Often pastors come into the cross-hairs of their parishioners when waxing eloquent about anything other than ethereal matters. “We want more spiritual stuff,” they exclaim with vacuity and thousand yard stares. Private morality equals absolute virtue in less than seasoned disciples. I believe, however, the collective social anxiety we experience today relates directly to both our private and public morals. In fact, our founding fathers believed public virtue trumped private virtue. The book of James envisions both as an ice burg, whose tip warns of the massive roots below. Consider these words from his epistle:
You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. (2:20-24 NIV)
Assessing the contemporary moral climate in a rather Billy Grahamesque way- we are in a social free-fall indicative of our internal moral cancer. The persistent chronic denial of our moral malady is now manifest in our collective skeptical attitude. And, we cynically snicker at empty political promises. We need healing. Once, perhaps twice (historians debate the number) in our history we experienced a great spiritual awakening manifested via sweeping social changes, triggered not from centralized government authority, but from the Church. Indeed, according to a legion of Christian historians, the Church has been the faithful staple of the American character throughout history. My former history professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, Dr. Melvin Dieter, once opined:
When protesters violently marched on Washington during the 60s and 70s the Church provided a principled fiber that kept us from coming unglued. (ATS Classroom Lecture, Spring 1981)
According to Dieter the Church really did become “salt and light.”
In addition, few historians and silver tongued politicians have wrongly attributed these words to French historian Alexis de Tocqueville:
I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests-- and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning--and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution--and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!
Whoever originally penned these thoughts (tradition has it they represent a confluence of both Eisenhower and Reagan speech writers) certainly captured our nation's seminal character. They also should sound the clarion call to all in the Church who care about tradition, decency, and future generations. Our children depend on it.
CONFESSIONS OF A HOMOPHOBE
I acquiesce. I'm a homophobe. A genuine, modern day ignoramus. I'm worse than a Texas Aggie. (all in fun you Aggies realize) Problem is, I'm hopelessly terminal. This disease shall not wane in my lifetime. I shall always be pathological. But, thank God Southern Seminary president and radio reverend Albert Mohler assures me I'm not alone:
Our greatest fear is not that homosexuality will be normalized and accepted, but that homosexuals will not come to know of their own need for Christ and the forgiveness of their sins.
This is not a concern that is easily expressed in sound bites. But it is what we truly believe.
It is now abundantly clear that evangelicals have failed in so many ways to meet this challenge. We have often spoken about homosexuality in ways that are crude and simplistic. We have failed to take account of how tenaciously sexuality comes to define us as human beings. We have failed to see the challenge of homosexuality as a Gospel issue. We are the ones, after all, who are supposed to know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only remedy for sin, starting with our own.
We have demonstrated our own form of homophobia—not in the way that activists have used that word, but in the sense that we have been afraid to face this issue where it is most difficult . . . face to face.
While I sometimes find Mohler a bit too tenacious when offering his credo, I must admit I take comfort in his Biblical essentials, particularly the high view of Scripture which forms the basis for our so called "phobias." Some things are true even when the polls suggests 99% of the public thinks otherwise. I'm reminded of Pilate, the crowd, the thief, and Jesus. The herd mentality, often essentially evil, gets it wrong. History, the unmerciful lie detector, confirms this.
Read more Mohler here.
Posted by jeffreymark at 08:41 PM in Christian, Commentary, Culture, Social Issues | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)