Put on your best ascot, oxfords, corduroy sport coat with suede elbow patches, tweed pants and fire up the old briar root (bubbles only please). Let's discuss Charles Dickens' classic A Tale of Two Cities and how its sociopolitical commentary manifested itself thematically in all three of the Smokey and the Bandit films. I have never been a big fan of Dickens, but A Tale of Two Cities is, in my mind, the exception. In it, Dickens hits upon two very good, even Biblical, points. We will save one for another post, but for now, I want to highlight what went wrong in the French Revolution as compared to the American Revolution, which preceded it by roughly twenty years. Dickens very accurately depicts the anarchy, horror and illogical blood lust of the French Revolution. The American and French Revolutions were born largely out of the same set of circumstances, namely: government overreach and oppression, a government that was unresponsive to its people, no means of redress for the governed, and the influence of Enlightenment philosophy (which was heavily influenced by the Bible). The Enlightenment movement centered around the idea that "all men are created equal", as our Declaration of Independence puts it. The idea that all men were equal meant that no two men, regardless of circumstance, should be governed by different laws and that no man should rule over another. Consequently, government by the consent of the governed became a popular dream.
So, why is the American Revolution remembered as one of human history's finest moments while the French Revolution is remembered as one of its darkest? In my view, the most simplified answer to this question is that the American Revolutionaries fought on their faces before the one God, while the French Revolutionaries, disgusted by the state church's abuse of power, attempted to expel God from their borders. Leaving the same fixed point from these two very different trajectories, the two courses ended in very different places. The Americans fought for freedom and justice, and ceased fighting when their objective had been achieved. However, the French fought for revenge. Once their war had been won, the monarchy had been toppled and the people controlled the nation,...they kept fighting. The leadership did not deem that enough blood had been let, so they hunted down anyone; women, children, innocent, guilty, anyone; and made a spectacle of their deaths until their thirst for vengeance had been satisfied. In stark contrast, the Americans released their captured enemies once the treaty had been signed, ending the war.
This history is important for us as we witness and experience the increased persecution of the church in our nation and around the world. We have to first remember that the Lord told us that such persecution must happen, and that we should not be surprised or troubled when we see it. We also have to remember that God never called us to vengeance or wrath. We have instead been called to love. As the love of most grows cold, the free people of God must continue to love those who have been taken captive by the deceptive powers of evil in this world. Pray for each other and stand. Be men who have been with the Lord Himself and have never been the same since.