Eighty years ago yesterday, the American B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. In total, an estimated two hundred thousand people were killed.

Over the years, opinions have been sharply divided over whether the bombings were justified. According to Pew Research Center, 35 percent of Americans say they were, while 31 percent say they were not, and 33 percent are not sure.

So, on the anniversary of the only time nuclear bombs have ever been used in war, let’s ask if they were necessary. Then we’ll apply our discussion to an even more significant question, one that is relevant to each of us today.

Why this is so personal for me

By August 1945, it was clear that Japan had lost World War II. However, their leaders refused to surrender and instead had prepared to be invaded by Allied forces, recruiting civilians to fight alongside soldiers. Their purpose was to force the US to negotiate a peace that would leave Japan’s emperor and military government in power.

US President Harry Truman had four options:

1. Continue conventional bombing of the Japanese homelands. This had already caused an estimated 333,000 Japanese deaths with no move on Japan’s part to surrender.
2. Stage a ground invasion of the Japanese homelands. This would have caused “the largest bloodbath in American history,” with as many as a million American deaths.
3. Demonstrate the atomic bomb on an unpopulated area. However, there were only two bombs in existence at the time. If the test failed, Japan’s resolve would have been strengthened. And there was no way to know if such a demonstration would cause Japan to surrender.
4. Use the atomic bomb on a populated area. Truman chose cities primarily devoted to military production that were not centers of traditional cultural significance to Japan.

This issue could not be more personal for me, since my father fought the Japanese in the South Pacific. If an invasion of Japan had been attempted, he would likely have been among the soldiers staging the attack. And he would likely have been killed.

But there’s more to the story.

Averting “an even worse bloodbath”

In Atomic Salvation: How the A-Bomb Attacks Saved the Lives of 32 Million People, military historian and former naval officer Tom Lewis (PhD, strategic studies) examines what would have happened if the Allied forces had conducted a conventional invasion of Japan. He writes that an offensive in the manner by which Germany was defeated would have been “by amphibious assault, artillery, and air attacks preceding infantry insertion, and finally by subduing the last of the defenders of the enemy capital.”

By choosing to employ atomic bombs instead,

The deaths of two hundred thousand Japanese in the A-bomb attacks prevented the deaths of more than a million Allied troops, around 3.5 million dead in territories the Empire held, and around 28 million Japanese. Millions more on both sides would have been wounded (my emphasis).

He cites extensive data in great detail to support his conclusions. He also extensively documents the fact that Japan’s leaders and soldiers had no intention of surrendering to the Allies prior to the bombings; many did not want to do so even after the bombs fell. In fact, after the Japanese emperor chose to surrender, rebellions against his decision were staged in an attempt to continue the war.

Previous bombing raids had already killed more people than died as a result of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki strikes; such raids would likely have continued as part of a conventional assault and likely would have killed more people than the two atomic bombs. Lewis also documents evidence that Japan was working on a nuclear bomb when the war ended and responds in detail to arguments that the bombings were unnecessary for ending the war.

He quotes Japanese nuclear engineer Yoichi Yamamoto, who stated that if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, “millions more [from both sides] would have died. Japan was preparing to defend the homeland at all costs. . . . As terrible as they were, the American bombs averted an even worse bloodbath.”

The only way war will end

The Sixth Commandment, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13), expresses an impulse enshrined in civilizations across recorded history. We know instinctively that we must not condone the murder of others lest we be murdered.

And yet Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, killing 2,403 people and causing the death of over thirty million people in the Pacific theater. Hitler invaded Europe, murdered six million Jews, and caused the death of at least thirty-nine million people in the European theater.

Americans are not exempt. Our Civil War led to the deaths of 750,000 soldiers and more than 50,000 civilians. Nearly twenty-three thousand Americans were murdered in 2023.

From Cain and Abel to today, every person killed by another person is a loss grieved by their Maker (cf. Genesis 4:9). Conversely, every murder pleases the devil, who was “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). Our fallen, sinful human nature is powerless to resist fully his temptation to “steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).

This is why the gospel is so crucial, not just for our eternal life in the world to come, but for our flourishing in this world as well.

No one in human history but Jesus died for our sins, purchased our salvation, and promised to forgive our every failure, remake us as God’s children, and send his Spirit to live within us and transform us into his holy character. Only Jesus could turn a murderer like Saul into a missionary like Paul (cf. Acts 22:20–21). Only he could empower and impassion an English aristocrat like William Wilberforce and use him to abolish slavery in the British Empire. Only he can give us his sacrificial, selfless love for every person on our planet.

If we would submit our lives to his Spirit, murder and war would end. There would be no need for bombs to kill hundreds of thousands to prevent the deaths of millions. If all of us truly made Christ our Lord and truly lived by his word and will, imagine the impact on crime and culture. And imagine the “joy of the Lᴏʀᴅ” that would be our “strength” today (Nehemiah 8:10).

A prayer that changes everything

Jesus gave us the key to such joyful living in a simple prayer:

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Will you join me in praying these words from your heart right now, and then in aligning your actions with your words?

