One of the fundamental messages of Disciple Nations Alliance is that ideas have consequences.

Of course this observation is not original with DNA. Richard Weaver published a book by that title in 1958. But he didn’t come up with it either. Consider this excerpt from the letter of the apostle Paul to the Galatian church:

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Gal 6:7-8 ESV)

An individual reaps what he sows. As does a nation.

The U.S., for example, was founded by theists and operated for generations with commensurate beliefs: God is the creator, man is His creature, morality matters, the Ten Commandments are normative, life is sacred. Such ideas give birth to freedom, order, beauty and prosperity. But we live in a world of competing ideas. Here’s how Darrow Miller puts it in a forthcoming book:

This war [between the Judeo-Christian worldview and competing ideologies] will not be won by swords, bullets and bombs. It will be won by the side most convicted of the truth of their 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 “theology,” a theology fleshed out in the midst of our poor and broken world.

The theism of the West has largely given way to secular materialism. What are the consequences? What happens when a society’s historical worldview is neglected and an opposing worldview takes root?

Decay happens. The society becomes more vulnerable to threats from the outside. And, in today’s world, what was once an external menace–Jihadism–germinates in soil no longer cultivated by a Biblical worldview.

That’s exactly the picture as reported recently by ABC News. During the 24 months ending December 2010, fifty Americans were charged with planning acts of terrorism against their own nation.

Attorney General Eric Holder told ABC News, “The threat has changed from simply worrying about foreigners coming here to worrying about people in the United States, American citizens, raised here, born here. You didn’t worry about this even two years ago.”

Is it too late? Of course not. The more relevant question: Will followers of Jesus Christ exhibit “truth over falsehood, justice over corruption, freedom over tyranny, liberty over license, love over hate, beauty over vileness?”

– Gary Brumbelow

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