The War Between the States — Redux (Detailed Research).
- Terry W. Bailey
- Aug 9
- 6 min read
(Truth vs. Lies in the Age of “Woke”).
Opening word (from my porch to yours)
I was born in Selma, Alabama, in 1952 and raised in Camden, approximately 30 miles southwest of Selma, in Wilcox County—a boy taught to say “Yes sir” and “No ma’am,” to stand when the flag passed by, and to bow my head when someone prayed.
Those were years when many people agreed there was such a thing as right and wrong—though we didn’t always live it, and sometimes we twisted Scripture to fit our comfort. I heard “Honor your father and mother” loud and clear (Exod. 20:12), but I didn’t hear often enough, nor even remember, that God “has made from one blood every nation of men” (Acts 17:26). That’s part of my testimony: God’s Word had to correct my culture.
Fast-forward to today: a child born in this same land is catechized more by feeds than by families. Algorithms have replaced elders. And our country looks and feels like two nations under one flag—not North vs. South, but Light vs. Darkness, Truth vs. Lies.
That’s why I’m writing. Not to hurt anybody. To help everybody. To preach Christ plainly in a confused hour.
Scripture anchors & word studies (NKJV)
2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 — “Let no one deceive you…”Falling away (apostasia): not an accidental drift but a deliberate revolt against revealed truth.
Son of perdition (huios apōleias): the embodiment of destruction—the Antichrist figure and his system at work preparing hearts for control.
Isaiah 5:20 — “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.”A moral flip so deep that categories God defined are re-labeled by man.
Matthew 24:12–13 — “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
Lawlessness (anomia): living as if no lawgiver exists; rejection of God’s authority cools love.
Acts 17:11 — The Berean model: receive the word eagerly and examine daily whether these things are so. That’s our posture—Bible open, heart soft, mind engaged.
Then vs. now: the moral anchor and the cut rope
1) The legal pivot in the classroom
In my school years, prayer and Bible reading were still a common part of my memory. That changed with two Supreme Court rulings: Engel v. Vitale (1962) ended state-written school prayers;
Abington v. Schempp (1963) struck down school-mandated Bible readings. Whatever one’s view of those decisions, they marked a transfer of moral authority away from Scripture in the public square. (Oyez)
2) Who’s catechizing our kids now?
Pew finds nearly half of U.S. teens say they are online almost constantly, and 9 in 10 use YouTube (with TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat close behind). Translation: discipleship is happening on screens, all day long. (Pew Research Center)
A growing parent-led movement is pushing schools to go phone-free, with dozens of states experimenting with restrictions because of the academic and mental health fallout. Whether one agrees with the policy, the trend acknowledges the problem: we have handed the Pulpit to the Phone. (TIME)
3) Parental rights: a new front line (June 27, 2025)
In Mahmoud v. Taylor, the U.S. Supreme Court (6–3) ruled that parents with religious objections must have notice and an opt-out for elementary lessons using LGBTQ+ storybooks.
The Court granted a preliminary injunction and sent the case back under a stricter standard, reshaping district policies nationwide. This wasn’t a license to erase people; it was a warning that the state may not compel young children into contested moral instruction without parental recourse. (Supreme Court, SCOTUSblog, AP News)
4) The split hardens: two Americas in practice
Political control has consolidated into single-party “trifectas” across most states, producing radically different lived realities on abortion, gender policy, guns, immigration, and speech—fueling what some analysts call a binational feeling. (Maps of abortion restrictions since Dobbs show the divide starkly.) (Ballotpedia, Guttmacher Institute)
5) Trust collapse in the referees
Gallup reports that Americans’ trust in the mass media remains near record lows (~31%), and news outlets rank at the bottom among major institutions for public confidence.
