New light on the dangers of Millenialism to our Military - some good reading

[Blue_In_AK]

Phil Munger at Progressive Alaska has an excellent piece with some great links up at his site here: http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2010/04/new-light-on-dangers-of-millennialism.html Also read The Mudflats, God's Own Party, and Immoral Minority links at the bottom of Phil's post. Immoral Minority loads slow, so be patient. There's some really interesting information here.

A young Army Major's masters thesis is making the rounds. Some believe his essay presages the persecution of Christans by the anti-Christ Obama. Others see in his thinking a message that goes beyond the dangers of Christian millennialism and touches upon the perils our country encounters by endorsing or cursing any fundamentalism, without rationally engaging the issues through clear thinking.

Maj. Brian L. Stuckert, U.S. Army, submitted and defended a masters thesis in May 2008, titled Strategic Implications of American Millennialism (pdf). It has begun making the rounds this month, being taken up by a wide array of people discussing, damning or defending it.

Maj. Stuckert 's abstract begins:

Since the beginning of the Republic, various forms of millennial religious doctrines, of which dispensational pre-millennialism is the most recent, have shaped U.S. national security strategy. As the dominant form of millennialism in the U.S. evolves, it drives changes in U.S. security policy and subsequent commitment of the instruments of national power. Millennial ideas contribute to a common American understanding of international relations that guide our thinking irrespective of individual religious or political affiliation. Millennialism has great explanatory value, significant policy implications, and creates potential vulnerabilities that adversaries may exploit.

His conclusions and recommendations are prefaced with a well-known quote by Lt. Gen William Boykin, from 2003:

“The enemy is a spiritual enemy. It’s called the principality of darkness. We, ladies and gentlemen, are in a spiritual battle, not a physical battle. Oh, we’ve got soldiers fighting on the battlefields, we’ve got sailors, marines, airmen, coast guardsmen out there fighting against a physical enemy. But the battle this nation is in is a spiritual battle, it’s a battle for our soul. And the enemy is a guy called Satan – Satan wants to destroy this nation. He wants to destroy us as a nation and he wants to destroy us as a Christian army.”

Maj. Stuckert then goes on:

<snip - lots more>

Some scary stuff...