I’ve been noticing lately a whole lot of tension between “Christian” people with regards to how this nation’s ills are going to be addressed. I put the quotation marks around the word “Christian” because there is a broad definition at work as to what that truly means and how one is defined. My purpose, at the moment, is not to untangle the use of the word “Christian”, but rather speak to the tension of how a Christian is to go about reforming a nation and engaging a culture. Let me give some quick illustrations as to what I mean…
Sloppy Sovereignty
The GOP primary has revealed so many dynamics that psychologists, sociologists, and theologians will have plenty of fodder to complete a host of new Ph.D. dissertations in the near future. While I do not claim to be any of the above, I have been particularly interested in the theological acrobatics Christians have engaged in justifying a Trump candidacy and vote. Any one of a hundred reasons as to why Donald is God’s choice could warrant a college term paper in response, but I only want to briefly explore one that I have called, “Sloppy Sovereignty”.
Does God Care About How I Vote? (A Biblical Philosophy of Voting)
I recently posted a meme on Facebook concerning the concept of voting for “the lesser of two evils” and it has caused an interesting conversation. This conversation is not unique to me for a Facebook friend (Pastor Cary Gordon) most effectively created a series of educational cartoons addressing this very subject some time ago. You need to watch them and can find them Here.
A Counterfeit Peace
“You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.”
Hebrews 12:4 NKJV
I was watching the famous CBS news show, 60 Minutes, as they reported on a young woman who recently transitioned her gender to a male. It was a 20 minute segment which I shall be the first to stipulate makes a subject like this one hard to grapple with appropriately or adequately. Perhaps the first critique of such an attempt is the simple notion of fairness in exploring what exactly is going on inside a person born one gender but feels they are another gender. My instincts tell me that CBS had no intention of being “fair” but rather paint a sympathetic portrait of a transgendered person which will make assimilating their desires into main stream culture a natural and ordinary thing. There was no professional analysis or exploration into this area. It was simply an endearing story which was meant to frame any question into the legitimacy of such a transition as bigoted and narrow-minded.
Not Just Any House
“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths…”
Micah 4:1-2a NKJV
On April 18, 1775 John Adams and John Hancock were at the home of Rev. Jonas Clarke, a Lexington pastor and militia leader. That same night Paul Revere, after receiving the lantern signal from the Old North Church, began his famous ride. He arrived at the pastors house to warn them of the approaching Redcoats. Hancock and Adams, two future founding fathers, asked Rev. Clarke if the men of the church were ready. Rev. Clarke responded,
“I have trained them for this very hour”.