The war in
Ukraine continues, and in my social circles there are many people who are
looking forward to Trump bringing this war to a close. But there is also a
large segment of people calling for more war. “We can’t let Russia win!” “You
are a coward if you want to capitulate to Russia now!” “Trump is a bully, he
should be backing Zelensky, not pressuring him!” “We can’t let the Russians
take one inch!” Even the Prime Minister of Australia has suggested he would be open
to sending Australian troops to Ukraine,
“The
prime minister has opened the door to sending Australian troops to Ukraine as
part of a peacekeeping force — despite the federal government playing down that
prospect on Monday.
European
leaders have been mulling sending troops to Ukraine in a "coalition of the
willing" as part of a proposal to help orchestrate and enforce a peace
deal between Ukraine and Russia. Moscow has previously said it would not accept
European troops on the ground.
It comes in the wake of a rift between the United States and Ukraine, with the Trump administration now pausing military aid to the country following the high-profile confrontation between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.
On
Monday an Australian government spokesperson said while it would
"consider" any proposals on Ukraine, the "deployment of
Australian troops to support peacekeeping forces in Ukraine is not under
consideration at this time".
But
on Tuesday morning Anthony Albanese struck a different tone, pointing to the
government's military aid to Kyiv and saying Australia "stands ready to
assist" Ukraine.”[1]
Now, putting
aside how abominably stupid it would be for Australia to escalate its presence
in the region (Australia has already sent money and military equipment to
Ukraine), I want to ask a simple question: Are Europeans Ishmaelites? The
reason I am asking this question is because of what the Angel of the Lord said
to Hagar in Genesis,
“10
Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants
exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 11 And the Angel
of the Lord said to her: “Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your affliction. 12
He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s
hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” 13
Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her,
You-Are-[e]the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees
me?” (Gen. 16:10-13)
The Lord
prophesied that Ishmael would continually be against every man, and every man’s
hand against him. That he would continually be in conflict in other words. So,
are Europeans Ishmaelites then? Of course, I am asking this question somewhat
tongue in cheek. But for a good reason.
It is not
uncommon to hear Christians apply this verse to Muslim or Arabs and point out that
they can’t live in peace with each other, just as God prophesied about Ishmael.
Now, putting aside all of the bad theological reasoning that leads to this simplified
application of this scripture, this argument shows something about Europeans
and their descendants: they have very little self-knowledge. They are not able
to see how warlike they are as a people.
Where do I start? European history is a never ending stream of wars and conflicts. Should we start with the Greeks, who's warrior culture was legendary. Or Phoenicians, who may or may not have been European? Maybe the Romans, or the Germanic tribes that conquered Rome. Or perhaps the Anglo-Saxons, for which a case could be made are the most warlike people in the world, especially if you sprinkle in a little mixing with the Norman blood of William the…Conqueror. Or maybe we should discuss the Vikings in the West and their kin, the Varangians in eastern Europe. Or we could personalize it and speak of Charlemagne, Napoleon, Wellington, Churchill, Patton, and more. I am not condemning these men, or these nations. I am only pointing out that if constant war with your close brethren equals fulfilment of this passage in Genesis, is there not an argument that Europeans are Ishmaelites. "His hand shall be against every man" could describe European history.
Someone might
argue, but Europe is far more peaceful now than the Middle East. But this
ignores that the two biggest wars in the last century were started in Europe by
Europeans against Europeans. And many experts I have listened to say that
Europe fears an American withdrawal in part because this could set them back
into their warlike ways. They are worried that without Uncle Sam babysitting them they will go back to war, after war, after war.
Let’s now turn
to the Middle East. Yes, conflict seems ongoing there. But how much of that
conflict directly involves Europeans? You have Britain defeating the Turks in
World War 1, and then they and other European powers carved up the Middle East
for their own benefit. This created a situation where war was inevitable
in the Middle East between peoples who did not want to share borders, or did
not like the imposed borders. This is true especially in Palestine where the UN and
British enforced borders have been an endless source of conflict. And don’t
forget most of the Jewish people to settle Palestine are Ashkenazi, that means
European Jews. Europe's fingerprints are all over the mess in the Middle East.
You then have the constant meddling in the Middle East by America. A country that is predominantly European and especially Anglo-Saxon. The US branch of Anglo-Saxons appear to be in endless wars, one after the other. And they often drag in their British and Australian cousins as well, who appear to be all to willing to join in. As do other Europeans on occasion. It's tough to turn down a good chance for war with the boys, for Europeans.
And then there is the information in the picture above. How often has Europe tried to conquer Russia? Some westerners still see Russia as intrinsically bad because of the USSR kerfuffle. And for sure, that was some bad stuff there. But if you look at Europe and Russia through the lens of centuries, it really does look like Europe wants to conquer Russia. In fact, the Rus nation came about as a joining of Slavs and Scandinavians who became one people precisely because the Scandinavians, Europeans that is, conquered Russia and took control of the Slavic people in that region. Europe has long eyed off the land of Russia.
Again, does this mean Europeans are Ishmael? No, but it does mean we should come to terms with our warlike nature, admit it, and maybe reign ourselves in a bit. Warlike people look at all other peoples as potential threats to be dealt with. They even come up with endless reasons for so called "defensive" pre-emptive strikes. Like fighting against Russia, incase it decides to take Poland then Finland, then Germany, then Britain, Greenland, then on and on until they are in Brisbane. Some westerners actually think this way, because Europeans are a continually warlike people. Maybe it is time we stopped trying to rule the world and began trying to repair our own nations, which in part have been decimated by the results of our forever wars.
List of
References
Abraham is a fable character as are his sons. This is why it is legitimate to say that only those who believe in Christ are descendants of Abraham and heirs of his promise. If he were real and had real descendanta this could not be legitimate. Christianity in reality is that the Old Testament is fiction that we've appropriated to ourselves because the chosen people were never anything kore than fiction. Its all allegory pointing to Christ as Origen said.
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