I love America as a nation. I believe that we should respect and honor our flag and the other symbols of our nation. That said, I have a problem with the current way in which most Christians relate to politics. Where is the Love?
I do not mean to be trite or passe in my examination of Christian politics, I simply want to make a few observations.
1. Where in scripture does it teach us to impose our moral standards on our society? Are we supposed to make our society, even our country, into a moralistic, legalistic, democracy?
I would humbly propose that we are not commanded to moralize our country, but we are in fact called to lovingly evangelize our country. What America needs right now are not more hypocritical, bible-toting politicians, but more men and women in politics whose lives have been changed by the cross of Jesus Christ. We do not need another "Moral Majority", we do not even need a "Christian Coalition". What we need are men and women of biblical conviction to lovingly seek to make this country better.
2. (I'm gonna make some of you angry with me.)
How is it loving, in our cultural context to fight for the legal rights of the unborn?
Now, before you all try to excommunicate me, let me explain what I'm saying.
I believe its a gross injustice that 45,000 human beings are murdered every year. I believe that abortion is one of the single most heinous crimes going on in America today. However, that said, I believe that the way in which we our attempting to end the injustice is wrong. While I do believe that the Roe v. Wade decision was wrong and should be overturned, I think we are fighting this battle from the wrong direction. Rather than pouring billions into lobbyists and ad campaigns, what if we poured billions into crisis pregnancy centers and women's shelters? What if we fought for life one women at a time, instead of one law at a time? The problem I see, is that if we merely try to overturn a federal ruling, how are we loving individual people? Most women don't understand why we are fighting against their "right" to choose abortion. What if instead of condemning women for having abortions, we showed them beating hearts, and the effects of abortions on others. How would we be perceived then, if we simply loved them? This whole train of the thought leads me to my final thought.
3. What would happen if Christians were known by what we love and not by what we hate?
What would happen if we were known for loving women or for loving homosexuals? What if we sought to lovingly change what one person at a time? Instead of spending billions to legislate against abortion or gay marriage, what if we poured that money into one-on-one relational ministry, what if we supported people and programs to help pregnant women and gays find answers? I'm not saying we should condone abortion or homosexual acts, but I find it troubling that so many who do not condone those actions portray themselves as if they hate those involved in these sins.
So thats me political rant for the day. Stay tuned.
3 comments:
1. I would clarify that the morality of the nation will rise only after it has been properly evangelized.
2. I agree ... to a point. Yes, we certainly do need to get the word out to let women know what abortion really is. This is a fight to which I am dedicated. That being said I think we are right to push for legal reform. A similar situation could be likened to the Nazi's. They were systematically killing people every day. We could have spent all of our efforts trying to convince them through logical, rational arguments that what they were doing was wrong, but not all would listen. The injustice would continue, that's why legal reform is also vastly important because it does to a large extent stop the injustice. Legal reform and persuasion - they, I believe, can go together. It's not an either/or situation.
You mean Jesus isn't Republican? Oh no! You mean this nation is not a Christian nation? My world is totally shaken now. Where should I go? I MUST LIVE IN A CHRISTIAN ENVIRONMENT!
Good stuff man. You knew I'd love it though.
Billy
Bill:
thanks, I thought you would approve
Sophie:
I agree with your agreement to a point.
I think that if we took half of the money poured into lobbyists and lawyers, and put it toward shelters and pregnancy centers, we would see a drastic drop over a couple of year period in abortions.
I'm a little concerned that most people think that the best way to win is legislation. Thats all I was getting at.
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