America has always had what may be called a fortress mentality. This stems from the fact that we are primarily a peace loving nation, and also that we have felt safe and secure from the conflicts in Europe and Asia behind the barriers of two oceans and friendly nations on our northern and southern boundaries. World War I began in 1914 over the assassination of an Austrian duke, and America looked on as one nation after another became involved in an ever-widening conflict. Finally, after almost three years, the German U-boat menace to the shipping lanes of the Atlantic came to a head in the sinking of the Lusitania, and America came out from behind her fortress and entered the fray on April 6, 1917.

It took a year and a half of bitter fighting in the muddy trenches of Europe to defeat the enemy and bring about an armistice.

As a result of WWI, the sentiment in the US was strongly antiwar, and so America again retreated into its comfortable fortress while Hitler's legions marched across Europe, and Japan endeavored to expand its empire over the Pacific. Not until the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 did we enter the fray. As a result of our delay, thousands of GI's died on the beaches of Normandy, millions of Jews died in detention camps, thousands of US sailors and marines died in the battles of the South Pacific, and two cities in Japan were destroyed by the A-bomb. As a part of the treaty agreements, Japan and Germany were demilitarized, and Korea and Vietnam were each divided into communist and republic parts. On August 2, 1963 the US destroyer, the SS Maddox, was attacked in the Bay of Tonkin, which precipitated the Vietnamese War, and again America was forced to fight a battle on foreign soil. Recently, we have all experienced the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, and have been jolted into the realization that our fortress is no longer safe and secure. This time we are not standing by as the enemy gains an ever stronger foothold. Iraq was stopped in its conquest of Kuwait, and now the evil regimes of Afghanistan and Iraq have been destroyed. We have discovered that we can no longer hide behind our fortress, but we must join a global crusade against tyranny and terrorism.

The church has in times past had a fortress mentality, and we still sing Martin Luther's hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," and we incorrectly picture the gates of hell attacking the church when actually Jesus meant the exact opposite. During the Dark Ages the church was on the run; it fled into the wilderness, and Christians worshiped in secret places. But today it cannot be a fortress but it must be a force, going forth into enemy territory, conquering and to conquer. It must aggressively attack the strongholds of idolatry and heathenism and modern Newageism; it must go forth in the strength of the Lord, terrible as "an army with banners."