Your life, and our world, can never be the same.

Quote for the day:

“While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be even more careful to have it even more fully in your heart.” —Francis of Assisi

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Denison Forum

Four options and a providential alternative

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering ordering the complete reoccupation of the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli media. Israel’s security cabinet is due to meet tomorrow and would need to approve any such action.

However, senior officials have warned that the plan would endanger the remaining hostages, risk further international isolation of Israel, and require the IDF to administer a population in which Hamas fighters were still present.

The IDF says it already controls more than 75 percent of Gaza; according to the UN, only 12 percent of the enclave is outside the Israeli militarized zone or areas not affected by IDF evacuation orders. The majority of the population now lives in tent encampments in the southern part of the Strip.

The idea of Israel occupying all of Gaza raises several questions, chief among them:

What about the hostages?

Hamas abducted 251 hostages in the October 7 attack, of whom 202 have since been recovered. Twenty are presumed to be still alive, while twenty-nine are thought to be dead.

Video released by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad last week showed two hostages in a visibly fragile state. The International Red Cross said it was “appalled” by the videos and urged that the “dire situation must come to an end.”

However, negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal have been stalled for some time. As a result, President Trump has reportedly given Mr. Netanyahu a green light to launch a more aggressive military operation against Hamas while making plans to significantly increase the US role in providing humanitarian aid in the enclave.

What are the alternatives?

Israel has insisted since October 7, 2023, that Hamas must be disarmed and dismantled and that all the hostages must be returned. They are now considering four options:

1. They could continue negotiations to secure the release of the hostages. Some speculate that reported plans to occupy all of Gaza are in fact a pressure tactic to force Hamas into a new deal. However, the terrorists have said they will not relinquish the hostages apart from guarantees of Hamas’s survival, which Israel sees as tantamount to permitting another Oct. 7 in the future.
2. The IDF could stage hostage rescue operations. However, the hostages are believed to be hidden deep underground in Hamas’s extensive tunnel network. And hostages freed from captivity have said that their captors were under orders to kill them if they thought Israeli troops were approaching.
3. Israel could clear the 75 percent of Gaza it controls and attack Hamas in the remaining 25 percent until submission. However, this will require operations in areas where hostages are currently being held.
4. The IDF could seek to control all of Gaza, including areas heavily fortified by Hamas. However, this increases the possibility of a rise in military casualties and puts the hostages at risk.

What Israel cannot do is continue the present stalemate. The hostages are getting weaker and public sentiment is rising for their return. Dr. Shay Har-Zvi, former acting director of Israel’s Strategic Affairs Ministry, warns: “If nothing is done, it will only get worse for Israel and for the hostages.”

Henry Kissinger famously observed, “The conventional army loses if it does not win. The guerrilla wins if he does not lose.”

An option I haven’t seen reported

As you can see, each of these options is fraught with potential disaster. As a result, let’s consider an option I haven’t seen reported by the secular media, but one with abundant biblical precedent.

When Samson was imprisoned in Gaza, he prayed for divine assistance and was then empowered to destroy the temple of their god Dagon and kill many Philistines (Judges 16:23–31). Similarly, when King Hezekiah “did what was right in the eyes of the Lᴏʀᴅ,” God empowered him and he “struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city” (2 Kings 18:3, 8).

We can therefore pray for miraculous intervention by which the terrorists are defeated, the hostages liberated, and the Palestinian and Israeli people freed from Hamas’s despotic threat. God could do this through military means, as with Samson and Hezekiah. Or he could use political and cultural avenues.

For example, the leader of an independent Palestinian group in Gaza recently published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal stating that his movement opposes Hamas and seeks a peaceful future for their people. Top Palestinian officials in the West Bank similarly want to establish their own emirate, join the Abraham Accords, recognize the state of Israel, and secure peace for their people.

Perhaps God will use such leaders in Gaza to overthrow Hamas from within. Perhaps he will intervene miraculously to defeat them without further bloodshed. Perhaps the terrorists will experience a Damascus road-type spiritual awakening, turn to Christ, and repent of their atrocities. Perhaps God will act in yet another way to bring this crisis to a peaceful end.

“He may give us the more largely”

I don’t know how God might answer our prayers for Gaza. What I do know is that if we don’t pray, “You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2).

With the human options so limited, perhaps our Lord will redeem this horrible conflict by acting in ways that demonstrate his omnipotent providence. St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109) noted,

“God does not delay to hear our prayers because he has no mind to give, but that, by enlarging our desires, he may give us the more largely.”

As a result, the greater our prayers, the greater God’s answers.

Will you pray for great answers from God today?

Quote for the day:

“The greatest tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.” —F. B. Meyer

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• What do miracles, sinful lifestyles, and David’s heart for God teach us about faith in today’s world?

Denison Forum

Dozens of Democratic lawmakers left Texas yesterday, preventing the state House of Representatives from moving forward with a redrawn congressional map sought by President Trump. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state police to find and arrest them, though state law enforcement is restricted to making arrests in Texas.

