Doom!!

UPDATE--Link to Alan Keyes video fixed.

At the beginning of the week I wrote something about sensing an increasing amount of doom-saying. It's official.

Christianity is on the wane in America (read here)

Evangelicalism is on the wane. (read here)

Catholicism is being persecuted. (the last post)

People are worried about civil unrest. Alan Keyes actually uses the phrase "civil war." (watch this)

Let's be honest: of course we all would much prefer peaceful days and status quo. And frankly, all this doomsday talk bugs me.

...and in a moment of writer's block, my friends at Creative Minority Report (you are friends, aren't you?), just posted another doom and gloom post....

And in my comment there, I was not joking about speaking German. I'm resisting with all my effort to refrain right now. But I don't think this has much to do with this topic.

It's okay to think in terms of End Times (or, Eschatology, if you want to sound snobby). Christ talked that way. St. Paul talked that way. It is Christian. We confess that the Last Days will come in both Creeds confessed in worship. In fact, we believe we are already here--there are just more of them than it sounded like.

I don't want to be that dramatic, but I truly think that there will be a "Come to Jesus" moment in America when the last things we will worry about is the 3G network coming to Enid. Crass materialism is going to destroy us.

But in all these things there is the important thing to remember: it is our duty to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. We are to pray and fight temptation. This is our calling, whether we have one month to live or the world ends this afternoon or next century. We are in a fight, a war, against the spiritual powers in heavenly places, and it is a war fought and won in thoughts, words, and deeds, in the little moments and choices of life.

And remember, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)