"Civil War" or "War of Northern Aggression"?

I was watching Ken Burns' Civil War on Netflix yesterday. I love this and could just about watch it every day. I love listening to it while I'm doing housework because it is a great "right-brain" activity that helps to keep me from getting distracted.

While I have seen it dozens of times, I never can get over that both sides felt that they were being led by God. Overwhelmingly. This was a time in our country where most people were Christians--true Bible-believing, praying Christians. When they say they were led by God, I cannot help but to believe their testimony.

Of course, I've grappled with the paradox of how God could lead both sides to oppose each other. After a great deal of thought and even more prayer in this area, I think I have an answer.

In the Bible, God calls the Host of Heaven together and asks who can mislead a king into battle and to his death. Finally a spirit comes forward and says that they-the spirit will put lies in the mouths of the prophets to get the king to go into battle and to his death. [I Kings 22]

You see, we had to fight this war because of the atrocities we had inflicted on both the Africans and the Native Americans. God did not punish America, but He let a lying spirit lead us to punish ourselves in the most horrific way possible.

I have come to believe not so much in a God who punishes but a God who removes His protection. Our pride in believing lies such as Africans "had the mark of Cain so were ordained by God to be slaves" or Native Americans "must be moved westward because they are heathens" led us to unspeakable horrors. God could not and would not have protected us from ourselves.

The truest horror of these beliefs were that they were preached from pulpits in God's Name. It should sicken all of us to think of that today.

Yet, what "lying spirit" beliefs are preached from the pulpit today?

How many emails do you forward that speak about injustices to immigrants?

What would you do if a gay couple came to your church?

Back in 1992, my husband and I, Church youth group leaders at the time, took our group to a nearby church to see a presentation of GodSpell. When the church opened their doors to allow seating, the line to get in was perhaps a hundred yards long, with maybe three to five hundred people in line. Just outside of the church doors, a homeless woman stood with a packed grocery cart asking for money. Erich, my husband, never misses an opportunity to give to a homeless person. As we approached the door, he discreetly handed off a wad of bills to her. The rest of us went inside.

Just before curtain, an usher came and got my husband and asked him to the back of the church. There the lady was waiting. She actually wasn't homeless, but an actor in the production. She handed Erich's money back to him. He was the only one--the only one--who gave her anything.

We're so concerned--and I put myself into this category--that someone will buy liquor with our measly donation, that we justify our stinginess with this. Really? An entire auditorium of "Christians" and only one person gave to "the least of these?"

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So many people want to debate whether the war should be called the "Civil War" or the "War of Northern Aggression." Scores of individuals still worship this war to the point of making it their church and re-enacting the battles.

With apologies to Jane Austen, I think it should be called "The Result of American Pride and Prejudice."

Thinking about those modern lies we believe as "good Christians", I want to really call it "The Result of American Pride and Prejudice, Part I," because surely, God will not stand by and let us continue to use His Name with these lies.