Celebrating VE Day and winning the spiritual war

Today is VE Day, short for “Victory in Europe.” On this day in 1945, Great Britain and the United States celebrated their victory over Nazi Germany and its allies.

German troops throughout Europe laid down their arms. Surrender documents were signed in Berlin and eastern Germany.

But there was much more fighting still to come.

Six hundred Soviet soldiers died the next day in Silesia, a region now in southwest Poland, before the Germans fighting there finally surrendered. The war would continue in the Pacific until Imperial Japan surrendered on August 15 (now known as VJ Day).

Hundreds of battles preceded VE Day as well. We owe the men and women who fought this horrendous war an undying debt of gratitude. They won the victory, not in a single day or in a single battle, but in stages.

It is the same with our war against “the spiritual forces of evil” today (Ephesians 6:12).

No war is won in a day

For people who try to live by Scripture, these are frustrating days.

According to a new survey from Public Religion Research Institute, 65 percent of young people in America agree that abortion should be legal in most or all cases. This compares to 51 percent of seniors who agree. Nearly seven in ten young people believe that at least some health care professionals in their community should provide legal abortions; this compares to 46 percent of seniors.

Seventy-three percent of Americans support euthanasia, the highest level since 2005. Support for euthanasia is nearly double what it was when Gallup first polled on the question in 1947.

According to Pew Research Center, acceptance of gay marriage continues to rise in our culture, growing from 35 percent in 2001 to 62 percent today. Only 31 percent of American adults think homosexuality should be discouraged.

Here the difference between evangelical Christians and those without religious affiliation is especially striking: only 36 percent of evangelicals believe homosexuality should be accepted, while…