And it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up against his brother Abel and slew him . Genesis 4.8 . Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne .
On June 28 , 1914 , while visiting Sarajevo , the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina , he and his wife Sophie were targeted by a group of young Bosnian Serb nationalists known as the Black Hand . They sought to undermine Austro-Hungarian rule and promote the idea of a greater Serbia .
Initially , an assassination attempt failed when a bomb thrown at their motorcade missed and injured others instead . However , later that day , as the couple's car took a wrong turn , they encountered Gavrilo Princip , one of the conspirators . He fired two shots , killing both Franz and his wife . The assassination itself remains shrouded in mystery . As one historian wrote .
Quote one of the most controversial issues of modern history arises from this question what were the assassins' motives and who were his instigators , if any , and his accomplices ? And who were his instigators , if any , and his accomplices ?
Sir Edward Gray , british Foreign Secretary in 1914 , described the crime as the perfect political murder , in the sense that it would be impossible for the truth ever to be established . End quote . Regardless of motive or who was actually behind it , the assassination set off a chain reaction in Europe that has left historians puzzled to this day .
What happened in the aftermath , however , is more certain . Austria-hungary , backed by Germany , issued an ultimatum to Serbia , where nationalist sentiments were brewing . Serbia's response was seen as insufficient , leading Austria-Hungary to declare war on Serbia on July 28th of 1914 .
The conflict could have been squashed at any number of points , but instead it quickly escalated into absolute chaos . Russia mobilized to support Serbia and , as a result , germany would declare war on Russia . France , allied with Russia , became involved and when Germany invaded Belgium to reach France , britain declared war on Germany .
What began as a localized conflict rapidly transformed into a global war involving many of the world's great powers . It would start a chain of events that ultimately dealt a potentially mortal blow to Western civilization , one that we're still dealing with in the 21st century . The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was more than just the spark .
It revealed the intricate web of alliances , nationalistic fervor and political tensions simmering in Europe . The result was a devastating conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918 , reshaping the world in profound ways , lasted from 1914 to 1918 , reshaping the world in profound ways .
Western civilization lay in ruins and to this day , many , including world-renowned historians , still don't fully understand how or why an entirely preventable war took place at all .
There's no doubt that the West devolved into rampant secularization following the Second Great War of the 20th century , but it was not inevitable Before the rise of such totalitarian and destructive regimes took power , including Leninism , stalinism , nazism and Fascism . There was a First Great War .
For good reason , historians have referred to the 30-year period of war as the Great Civil War of the West . It was not a war between Islam and Christianity , but a war within Christianity and among brothers that would prove to rend the moral fabric of Western civilization .
As Charles L Mead wrote in his End of Order , versailles 1919 , the magnitude of the Great War could not be overestimated . He wrote World War I had been a tragedy on a dreadful scale .
65 million men were mobilized , more by many millions than had ever been brought to war before , to fight a war they had been told of justice and honor , of national pride and of great ideals . To wage a war that would end all war , to establish an entirely new order of peace and equity in the world . Me then detailed the butcher's bill .
By November 11th 1918 , when the armistice that marked the end of the war was signed , eight million soldiers lay dead . Twenty million more were wounded , diseased , mutilated or spitting blood from gas attacks .
22 million civilians had been killed or wounded and the survivors were living in villages blasted to splinters and rubble on farms , churned in mud their cattle dead . In Belgrade , berlin and Petrograd the survivors fought among themselves . 14 wars , great or small , civil or revolutionary , flickered or raged around the world , with the Christian West in utter disrepair .
After World War , I men like Stalin , hitler and Mussolini would rise to power , setting the stage for another catastrophic war . In the aftermath , the British Empire would effectively collapse and with it an era of Christian exploration and civilization building came crashing to the ground . As Pat Buchanan wrote in Churchill , hitler and the Unnecessary War , quote .
When the 20th century opened , the West was everywhere supreme . For 400 years , explorers , missionaries , conquerors and colonizers departed Europe for the four corners of the earth to erect empires that were to bring the blessings and benefits of Western civilization to all mankind .
