Darrow Miller and Friends

Who Will Win the War of 9/11?

I was in the shower, listening to NPR, when the program was interrupted for breaking news: at 8:46 a.m. a plane had crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Quickly I wrapped a towel around myself and ran dripping wet to turn on the television just in time to witness an unbelievable scene: a second commercial jet piercing the south tower. This was no accident!

The date was September 11, 2001, and I was witnessing a turning point in history.

From a cave somewhere near the Khyber Pass in the rugged Tora Bora region of Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden, the founder of the jihadist al-Qaeda, was waging war against the United States. The world would never be the same.

Ten years later, we are in a war for the hearts and minds of people and souls of nations. It is a battle of conflicting visions shaped by three big ideas.

Moral anarchy-license is the ideology of the atheistic materialism and secular humanism of the West. Truth, morals, and beauty are relative; people are free to do what is right in their own eyes. The symbol of this way of life is the condom.

Another big idea, one that has enveloped many nations throughout history, is tyranny. This was the reality of communism and fascism in the twentieth century and is currently espoused by the jihadist minority of fundamentalist Islam. Tyrants rule over others through oppressive and often violent ways. The symbol of tyranny is the sword.

The third big idea, freedom, comes from Judeo-Christian theism—the biblical worldview—which is the root of Euro-American civilization. Freedom is the foundation of all thriving cultures and nations. It flows from the gospel of Jesus Christ lived and proclaimed. The symbol of this way of life is the self-sacrificial cross of Christ.

These three narratives represent a struggle between the disorder of modern/postmodern atheism, the tyrannical order of the jihadists, and the freedom found in the kingdom of God.

This war will not be won by swords, bullets, and bombs. It will be won by the side most convinced of the truth of their moral vision. It will be won by lives lived well and even sacrificed for others. It will be won by truth over falsehood, justice over corruption, freedom over tyranny, liberty over license, love over hate, and beauty over vileness.

It will be won by those with the best set of ideas or “theology,” a theology fleshed out in the midst of our poor and broken world.

from the introduction to a forthcoming book by Darrow Miller on the Great Commission in the modern context of Jihad from the East and the Culture Wars in the West

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About 
Darrow is co-founder of the Disciple Nations Alliance and a featured author and teacher. For over 30 years, Darrow has been a popular conference speaker on topics that include Christianity and culture, apologetics, worldview, poverty, and the dignity of women. From 1981 to 2007 Darrow served with Food for the Hungry International (now FH association), and from 1994 as Vice President. Before joining FH, Darrow spent three years on staff at L’Abri Fellowship in Switzerland where he was discipled by Francis Schaeffer. He also served as a student pastor at Northern Arizona University and two years as a pastor of Sherman Street Fellowship in urban Denver, CO. In addition to earning his Master’s degree in Adult Education from Arizona State University, Darrow pursued graduate studies in philosophy, theology, Christian apologetics, biblical studies, and missions in the United States, Israel, and Switzerland. Darrow has authored numerous studies, articles, Bible studies and books, including Discipling Nations: The Power of Truth to Transform Culture (YWAM Publishing, 1998), Nurturing the Nations: Reclaiming the Dignity of Women for Building Healthy Cultures (InterVarsity Press, 2008), LifeWork: A Biblical Theology for What You Do Every Day (YWAM, 2009), Rethinking Social Justice: Restoring Biblical Compassion (YWAM, 2015), and more. These resources along with links to free e-books, podcasts, online training programs and more can be found at Disciple Nations Alliance (https://disciplenations.org).

7 Comments

  1. Liz Gold

    September 8, 2011 - 9:30 am

    Dear Darrow,

    What a great introduction – I can hardly wait to read the book! Looking forward to March and you speaking here. Will the book be available by then? God bless! Liz Gold

    • disciplenations

      September 8, 2011 - 11:37 am

      Hi, Liz. Thanks for your comment. We are anticipating a release around the first of the year so it should be available for your conference.

      Gary Brumbelow (on behalf of Darrow)

  2. Chris

    September 9, 2011 - 11:04 am

    Dear Darrow,
     
    Your post reminded me of what Pastor Timothy Keller calls the 2 thieves or enemies of the Gospel.  
     
    This document shows these contrasting views with the Gospel in the center column.  It really lines up well with what you wrote in your post. 
     
    In many of his messages, Keller speaks about how, because of our fallen sinfulness we tend to go off into either one of these two.
     
    Toward License or licentiousness on the one hand.  What you refer to as Moral-Anarchy License.  Or, toward Law.  What you called tyranny.  Of course, the Gospel brings true freedom.  On a side note, it is interesting how much the Jihadists are like the Pharisees that Jesus confronted.
     
    If you haven’t read it already, I recommend you pick up a copy of Keller’s little book called “The Prodigal God“. 
     
    It is a great look at the Gospel in Luke 15, the story of the ‘Prodigal Son’.  The two sons also represent the two enemies of the Gospel of God’s grace.  The younger son going off and living a life of licentiousness and the older son being a legalist.  Both are estranged from the Father.  
     
    Philippians 1:27,
    Chris
     

     

  3. Pastor, Mbuh Eric Samtan

    January 21, 2015 - 7:26 am

    Dear Darrow,
    Accept greetings from Cameroon, Africa. i just want to let you know that what you are doing for this world no human being can understands unless he or she has being transform from the mind. i enjoy your materials and i will like to personally chats with you on how we can partner for kingdom of God. i am a missionary serving in Cameroon. and i have been encourage with your materials. thanks your co worker. Pastor Mbuh Eric S.

    • admin

      January 30, 2015 - 4:16 am

      Pastor Mbuh
      It is good to hear from you. I am glad you are finding the material on our blog to be helpful. For more on the Disciple Nations Alliance, go here http://www.disciplenations.org/. You will find on this site numerous resources, many of them free to you. You will also find an on line course called Coram Deo that introduces our teaching in a creative way. For connections to our global network and friends in Africa see the links below. Hope these are helpful.
      Here is information on who we are as a global network – http://www.disciplenations.org/our-community/
      This is the place to find contacts with our network in Africa – http://www.disciplenations.org/our-community/affiliate-organizations/#row-4

      darrow

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