Russia, the Wagner Saga, and the Human Condition
Breakpoint
Colson Center
4.8 • 3.1K Ratings
🗓️ 30 June 2023
⏱️ 1 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
For a moment last week, Russia seemed headed for a coup or even civil war. After months of complaining about mistreatment by Moscow, the Wagner mercenary group marched on the capital. Then came dueling speeches by Wagner's leader and Russia's president, elites fleeing en masse, and an armored column outside the city.
Then suddenly, it stopped. Each side stood down. Even now, days later, it is not clear what exactly happened or what will happen next.
The whole bizarre scene offers important lessons about the human condition, and especially politics. We may think that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, but, as in this case, sometimes he's still an enemy. Just because a guy is on our side doesn't mean he's good, or that we are and aren't bad guys too.
What happened in Russia is an extreme example to be sure, but we should be careful to see our political leaders through a biblical lens, not political pragmatism.
For more resources to live like a Christian in this cultural moment, visit Colsoncenter.org
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | With a woman to look at culture from Christian worldview, I'm John Stone Street with the point. |
| 0:04.8 | For a moment last week, Russia seemed headed for a coup or even civil war. |
| 0:09.0 | After months of complaining about mistreatment by Moscow, the Wagner mercenary group marched |
| 0:13.1 | on the Capitol, then came dueling speeches by Wagner's leader and Russia's president, |
| 0:17.2 | elites then fleeing in mass and an armored column outside the city. |
| 0:20.7 | And then suddenly, it stopped. |
| 0:22.7 | Each side stood down. |
| 0:24.1 | Even now, days later, it's not exactly clear what happened and certainly not what will |
| 0:28.2 | happen next. |
| 0:29.5 | The hope is our seeing offers an important lesson about the human condition, especially |
| 0:33.4 | about politics. |
| 0:34.7 | We might think that the enemy of my enemy is always my friend, but as in this case, sometimes |
| 0:39.0 | he's still an enemy. |
| 0:40.3 | Just because a guy is on our side doesn't mean he's good, or that we are, or that we aren't |
| 0:44.6 | the bad guys too. |
| 0:45.6 | What happened in Russia is an extreme example to be sure, but we should be careful to see |
| 0:49.3 | our political leaders through a biblical lens, not political pragmatism. |
| 0:53.7 | For the Colson Center, I'm John Stone Street with the Point. |
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