One Man's Threat to World Health?

A man wearing a suit and tie sitting in his office looks as respectable as any other well-educated member of staff attending to his duties. Except that this guy is quite famous - or rather infamous - as he's in full command of a strong military force, at this moment, in full progress in invading a small sovereign state.

St Michael's Church, Kyiv, Ukraine. 

And so, thoughts are going around whether the invasion into Ukraine by Russian forces is just a start of a westward expansion, and as one Facebook friend contributed in a discussion, President Vladimir Putin's real intention would be to extend his forces as far West as Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal on the Atlantic coast, thus transforming the whole of the Eurasian bloc into one revived Soviet State. 

But that was just one friend's speculation on social media. How near to the truth, or far from it, only time would tell. Also whether the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation or NATO would flex its own muscles to defend its territories, or would it just sit there, powerless to do anything while the enemy's pride and determination are inflated further.

And so the newspapers, especially The Daily Mail lead its readers to believe that we're on the brink of World War Three, a situation comparable to 1939. But then again, such a newspaper has a habit of adding extra colour to specific events, especially on the coming spell of inclement weather. After all, the whole object of the newspaper industry is to sell.

Just to imagine an advert identical to the 1914 poster featuring the image of Lord Kitchener pointing his finger directly at every passerby, with the words, Britons Needs You! appearing at every street corner. If I had read this correctly, I think there was a General who suggested that if a global war were to break out, mandatory conscription may be on the cards. After all, most Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60, both in the military and civilians, are called to fight the invading Russian forces, and a large percentage seem willing to comply.

If any of this is true (and I can't verify this at the moment) - I'm wondering how the Millenial generation here in the UK would handle such calling. Furthermore, we "Baby Boomers" - at present in 2022, aged between 57-74 years, would be considered the luckiest generation ever to exist, living out full, war-free lives. As most of our generation are either pensioners or soon to retire, perhaps we'll be regarded as the most hated generation by those younger than us, as they would likely be more eligible for conscription.

With up to 76 years since the end of WW2, I'm wondering whether our present Western society is more averse to the possibility of warfare. Does just the thought of running towards the enemy with a powerful gun under your arm send shivers down the spine? Or, to the contrary, keen enough to apply to be sent abroad to fight? News of this came to light during the Gulf War of the early 1990s. Many who were unemployed or from mundane, dead-end, or boring jobs actually applied for posts at the Army Recruitment Centre across the country with the specific aim to be sent to the Gulf. Unfortunately for them, our forces don't send their recruits abroad without months of adequate training here at home, thus dashing their hopes for immediate adventure.

Maybe they had a point. Tales of comradeship and a strong sense of camaraderie among troops are sometimes shared with the public, the level of loyalty towards each other which just doesn't exist in an office environment. It looks to me that such camaraderie is vital for the team's morale when fighting the enemy. This, along with the added sense of adventure and daring in an unfamiliar environment. Not so much for patriotism as for personal excitement.

But other stories of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, began to percolate into our media, sometimes via the BBC news bulletins. Nothing new here. I recall the late sixties and into the seventies, especially during college days of 1968-1970. As I walked through the streets of London, I came across many "tramps" or the homeless. Most of them were elderly men, war veterans who fought in WW2 and had returned with PTSD, back then the malady unrecognised by health professionals, as they sat, begging for money from passersby and often sloshed with rum, whisky, or even methylated spirits. And one musician, Ralph McTell, wrote his song, Streets of London, in 1969, during my college days, and it was released as a single in 1974. The most striking was the fourth verse which reads:

Have you seen the old man outside the seaman's mission -

Memory fading with the medal ribbons that he wears -

And in the winter city, The rain cries a little pity -

For one forgotten hero, and a World that doesn't care -

It's the kind of song that jars my thoughts into their proper place, to see that I am so fortunate to be born not long after the War, and never had to suffer from warfare experiences. Yet, I can't help feeling for those who chose to fight in the 1914-1918 Great War. There, in the trenches in Northern France and Belgium, during the bitter winter cold and snow, men crouched as they fired their guns across to the enemy, while the hostile bullets whizzes past their heads, and never knowing who was next to take his last breath. Death remained imminent, especially for those on the firing line. Little wonder their adrenal glands were working harder than normal, constantly pumping out adrenaline into the bloodstream, inviting illnesses of all kinds, including PTSD.

The original 1914 Kitchener's Poster.

