The war in Ukraine continues, and in my social circles, there are many people who are looking forward to Trump bringing this war to a close. But there is also a large segment of people calling for more war.

“We can’t let Russia win!” “You are a coward if you want to capitulate to Russia now!” “Trump is a bully, he should be backing Zelensky, not pressuring him!” “We can’t let the Russians take one inch!”

Even the Prime Minister of Australia has suggested he would be open to sending Australian troops to Ukraine:

“The prime minister has opened the door to sending Australian troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force — despite the federal government playing down that prospect on Monday.

European leaders have been mulling sending troops to Ukraine in a “coalition of the willing” as part of a proposal to help orchestrate and enforce a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. Moscow has previously said it would not accept European troops on the ground.

It comes in the wake of a rift between the United States and Ukraine, with the Trump administration now pausing military aid to the country following the high-profile confrontation between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.

On Monday an Australian government spokesperson said while it would “consider” any proposals on Ukraine, the “deployment of Australian troops to support peacekeeping forces in Ukraine is not under consideration at this time”.

But on Tuesday morning Anthony Albanese struck a different tone, pointing to the government’s military aid to Kyiv and saying Australia “stands ready to assist” Ukraine.”

Now, putting aside how abominably stupid it would be for Australia to escalate its presence in the region (Australia has already sent money and military equipment to Ukraine), I want to ask a simple question: Are Europeans Ishmaelites? The reason I am asking this question is because of what the Angel of the Lord said to Hagar in Genesis,

“Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” 11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her: “Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the Lord has heard your affliction. 12 He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.” 13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”

Gen. 16:10-13

The Lord prophesied that Ishmael would continually be against every man, and every man’s hand against him. That he would continually be in conflict in other words. So, are Europeans Ishmaelites then? Of course, I am asking this question somewhat tongue-in-cheek. But for a good reason.

It is not uncommon to hear Christians apply this verse to Muslims or Arabs and point out that they can’t live in peace with each other, just as God prophesied about Ishmael. Now, putting aside all of the bad theological reasoning that leads to this simplified application of this scripture, this argument shows something about Europeans and their descendants: they have very little self-knowledge. They are not able to see how warlike they are as a people.

Where do I start? European history is a never-ending stream of wars and conflicts. Should we start with the Greeks, whose warrior culture was legendary? Or Phoenicians, who may or may not have been European? Maybe the Romans, or the Germanic tribes that conquered Rome. Or perhaps the Anglo-Saxons, for which a case could be made are the most warlike people in the world, especially if you sprinkle in a little mixing with the Norman blood of William the…wait for it…Conqueror.

Or maybe we should discuss the Vikings in the West and their kin, the Varangians in Eastern Europe. Or we could personalize it and speak of Charlemagne, Napoleon, Wellington, Churchill, Patton, and more, many, many more. I am not condemning these men here, or these nations. I am only pointing out that if constant war with your close brethren equals fulfilment of this passage in Genesis, is there not an argument that Europeans are Ishmaelites? “His hand shall be against every man” could describe European history.

Someone might argue, that Europe is far more peaceful now than the Middle East. But this ignores that the two biggest wars in the last century were started in Europe by Europeans against mostly Europeans. And Europe brought many of its conquered peoples into these wars, in their colonies, places that were secured with guns and conquest. And many foreign policy experts I have listened to say that Europe fears an American withdrawal in part because this could set them back into their warlike ways. They are worried that without Uncle Sam babysitting them they will go back to war, after war, after war.

Let’s now turn to the Middle East. Yes, conflict seems ongoing there. But how much of that conflict directly involves Europeans? You have Britain defeating the Turks in World War 1, and then they and other European powers carved up the Middle East for their own benefit. This created a situation where war was inevitable in the Middle East between peoples who did not want to share borders or did not like the artificially imposed borders. This is true, especially in Palestine where the UN and British-enforced borders have been an endless source of conflict. And don’t forget most of the Jewish people who settled in Palestine are Ashkenazi, which means European Jews. Europe’s fingerprints are all over the mess in the Middle East.

You then have the constant meddling in the Middle East by America. A country that is predominantly European and especially Anglo-Saxon. The US branch of Anglo-Saxons appears to be in endless wars, one after the other. And they often drag in their British and Australian cousins as well, who appear to be all to willing to join in. As do other Europeans on occasion. It’s tough to turn down a good chance for war with the boys, for Europeans.

And then there is the information in the picture above. How often has Europe tried to conquer Russia? Some Westerners still see Russia as intrinsically bad because of the USSR kerfuffle. And for sure, that was some bad stuff there, really bad. But if you look at Europe and Russia through the lens of centuries, it really does look like Europe wants to conquer Russia.

In fact, the Rus nation came about as a joining of Slavs and Scandinavians who became one people precisely because the Scandinavians, Europeans that is, conquered Russia and took control of the Slavic people in that region. Europe has long eyed off the land of Russia.

Again, does this mean Europeans are Ishmael? No, but it does mean we should come to terms with our warlike nature, admit it, and maybe reign ourselves in a bit. Warlike people look at all other peoples as potential threats to be dealt with. They even come up with endless reasons for so-called “defensive” pre-emptive strikes. Like fighting against Russia, in case it decides to take Poland, then Finland, then Germany, then Britain, Greenland, then on and on until they are in Brisbane and Sydney.

Some Westerners actually think this way, because Europeans are a continually warlike people. Maybe it is time we stopped trying to rule the world and began trying to repair our own nations, which in part have been decimated by the results of our forever wars. At the moment we have fools in charge eyeing off war with Russia when our own borders are porous. This needs to stop.