On campus, FIRE’s 2025 College Free Speech Rankings reveal significant differences in the speech climate across universities—free inquiry is often contested where it should be strongest. (Gallup.com, FIRE)
Finance, tech, and control: the “buy/sell” battleground
I’m not saying we’re in Revelation 13 already—I’m saying the plumbing for that kind of control is easier to imagine than ever:
Globally, the Bank for International Settlements is driving pilots toward a tokenized “unified ledger” (see Project Agorá), integrating central bank reserves and tokenized commercial bank deposits so money and assets can move on programmable rails. The BIS calls it the “next-generation monetary system.” (Bank for International Settlements)
In the U.S., the Federal Reserve says it has made no decision on a retail CBDC and would only proceed with explicit authorization from Congress and the Executive Branch. Meanwhile, the House has advanced the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act to restrict any such move; and on Jan. 23, 2025, the White House issued Executive Order 14178 directing agencies not to establish, issue, or promote a CBDC and urging Congress to codify that stance. That’s a live policy fight, not a conspiracy theory. (Federal Reserve, Congress.gov, Financial Services Committee, The White House)
Prophetic note: The Greek for “mark” in Revelation 13 is χάραγμα (charagma)—a stamp, brand, or official imprint of allegiance. Scripture doesn’t say how the technology will look; it says what it will do—tie buying and selling to worship and loyalty. Our duty is not to guess product names; it’s to train consciences to love truth over convenience.
Where faith stands now (and why this matters)
Pew’s new Religious Landscape Study shows the decades-long decline in Americans who identify as Christian has slowed and appears to be leveling off at around 62%; the religiously unaffiliated sit at around 29%. A complete 35% of adults say they’ve switched religion since childhood. That means the field is fluid—and the harvest is still ahead if we preach Christ clearly. (Pew Research Center)
History’s rhyme: how the old war returns
1860s: The soul of a nation contested by law and blood.
1960s: The soul of a generation contested by rights and morality.
Today: The definition of truth itself is contested—by laws, feeds, curricula, and ledgers.
The uniforms changed; the enemy’s tactic did not: “Did God really say?” (Gen. 3:1). The war is won by the Lamb (Rev. 17:14), but the battle for souls rages until He comes.
Marching orders (Hope over Cope)
Open the Bible daily; test everything. Be a Berean, not a cynic (Acts 17:11). Print Isaiah 5:20 and put it where you see it—refuse the moral flip.
Disciple the next generation on purpose.Deut. 6:6–7 isn’t a suggestion. Don’t outsource your child’s conscience to a phone. Set tech boundaries; bring Scripture to the table. (Consider phone-free zones or hours.) (TIME)
Stay alert, not afraid. Jesus said the love of many would grow cold as lawlessness rises. Fan the flame: pray with someone daily, serve somebody weekly, and share the Gospel simply (Matt. 24:12–13).
Hold your financial loyalty loosely. If money rails become a conscience test, choose Christ over convenience. The Church has outlived emperors, tyrants, and monopolies—we’ll outlive algorithms too. (Bank for International Settlements)
Guard your words and your feed. Speak truth in love (Eph. 4:15). Refuse to treat people as enemies—even when ideas are. The Antichrist spirit thrives on hatred; the Holy Spirit moves through holy love.
Pastoral close
Beloved, I’ve lived long enough to admit where my culture taught me wrong and where Christ set me right. I’m not throwing stones; I’m throwing a lifeline. We are watching the “War Between the States” replay—not blue coats and gray coats, but truth vs. lies. The Son of Perdition is at work in real time, but so is the Son of God, and His Gospel still saves.
So: Endure. Love. Tell the truth. And when the smoke clears, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:10–11).
Until the last trumpet sounds—we hold the line and shine the Light.
— Pastor Terry
Sources worth bookmarking
Supreme Court (Mahmoud v. Taylor, 6/27/25) — opt-out rights for parents in elementary LGBTQ storybook instruction. (Supreme Court, SCOTUSblog)
WSJ on the “two Americas” polarization and state policy divergence. (The Wall Street Journal)
Pew on teen screen time & platforms; new 2025 Religious Landscape Study. (Pew Research Center)
Gallup on low trust in mass media. (Gallup.com)
FIRE’s 2025 college free-speech rankings. (FIRE)
BIS “unified ledger” / Project Agorá; Fed & Congress on CBDC posture; White House EO 14178. (Bank for International Settlements, Federal Reserve, Congress.gov, The White House)
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