MidnightCall Magazine
News From Israel MagazineUS and Russia Ranked Among Least Peaceful Nations
An annual study ranking nations in terms of how peaceful they are has given poor marks to the US and Russia, placing them firmly in the bottom half of a list of 140 states.Iceland tops the survey, which analyses how peaceful countries are both in terms of international policy and domestic conditions. For the second year running, Iraq is in last place due to the continuing violence since the 2003 US-led invasion.However, the different results scored by the world’s leading powers remain the most striking feature of the Global Peace Index, the brainchild of Steve Killelea, an Australian entrepreneur and philanthropist. The survey, published today, finds that 16 of the 20 most peaceful states are European democracies—most of them members of the European Union. If the EU is judged as a bloc, it would come in fourth place.However, China is put in 67th place, the US is 97th and Russia is at 131.The Global Peace Index is drawn up by the Institute for Economics and Peace, an independent think-tank, together with the UK-based Economist Intelligence Unit. It tests each nation against 24 “peacefulness” criteria, including a nation’s relations with its neighbors, arms sales and foreign troop deployments.It also takes into account data on a nation’s crime rate, its prison population and the potential for terrorism within its borders.In Europe, France, Britain, Cyprus and Greece fall out of the top 20. Relatively high levels of militarization in the UK and France are one of the main reasons the states receive a lower ranking.Iceland’s position reflects its internal political stability and its good relations with its neighbors. But internal factors also count. Iceland has no standing army and among the lowest proportion of its citizens in jail.-Financial Times, 20 May 2008, pg. 3
Europe, the continent which has been the center of wars for about two millenniums and primarily responsible for the two World Wars, is now the most peaceful continent on earth. That, however, does not mean Europe represents peace and the rest of the world war—the enemy, Satan, rules this world and is in charge of all five continents, including Europe. But we as Bible believers plainly recognize Satan’s devices; he is building a peaceful society, a model for the entire world for one specific purpose, namely, deception. We read in Revelation 18:23: “for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.” There never was, there is none, and there never will be a so-called “peace-loving nation.” Those who believe this are actually already deceived.
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