Somewhere in the last century , western man suffered a catastrophic loss of faith in himself , in his civilization and in the faith that gave it birth . End . Quote .
What many fail to realize is just how closely blood-related were the major monarchs of the key powers involved in the war Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and King George of the United Kingdom were first cousins . George and Tsar Nicholas II were also first cousins , and Wilhelm and Nicholas were third cousins .
Though many , including Tsar Nicholas , sought to avert a dreadful war , they were ultimately unsuccessful and the results have been catastrophic for the enterprise of maintaining and fortifying the Christian West . What lessons can be gleaned from this catastrophe today ?
Among other things , the Great Civil War of the West is a sobering and tragic reminder that bloodshed among brothers is one of the most destructive things to have happened in Christendom . In fact , this type of division is a constant theme that we've covered in season three of the King's Hall podcast .
Christendom has often been undone , not because the barbarians overpowered Christendom , but because of Judas's within Western walls , who first opened the gates to the enemy . Christian infighting weakened Europe and made them easy prey to outside invaders .
On this front , example after example could be supplied , from the internal fracturing of the Byzantine Empire and its effect at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 , to the fall of Edessa in 1144 , of Manzikert in 1071 , to the fall of Edessa in 1144 , and the role that conflict between the Christian ruler Jocelyn II and other Christian crusader lords in Antioch and
Jerusalem played in that debacle . Or we could speak of the disunity between the crusader states and the Western Christian leaders and how this infighting destroyed any chance of success in the 1148 Siege of Damascus . This failure in turn led to the rise of the powerful Muslim leader , saladin .
Time would fail to tell of the effects of Christian disunity at the Battle of Hattin , the Fourth Crusade and the fracturing of Eastern Christendom the fall of Acre in 1291 , weakened by internal disputes , and the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 , in the part the Hundred Years' War played in that ignominious fall .
The fact is plain Christian disunity , whether through political rivalries , civil wars or conflicting religious factions within the Christian household , often played directly into the hands of Muslim forces .
Throughout the Middle Ages and even into the early modern period , the inability of Christians to unite , combined with internal strife , provided critical opportunities for Muslim powers to make significant advances . These advances came with a cost paid in the blood of brothers . Sadly , these advances came with a cost paid in the blood of brothers .
Sadly , christians in America today struggle to build coalitions , giving way instead to constant bickering and infighting , both in person and on digital fronts . Any rebuilding of a new Christendom is rendered impossible when brothers repeatedly and incessantly attack and seek to destroy one another .
If Rohan cannot stand next to Gondor in the battle line , then the demise of the West is indeed inevitable . At times , divisions can be helpful in clarifying , as the great shamdemic of 2020 revealed . It was an apocalyptic event or an unveiling that led many to take positive action .
For example , fault lines have formed in the culture and in the church that have forced many Christians to wake up to the reality of the total state they were living under . If the federal government could effectively end church services and shut down entire segments of the economy because of a flu-like virus , what limits do its power actually exist ?
As a result of this realization of government overreach , christians moved across state lines , vacated soft leftist churches , built parallel economies and redirected their energies to building local communities of resistance .
Much of this reaction has proved a positive good , but as much progress as there has been in the work of Christian balkanization and fortification , there have also been new waves of infighting in an already cramped and crowded ghetto of Reformed Christianity .
For example , stephen Wolfe's book the Case for Christian Nationalism , published by Canon Press , had a multidimensional impact . On the one hand , a large number of Christians began rethinking the role of government in shaping Christian nations . They've returned to the political writings of men like Calvin , knox and Rutherford .
Their reaction to Wolfe's book has been mostly positive , full of energy . Others saw the book as a threat at many levels . In turn , the discussion has turned into debate which has all too often devolved into destructive in-camp hostilities and name-calling .
Christians who agreed on 98% of doctrinal issues have been all too willing to separate on political issues , many of which are misunderstood or misrepresented by folks on both sides of the aisle . Anathemas are decreed on issues not pertaining to matters of theological orthodoxy . Mathemas are decreed on issues not pertaining to matters of theological orthodoxy .
