Here we see the evils of collectivism: the temptations of size, and the demonic madness that possesses the mob. People do strange things when they are caught up in a crowd. Things they would never do on their own. Instead of thinking for themselves they engage in group-think. They go along with the crowd in order to get along. Our sense of individual responsibility is dulled when we are caught up with the crowd. The crowd that had welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, changed their tune in a few days: "The chief priests and the leaders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed...What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Christ? Pilate asked. They all answered, Crucify him.... Let his blood be on us and on our children." (Matthew 27:20-25)

There are examples of the folly of tower of Babel in every generation. In Germany in the 1930's everyone was cowed into conformity by Hitler's thugs. You went along with the Nazis or you disappeared. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was executed by the Nazis for being implicated in the plot to assassinate Hitler wrote from prison, "If we are to look more closely, we see that any violent display of power, whether political or religious, produces an outburst of folly in a large part of mankind; indeed, this seems actually to be a psychological and sociological law; the power of some needs the folly of others. It is not that certain human capacities, intellectual capacities for instance, become stunted or destroyed, but rather that the upsurge of power makes such an overwhelming impression that men are deprived of their independent judgment, and - more or less unconsciously - give up trying to assess the new state of affairs for themselves. The fact that the fool is often stubborn must not mislead us into thinking that he is independent. One feels in fact, when talking to him, that one is dealing, not with the man himself, but with slogans, catchwords, and the like, which have taken hold of him. He is under a spell, he is blinded, his very nature is being misused and exploited. Having thus become a passive instrument, the fool will be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil. Here lies the danger of a diabolical exploitation that can do irreparable damage to human beings." (cf. Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War, Wilfred Trotter.)

We see this at work in nations that are controlled by an ideology or an oligarchy, e.g. Iran, North Korea, Syria, Saudi Arabia. People in Syria are protesting the laws which control every part of their lives. We see the tower of Babel syndrome in the growth of bureaucracies and governments. It is the search for utopia on earth through the control of what is permitted or not. We look for the state to solve every problem rather than for the individual to take personal responsibility for his welfare. The government intrudes into our lives by regulating every aspect, including which light bulbs we can use. Sowing confusion by dividing government and causing division may be God's way of limiting power and blocking hubris. St. John the Divine saw a vision of the downfall of Babylon, the symbol of ungodly government: "Fallen. Fallen is Babylon the Great. She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit." (Revelation 18:2) God comes down, and confuses their language, so that they will not understand each other. The Lord scattered them and they stopped building the city.

The attempt to build the European Union on the common currency of the euro is in jeopardy because there is confusion between the fiscal responsibility of each nation and their shared monetary obligations. We live in a world where we literally pass the buck down the road to the future rather than living up to our responsibilities now. Jesus said, "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'" (Luke 14:28-30) There is a cost to everything. Jesus calls us to follow him, to count the cost, to seek first his kingdom, which is an inward and individual realm, not an outward and political institution. There is a cost to being out of step with the crowd, going against the popular culture, going against the world. Jesus said to the religious and political leaders of his day: "I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth." (Matthew 23:34,35)

We build towers of Babel when we glorify the institution of which we are a part. We seek to make a name for ourselves when we identify ourselves in terms of our organizational identity. When churchgoers are overly or inordinately proud that they are a cradle Episcopalians, or died-in-the-wool Presbyterians, or strict Baptists, or devout Catholics, rather than Christ-followers, they are choosing the crowd over their allegiance to Christ. We can take refuge in the church, and become obsessed with our church work, for which we look for thanks and validation, and lose sight that we do it all for the Lord. Religious denominations of all faiths tend to institutionalize power for the sake of fame and fortune. There is the tendency to reward loyalty to the establishment rather than to Christ. Self-congratulation is preferred to Christ-centeredness. Exaltation of the congregation or denomination is more common than exaltation of the Savior. John Allin, a retired Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, once lamented at the end of his life that his biggest regret was that he loved the church more than he loved Jesus Christ.

To see ourselves in terms of the public, the mass, the crowd, the party, the nation, or even that ubiquitous and empty term 'the international community,' is to abdicate our individual responsibility for our relationship with Christ. "The crowd is a sink of cowardice in which individuals are relieved of individual responsibility and will commit acts they would never dare to do alone." (Douglas V. Steere) "If you want to be loathsome to God, just run with the herd." (S. Kierkegaard)

God comes down to our level, and scoffs at our pretension to fame and fortune. He puts us in our place. Every nation and empire has waxed and waned. It takes the coming of the Spirit in power, promised by Jesus, to take place, for the crowd to hear the apostles preach the gospel in their own language so that they could understand it. "How is it that each of us hears them in his own native language.... we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues." (Acts 2:8,11)

The secular world will always be confused when it seeks fame and fortune without God. It takes the gift of the Holy Spirit to bring understanding (1 Cor.2:14-16). If you want to escape the folly of the tower of Babel, you will need to focus on your individual relationship with Chris. Focus on the inward and spiritual life, not merely the outward and social life. Focus on the working of the Spirit of Christ. Seek the mind of Christ. He is your salvation, your security, your way to God and glory, your way to reach the heavens.

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