (especially Sweden) are the most Biblical nations on Earth. Here is why: In the Old Testament, God chose a nation to carry His Word. This nation was the nation of Israel. When they followed God, God blessed them. He blessed them with military success, He blessed them with financial success. But most of all, He blessed them with Himself. I believe that God is still the same God as before (Hebrews 13:8). When the people of Israel fell away from Him and followed other gods, whether it be Baal, Ashtoreth, or Dagon or just made themselves into gods, God punished them or just let them make their own bed and lie in it. The result was separation from God, devastation, loss, bitterness, suffering, and the victory of Israel’s enemies over her. The same is happening and will continue to happen in Europe. An example of this is that Islam went from 1.5 million adherents in 2001 to 2.7 million in 2011 in the U.K.

Now please, do not misunderstand me. I do not wish this on the U.K. My ancestors were from there. It is the home of great theologians like C.S. Lewis, Wilbur Wilburforce, and many others. I know these men (from Heaven) want to see the U.K. praise God again. And as I said, there are still many Christians who are trying to obey God on a daily basis there.

One occurrence happened to me a few years ago that gave me some hope. I was down on Belmont ave. in Chicago. Now Belmont is known for its counter-cultural stores. I guess they could be considered, “counter-cultural” maybe 25 years ago, but now they are just tired and passé. Anyway, I went into a store and they had the Dead Kennedy’s flag in there with the cross and the slash through it. I asked the clerk if she knew what band that belonged to. I don’t know I guess I just wanted to show her what I knew or feel “punk” again. She had no idea about the flag or who the Dead Kennedys were. She had heard of Jesus. She knew the flag was something against Christianity.

It said to me, one hundred years from now, long after Jello Biafra is gone, when no one remembers the Dead Kennedys, Jesus will still be here. Jesus’ teachings will still be changing lives, people will still consider Him and His teachings revolutionary. People will still be fighting against Him in their hearts because He is trying to transform them. That to me sounds more revolutionary and counter-cultural than anything I could have thought of when I was slam-dancing to the Clash.

ACTION POINT: Pray for the U.k. Pray that they and the rest of Europe and the United States will not have to see the full punishment of our own national and individual sins lest God give us over to our enemies. 

****************************************************************W.