They Just Came After Steve Bannon
It was German theologian Martin Niemöller who, prophetically speaking of the the rise of Nazism in Germany, said, “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Following on as with the trumped-up attack on the revered military leader and committed believer Michael Flynn and a long litany of believers who stand up for principle and against the Marxist-led Antifa and other movements against people of faith, the attack on and arrest of Steve Bannon came from the partisan and avowedly anti-Christian Southern District of New York—the same court that came after Christian apologist Dinesh D’Souza and numerous other outspoken believers. This reflects the common view, “They could get them to indict a ham sandwich,” which comes from the former Chief Judge of New York state Sol Wachtler. According to The New York Times, Wachtler believed grand juries “operate more often as the prosecutor’s pawn than the citizen’s shield.”
As bestselling author of God, Trump and COVID-19, Steve Strang, says, “They’re going to do everything they can to do it,” referring to the nonstop onslaught against men and women of faith and all those who believe in the historic basis and destiny of America as a Christian nation.
I was in Trump Tower in Bannon’s empty office the day of the 2016 election, where there were literally only a dozen or so staff in the whole campaign office. This was only hours before what we now see as a miracle led by Bannon and other believers who fasted, prayed and watched God work.
What I love about Bannon is his simplicity of vision—seeing the world in the stark terms that we as believers see it—and his humility before God. In a meeting a while ago, he bowed his head and held out his hands for prayer. Just the other day, in response to a text, “What can we be praying for you?” he immediately shot back with a “Going live in a minute—pray.” Twice a day, the Christian prayer groups in Washington, D.C. stop by to pray with Bannon’s team members, who are always humble and believe in God just as he does.
Keith Kottler, in his book, Bannon: Always the Rebel, notes the seven books that influenced Bannon, after the one that influenced him most—the Bible—and they are: The Imitation of Christ, The History and Decline of the Roman Empire, The Brotherhood of the Common Life and Its Influence, The History of the Peloponnesian War, The Spiritual Exercise of St Francis of Loyola, Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans—nearly all books on early Christian history and its influence on society.
Bannon always speaks of what he sees first as a clash of the Christian world with others, and in an interview with The Economist, said, “I want the world to look back in 100 years and say their mercantilist, Confucian system lost. The Judeo-Christian liberal West won.”
In a discussion with the Human Dignity Institute, Bannon said “It’s something that should be at the heart of every Christian. What is the purpose of whatever I am doing with this wealth? What is the purpose of what I’m doing with the ability that God has given us?”
In addition to his belief in the “clash of civilizations,” which he believes is between the communist world, the Mohammaden world and Christendom, Bannon believes in regular, generational “awakenings,” such as the First, Second and each Great Awakening which result in a spiritual rebirth. The great revivalist J. Edwin Orr believed these awakenings produced practical results in society as people, transformed by God, became honest and began to work honestly. Every spiritual awakening was followed by an economic revival.
As Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:12, the battle is not between Republicans and Democrats, communism and the free world or Mohammedanism and Christianity, but a deeper battle between good and evil. But Bannon is not a theologian, and in a world of over-sophistication, technical bureaucrats and arrogant high-tech geniuses, it is refreshing to have someone who thinks as the rest of us do and sees the world as God sees it.
The First Great Awakening was in 1730, the Second Great Awakening approximately 1790, the Third Great Awakening around 1859, and many believe the Fourth Great Awakening beginning in about 1968 with the Jesus Movement. Orr, the historian of revival, said spiritual awakenings and revivals take place about every generation or two as government, business, media and other parts of society begin to coalesce and the moral level of a people falls to the depth that there is a need for an awakening.
Just 50 years after what some believe was the Fourth Great Awakening, with Brexit in Europe, the election of 2016, the Hong Kong movement and the massive growth of Christianity in China and similar movements across the world, many believe we are in the beginning of another Great Awakening.
We recently stopped by Bannon’s office, and his team bowed in prayer as they face the nonstop attacks that now are coming for all of us who stand up for Christ, for the rule of law and for the simple belief that America is the “shining city upon a hill.” This phrase was first mentioned on March 21, 1630 by John Winthrop, leader of the Puritans, as they prepared for the launch of the most blessed nation on earth: America. {eoa}
Amir George is the author of Liberating Iraq and directs The World Helpline at theworldhelpline.org.
People Needed: Capitol Hill Daily Prayer 7:30 a.m./12 p.m., Hart Senate Office Building, Constitution Ave./Supreme Court entrance.
Even if you can’t come, please pause to pray at 7:30/12 and let us know at thewhitehouseprayerteam@gmail.