To some of these men, it got too much:

 

Stress >> Emotional turmoil >> Adrenalene >> PTSD >> Panic.*

But PTSD wasn't recognised by any doctors of the day and therefore the malady was branded as cowardice, and thus treated accordingly. Many were shot by their own superiors, and they were buried without their names appearing on any cenotaphs or other memorials for the next century.

Therefore, I can say thank goodness that the medical world has come a long way in recognising this malady! I have watched how veterans are now treated with greater sympathy than their predecessors were.

Perhaps I need to ask myself, what is the Christian point of view? I should I perceive this whole shenanigan? Maybe, I could think back to the exile of the Jews to Babylon in 586 BC under King Nebuchadnezzar. According to the Biblical prophets, the main reason why the Jews had to go into exile was due to their ongoing rebellion against God and his laws. Maybe it could also be the reason why the Russian president was allowed to rise to power and then fulfil his heart's desire without or with little resistance. Thus the realisation of forthcoming world war could shock some to turn to God.

Many around the world are turning to prayer. And that includes a video of a group of Ukrainian men assembling at a metro station to worship God. To the atheist and the unbeliever, prayer looks to be utterly useless against a man of such a high calibre as Vladimir Putin. But one has only to look back at WW2. As Adolf Hitler and his German forces were about to invade Britain, the whole nation fell on its knees, praying to God for deliverance. Soon after, Hitler decided to delay the UK invasion for some reason. For this decision, the Fuhrer eventually suffered defeat by the Allies.

Just as I need to remind myself that power-crazy dictators often suffer despicable deaths. I can name three straight off the board - Adolf Hitler who committed suicide, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and Lybian president Muammar Gaddafi were both lynched by their own people. Whether Putin will be dethroned by his own people, will stand trial or even executed, is something we can only wait and see, as there are rumours that not the whole of the Russian population is behind Putin's move to invade Ukraine. Let alone most of the world's leaders. However, one issue is certain: God is much bigger than President Putin.

This morning, with the possible threat of war troubling my mind, I had my usual coffee at Starbucks with a newspaper in front. The bar was far busier than usual, with long queues and occupied seating. Mind you, the sky was cloudless (for once) the sun was out, and the feeling of Spring was in the air. I tend to believe that this morning's weather had more likely brought out the people to enjoy a stint at Starbucks, rather than the ongoing gloomy news bulletins. How everyone around thought or believed, only each one knows. Did any have faith in God? Or in the European Union? Or in NATO? Or even in the courage of the Ukrainians themselves to fight against the Russians? Or simply shut the bad news out of their minds, forgetting it all? Whatever it might have been, or a combination of factors, just about everyone around me was happy, chatty, and sociable.

No doubt, far better for national health than if everyone shivered in their shoes with fear, worry, and tension. Had national fear had gripped us all, think of  all the adrenaline constantly being pumped into so many bloodstreams, eventually causing illness of some kind, whether it'll be mental or emotional distress, bringing loss of appetite, a lowering of the immune system, vulnerability to all infections, even overeating and weight gain - or more serious illnesses such as headaches, cancer, heart failure, colitis, organ inflammation, arthritis, high blood pressure, kidney disease, back pain, rheumatism, insanity, dementia, and many other diseases.**

Thus, it could be said that such fears and anxieties could eventually overwhelm the National Health Service here in Britain. All by just one man in Moscow! 

To many, prayer is a complete waste of energy made by a few who are addle-headed and living in a fairytale world of Young-Earth Creationism and pseudoscience fantasies. But here, I just would like to mention a prophecy found in the Old Testament of the Bible, the book so highly ridiculed by atheists.***

St Basil's Cathedral, Moscow.

It concerns Gog, or Rosh, the prince of Meshech and Tubal, in the land of Magog. That, during the latter days, after all the Jews have returned to their homeland after suffering a worldwide scattering, a greedy thought will enter the mind of its "king" to lead his troops to plunder the land of Israel of all its wealth. The location of Magog is also given, which is directly far north of Israel. Bible scholars and historians have identified the names of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal as Russia, Moscow and Tobolsk respectively. As they make their invasion, still in the future from our timeframe, God will intervene to protect Israel, which is the apple of his eye. In those days, anyone who turns his face against Israel will end up in serious trouble.

Isn't this prophecy so strikingly similar to our present set of circumstances? Is the Bible true after all?

Turning to God in prayer and for deliverance is the best move any nation, church, family, and individual can make. Not only history has shown that it had worked before, but such prayer will prove beneficial to one's health.

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*For more on this, see one of my previous blogs by clicking here.

**Dr S.I. McMillen, MD, None of These Diseases, 1963, 1980, Lakeland Publishers.

***Ezekiel, chapters 38-39.