Other states have seen legislative walkouts over the years. Such moves can delay legislation and spotlight issues, but since Gov. Abbott can call special sessions month after month, the legislators will presumably have to return to the state at some point in the future.

Both parties over the years have gerrymandered political maps to advantage themselves; the governors of New York and California are now vowing to do the same in their states, for example. In response to such developments, California GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley has introduced a bill to block all fifty states from redrawing congressional maps before the 2030 census.

Such tactics have not typically gained political parties many seats over the years. However, a larger factor is at work here—one that is relevant to each of us and the future of our democracy.

A feature and not a bug

The Christian worldview was vital to our nation’s founding for three reasons.

First, the founders’ claim that “all men are created equal” was rooted in the biblical claim that each human is made in God’s image and likeness (Genesis 1:27) and therefore equal to all others in identity and status.

Accordingly, our governmental system purports to give each of us a vote and a voice. It took the 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th Amendments and the 1965 Voting Rights Act to get there, and our democracy remains imperfect. But aspirationally, it seeks to provide every person and perspective a seat at the table of power.

Second, the biblical teaching that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) undergirds the founders’ strategy of restraints on governmental power.

As political analyst Yuval Levin demonstrates, our system’s laborious process of legislation is a feature, not a bug. Its checks and balances are intended to keep any person or branch of government from exercising undue power over the process. This is not only because each person deserves to be heard, but also because no person deserves unaccountable power over others.

However, a third contribution of the Christian faith is foundational to the other two. And it is increasingly under duress in our secularized culture.

Jay Leno on late-night hosts

If gerrymandering is the strategy of redrawing political lines to favor political parties, a similar outcome is happening in America today, though not by the efforts of partisan politicians.

More than 20 percent of America’s counties gave 80 percent or more of their two-party presidential votes in 2020 to either Donald Trump or Joe Biden. This illustrates the thesis of journalist Bill Bishop’s 2008 book The Big Sort. He showed that Americans are increasingly clustering by religion, lifestyle, and politics into communities of like-minded people.

The recently announced end of The Late Show is an example. Jay Leno criticized late-show hosts for being so partisan that they “shoot for just half an audience.” And as former Sen. Ben Sasse noted recently in the Wall Street Journal, the end of the show illustrates the fact that we are “increasingly siloed by algorithms and the digitization of daily life.”

Here’s the problem, according to Sasse: “The Constitution requires a certain amount of unity, at least a minimal shared conception of the common good.” When our political parties eschew cooperation and compromise for tribal zero-sum tactics, they threaten the collective health of our democracy. And we cannot pass and enforce enough laws to force all of America’s 342 million people to behave morally.

Nick Saban on discipline and disappointment

The key to good citizenship lies not with us but with our Lord. We are called to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” by “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1–2). He alone can give us new hearts devoted to loving and serving others sacrificially and selflessly.

Our part is to practice spiritual disciplines in the Spirit: “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (v. 11). The disciplines of prayer, Bible study, and personal worship do not earn God’s favor but position us to experience his sanctifying grace.

Famed football coach Nick Saban noted, “There are two pains in life. There is the pain of discipline and the pain of disappointment. If you can handle the pain of discipline, then you’ll never have to deal with the pain of disappointment.” His adage was as true of our souls as it is of our sports.

To practice God’s transforming presence, we reject that which prevents such communion with him: “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God . . . that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal” (vv. 15–16). This is a powerful metaphor: sin is selling our “birthright” as the children of God for a “single meal” that cannot satisfy the needs of our hearts.

As counselors say, we must choose what we want most over what we want now. Oswald Chambers was adamant:

The main thing about Christianity is not the work we do, but the relationship we maintain and the atmosphere produced by that relationship. That is all God asks us to look after, and it is the one thing that is being continually assailed.

What “makes good citizens”

Yesterday, liturgical churches remembered St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, on the anniversary of his death in 1859. He noted, “A Christian’s treasure is not on earth, it is in heaven. Well then, our thoughts should turn to where our treasure is.” We do this by practicing the presence of God in prayer:

“My children, your hearts are small, but prayer enlarges them and renders them capable of loving God. Prayer is a foretaste of heaven, an overflowing of heaven.”

One day in heaven, we will kneel before God; today in prayer, we kneel with God. When we are transformed into the character of Christ (Romans 8:29) by choosing intimacy with him and rejecting the immorality that harms us and our nation, we become the change we wish to see.

Daniel Webster believed, “Whatever makes men good Christians makes them good citizens.”

Will you be a good citizen today?

Quote for the day:

“He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of Christianity will change the face of the world.” —Benjamin Franklin

Our latest website resources:

• President Trump comments on the Sydney Sweeney controversy: The issue behind the issue
• The dangerous rise of sports gambling: A cultural crisis in the making
• How does a healthy shepherd model rest?
• Deion Sanders’ most recent struggle transcends football
• What do miracles, sinful lifestyles, and David’s heart for God teach us about faith in today’s world?

Denison Forum