Foreign Policy – Thomas Merton
I can easily hear Fr. Louis saying this today….
If only our foreign politics made sense! But we have nobody in it who knows what he is doing: or if one or two know, they are still impotent. — Turning Toward the World: The Pivotal Years (The Journals of Thomas Merton, Volume 4: 1960-1963), June 20, 1960
Pastor Michael Moore's Blog 
I’d like to hear more, in Christian terms, about The New Earth. I’ve given up on the world we knew….it’s Humpty-Dumpty. All the kings horses, etc. As horrifying as it’s been and will continue to be for who knows how long, I detect a new world emerging. A churning…
At my nigh 70 years, I may not live to experience any grand transformation. But I’ll use what’s left of my time engaging all the subtle sensory apparatus… all the Grace that’s been given me to hold the New Earth vision, come what may.
The apocalyptic language of the Book of Revelation points to the persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire under Nero. I can’t even begin to imagine how horrific the situation was. Christians were lit up like torches along the roadside and crucifixion and torture were used as weapons against this new religion who said that the Emperor is NOT divine and allegiance to the Empire was NOT what God required.
So with all that going on, the book was, in a sense, telling a story where the empire and emperor would fall and God’s kingdom would prevail.
The book has been misinterpreted and misused by the church for centuries. If people who claim to be Christian would spend less time trying to “interpret” Revelation and more time doing what Jesus taught in Matthew 25 and in the Beatitudes, the earth could be renewed in a metaphorical and perhaps even a literal sense.
Can that happen? In the words of Miracle Max from The Princess Bride, it’ll take a miracle. As I approach 66 and look around me, it is hard to stay hopeful but I am doing my best not to lose hope.
Hope these meanderings help and thanks as always for reading and commenting!
Thank you. I value your views and vision. These connections are sacred… times ‘millions’, they create the ‘miracle’.