Albert Mohler: The borderless illusion

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At a gathering of western leaders in Munich, Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke not just about strategy—but about civilization.

WORLD Opinions editor Albert Mohler says that shift matters.

ALBERT MOHLER » If you want to understand where American foreign policy stands right now, just listen to what Secretary of State Marco Rubio said just days ago in Munich.

RUBIO: National security… is not merely a series of technical questions… The fundamental question we must answer at the outset is what exactly are we defending? ...because armies do not fight for abstractions. Armies fight for a people; armies fight for a nation; armies fight for a way of life.

That was Secretary Rubio at the Munich Security Conference—an annual gathering of NATO leaders, generals, foreign ministers, and heads of state.

He began with the issue of identity: What exactly are we defending?

He then challenged a central assumption of the post–Cold War era.

RUBIO: The end of history… that the rules-based global order, an overused term, would now replace the national interest… and that we would now live in a world without borders.

The Secretary of State called that vision of a "rules-based global order" a delusion. He said it ignored human nature and five thousand years of history. He said that it wouldcost the West dearly.

For decades, Western leaders did speak as if globalization were inevitable — borders softening, national interests fading into an international system built on trade and institutions.

In Munich, Secretary Rubio said plainly: that assumption is wrong.

He linked it to deindustrialization, fragile supply chains, and growing dependence on rivals.

He then turned to the issue of immigration and migration.

RUBIO: In pursuit of a world without borders, we opened our doors to an unprecedented wave of mass migration that threatens the cohesion of our societies… and the survival of our civilization itself.

That is not conventional diplomatic language.

But the Secretary of State did not stop at policy. He moved on to something even deeper.

RUBIO: We are part of... Western civilization… forged by centuries of shared history, Christian faith, culture…

That kind of language is rarely heard from American secretary of state.

He defined the alliance not merely as strategic—but as civilizational.

That's why the reaction was swift.

Critics pointed to Europe’s changing demographics and declining church affiliation, implying that Western civilization may already be a relic.

One New York Times report from Munich described halal grocery counters near cathedral spires and noted that nearly one in three residents of that city is not German—suggesting that the Europe Secretary of State Rubio described, may no longer exist. The implication was clear: Western civilization is no longer a shared inheritance, but a fading memory.

Christians should see the deeper issue here.

There is no morally neutral civilization. If Christianity recedes, it is not replaced by nothing. Every society rests on ultimate claims about authority, dignity, justice, and meaning. Those claims always reflect deeper commitments—whether acknowledged or not. Whether based in Christianity or not. 

So the debate in Munich was not simply about NATO budgets or migration quotas. 

It was about identity. What are we defending?

Rubio’s answer was unmistakable: we are defending a people, a nation, a way of life — and a civilization he believes still binds Europe and America together. 

And to that, I simply say, Mr. Secretary, I hope you're right. 

For WORLD, I’m Albert Mohler.

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