ISIS

 

I’ve been pondering ISIS and my ponderings are troubling.

At some point most people have come to the conclusion that this is a group of mindless violence out to kill and destroy as many people in the most horrible ways possible. They do, obviously commit acts of mind-numbing violence and their cruelty seems to have no boundaries. I am not sure, however, that ISIS is mindless.

It seems that way. They have managed to turn most of the world against them. Their Arab neighbors are angry at them and are bombing them as well. Fellow Muslims have turned against them with ferocity. The western world is fiercely involved as well. Acts of vile murder and killings are taking place worldwide and ISIS does not seem to lack recruits.

Part of their murderous success on battlefields has been to fill trucks with explosives and suicide bombers go forward to bash their way into compounds. This is terrifying for defenders because they must destroy and stop these trucks short of the compounds. This is what made Kamikaze pilots so successful in World War II because they had to be destroyed without crashing into their targets. This is easier said than done.

ISIS recruits are willing to kill and willing to die. The value of life has no meaning for them whatsoever. That lack of value is about others and even themselves.

It might not be mindless, however, and that’s the scary part.

ISIS, people are beginning to understand, has an apocalyptic mission. They are seeking end times and doing their best (or worst) to bring this about. They want the world to burst into flames and destroy itself. In order for this to happen they need to draw everyone into the battle. This will kill large numbers if ISIS members but they do not care.

Some years ago, in Waco, Texas, the Branch Davidians made the news and they all died in the end. They were a cult based on the Book of Revelation which is, of course, apocalyptic. Anyone who knew any theology at all knew how that story would end. Apocalyptic groups are about death and destruction.

In the United States, where we debate sunshine, we really do not have a cohesive way to deal with ISIS.

ISIS has great likeness to the Nazi Party. People have compared Presidents Obama and Bush to the Nazis and we love to refer to political ideas we don’t agree with as Naziesque. Our lack of historical knowledge and context allows people to do this, largely unchecked.

ISIS, however, well, they are the real deal. They really ARE like the Nazis and the Nazis were so committed to what they were doing they believed it was better to be leveled and die than it was to tolerate people who differed from them to live.

ISIS is dangerous to all of us and our prayers need to be that the rest of the world come together and deal with them. Worldwide inaction and political paralysis are a dream combination to ISIS and we had better get over it. Quickly.