We have a strong human urge to identify with the “underdog.” There is nothing new about this tendency. The biblical story of David and Goliath, reported 3000 years ago, is often cited as an early example of the underdog tendency, although, more accurately, it is an illustration of the importance of faith in the power of God.
The underdog tendency displayed on TV today is a celebration, even when the underdog is mad, criminal, anti-American, antisemitic, anti-capital, and hell-bent on devastation. We are also shown mobs of militant protesters opposing the arrest of illegal criminal immigrants, who behave like mad dogs.
Mob psychology, devoid of critical judgments, feeds on irrational emotion.
American values have changed significantly in the 21st century. The most relevant to our interest is the increased number of apologists for Islamic anti-Christian persecution globally. The Hoover Institute reports that scholarly literature avoids or minimizes the persecution of Christians, including their slaughter, by Islamic jihadists.
Approximately 5000 Christians were murdered last year by radical Islamists. The victims are likely underreported.
Those seeking the truth regarding Islamism will find it a challenging task. We are told that Islam is fundamentally a peace-loving way of life, not a merely narrow-minded religion.
Christianity has also experienced significant changes in the US. Religious “nones” have risen to about 28% since 2007, reducing traditional moral education through institutions. Social media users highlight a decline in Christian values, with many adults lacking formal moral formation.
A major obstacle to acquiring the truth is major changes in our language. Many of the changes were introduced by postmodernism and slipped under our awareness.
Good English teachers of the recent past would be appalled by the current widespread replacement of strong, meaningful words such as “lying” and “misleading” with “disinformation” or “misinformation.” English teachers at the Norfolk Academy or Maury High School would have a nervous breakdown or ceaseless nausea and vomiting if exposed to the corruption of our native language and the minimal role assigned to truth.
Truth is essential in science, medicine, education, history, business, law, economics, and interpersonal relationships, to mention a few. We cannot live meaningful lives without truth. Its diminution is costly.
No perfume is more pleasant to the nose than truth. No diamond of any size or worth sparkles like truth. In my former days as a forensic psychiatrist, I’ve seen truth set prisoners free, and costly deception exposed.
According to the Rand Report, 2023: “ECOGNIZING TRUTH, AGREEING upon truth, and proclaiming truth are relevant to American national security in a multitude of ways. Recent trends are labeled by the RAND Corporation as Truth Decay, and they have major implications for national security.”
We want the truth, but it is skillfully hidden.
These days, there are no Christian jihadists. Christians do not seek control of the world; Christians want to save the world. Peace between Muslims and Christians, the second and first largest religions in the world, has been evasive.
“Jihadists” refers to a Muslim extremist or one who carries out or supports acts of terrorism for political purposes against people whom they believe are a threat to their religion. Jihadists are a real, ever-increasing threat to America. Their terrorist acts are worse than our concept of evil.
There is an increase in the spread and intensity of violence by major militant Muslim groups globally. The killing of Christians in Nigeria and the killing of Jews in the Middle East, Australia, the US, and elsewhere must not continue.
The Christian Crusades, requiring more attention than permitted here, against Muslims commenced approximately 470 years following the initial Muslim campaigns against Christians, which began in 630 under the leadership of Muhammad. The real history is hard to excavate.
Between the late 11th and mid-13th centuries, Christian crusaders sought to reclaim territories taken by Muslims after 630.
During the lifetime of Muhammad, Islam began a bloody campaign of conquest that has continued to the present era. A map of the progress of Islam will demonstrate the way in which Islam put to the sword Christian nation after Christian nation.
European colonization of what became the United States was largely led by Christians, especially during the colonial era, as most settlers sought religious freedom, economic opportunity, or to spread Christian influence.
Colonization was mainly driven by European Christian expansion.
The nation’s founding established a secular republic based on Enlightenment values and religious freedom; while Christianity was culturally prevalent, the country was legally founded as a secular nation.
AI research says, “The United States was founded on an act of rebellion and ‘treasonous insurrection’ against British rule, embedding a spirit of defiance in the national identity.”
The British may have seen the American Revolution as a “treasonous insurrection,” but I see it as a heroic, Christian defense of virtue; the refusal to obey unjust laws that our founders had no role in formulating.
Mark Levin’s concept of “Revolution by Immigration,” modified from Aristotle, deserves our country’s highest award, appreciation, and immediate attention.
The story of David and Goliath is written in the biblical Book of 1 Samuel, Chapter 17. According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, Goliath stood “four cubits and a span” (roughly 6 feet 9 inches to 7 feet 10 inches). He was a tall, formidable soldier, rather than a mythical giant.
Based on the average height of men during 1025 BC, young David is likely to have stood 4 feet and 10 inches.
10 Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11 On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.
40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag, and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand, he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
David’s victory reminds us of the importance of faith in the power of God. The Goliath we face today is the giant mystery surrounding the real potential threat of Islamism and its tentacles, called jihadists.
Robert S. Brown, MD, PHD a retired Psychiatrist, Col (Ret) U.S. Army Medical Corps devoted the last decade of his career to treating soldiers at Fort Lee redeploying from combat. He was a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of Education at UVA. His renowned Mental Health course taught the value of exercise for a sound mind.