Men who shared close bonds of friendship on Monday morning are sworn enemies by Tuesday afternoon . Together we stand at the precipice of an uncertain future . No-transcript Will its apostasy become complete and its destruction assured .
Like I said , we're at a precipice of uncertainty , but one thing is certain Ours will be a future of misery and death if the Christian church cannot contend for unity , if the Christian church cannot stand together . I'm not talking here about a false unity of pretended agreement on every issue all the way down the line .
I'm not talking about a false unity of pretended agreement on political theory , strategy , history , doctrine and everything else out to the 10th decimal point . I'm not talking about a unity where the Theonomists and the classical Two Kingdoms folks decide to flip a coin . Heads were all Theonomists , tails Two Kingdoms .
Our unity is not the false unity of forced homogeneity .
I'm talking about a true unity , in fact , the true unity we already have the unity of the shared blood which covers us , a unity of the same scriptures and same gospel , a unity of one Lord , one faith , one baptism , one God and father of all , who is over all and through all and in all , a unity of a shared citizenship in the royal nation of Christ's cosmic
kingdom . We Christians have too often contented ourselves with fighting , fights that cost little , simulated brother wars that come with little real danger but do much to divide us from one another . In contrast , our enemy is united against the kingdom of God . They're united , in fact , against functional civilization at all .
Everything is at stake here , from a parent's right to refuse the mutilation of their child in service of mental illness , with a marketing team and all the power of an internet meme , to the continued existence of Americans as a people at all . They are united in the cause of death .
They're united in the cause of chaos , the enemy , with all the swagger and sneering cynicism of evil , lusts after your very children's souls . The enemy will pour out all his strength for the cause of extinguishing your generations . Against this , how dare we spend our days in squabbling brother wars ?
How dare we refuse the command of our Lord to fight for the unity of the faith ? Now , anything worth doing is worth doing poorly . Christian unity has and will be a tumultuous work , but it is a work worth doing , even if done haltingly , imperfectly and with setbacks and challenges and all the rest .
What we have to remember is that all of us , while we may differ in convictions on things , great and small things , ranging from the confessions we defend to our convictions about historical events like the Crusades or the Civil Wars or the World Wars we're one people . Whether we like it or not , we belong to one another .
Some of you have tremendous gifts , some of you have determination , some of you have kindness , some industry , some teach , some raise godly generations , some pastor , some lead , some weld , write , hit nails , pray , respect , and we aim to honor others doing eternally significant work for the gospel and the kingdom of God , for example , the good men and women of Moscow
and the CREC , apologia , g3 , founders , right Response and many others . We see these tribes as allies in the work of the faith . Our aim is not to spend our days and strength attacking these allies , but rather to work with them to defeat our common enemy and contend for the gospel of our Lord , jesus Christ . Do we agree on everything ? Obviously not .
Do any two men agree on everything ? We don't agree on everything , but we do love these men . Many will point to our own deficiencies and missteps . Some will do this with good intent and others with malice . But we , with imperfect zeal , will both teach and defend our principles and convictions when called upon to do so . But we will also See .
A united Protestant church would change the coming generations , with one another in love , endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace . See . A united Protestant church would change the coming generations . A united church would see a world lost in darkness turn to the light of Christ .
A united church would see enemy strongholds cast down and their high places salted . And so let us , the people of God , come together and not satisfy ourselves with public bickering and contentions . Instead , let us disagree like true blood-brought brothers that we are .
Let us work as often as possible to deal with our differences privately , behind the scenes , and avoid bringing further division to the public eye . Bringing further division to the public eye . If there's to be any meaningful rebuilding of Christendom , a work dear to our hearts , there must be a renewed ability to forge coalitions .
We must be able to maintain distinctives and differences while treating each other as brothers in Christ . In this episode of the King's Hall podcast , we'll be asking some pivotal questions along these lines . Can such a coalition be built ? If so , how ?
If that work is to be done , which principles and practical steps can be taken to ensure that our work doesn't implode , that it doesn't descend and devolve into destructive infighting but lasts for many generations ? The King's Hall podcast exists to make self-ruled men who rule well and win the world . You Thank you .