Christians and The Political Stand
A recent blog (which fortunately was removed from public view) reminded me of the long time, growing movement to silence christians within the political arena. This form of attack; and I do call it an attack, comes in many different facets and angles but contains several basic elements. It holds, first of all, the premise that society becomes more enlightened and that over time social norms naturally change as they are expanded and re-defined and, therefore, no longer need fall under the religious, or spiritual context on which they were founded.
Let me address this premise first. I agee that many of our cherished institutions are expanding and changing in definition (marriage for example). The flaw in this point is that it is no point at all. A change in definition does not intrinsically (in and of itself) mean that it is right or good for society. Nor does it mean, as some argue, that I am spiritually, morally, legally, or constitutionally obligated to accept it as an American and a Christian.
Secondly, the tactic of raising the 'doctrine' of 'The Separation of Church and State' is often brought up in an effort to prevent christians from organizing politically and, worst of all, from expressing our faith publically. Unfortunately, this has become almost exclusively a legal battle with many cases often going before The Supreme Court. But some have been won in favor of the cristian plaintiff or defendant. The important thing to note is that this phrase, "Separation of Church and State" is not contained within The Constitution but is part of a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to a church in response to some questions they had. His response to them does not even resemble the application that we see today and this phrase does not carry "Constitutional" weight. Within our Bill of Rights, contained in The Constitution, The First Amendment reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof... " This right is clearly designed to limit the government, not the christian. Regarding our faith we have the constitutional right to "peacably assemble", "freedom of speech", and "the free exercise thereof".
The third tactic is to attack us as christians on a personal level. We are described as "close minded" or "right-wing extremists". There is the attempt to use our own faith against us. If we really believed in forgiveness we would be more tolerant of others and, therfore, we are intolerant when we speak out against certain behavior. We are told we should not be judgemental. The application of this argument is that we are told we have no right to tell anyone else what they can and cannot do and are being hypocritical if we do. It's an interesting argument whose only logical outcome is anarchy. "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.", Judges 17:6. That type of approach destroys any society.
All these arguments imply that if our opposition to any ballot intiative dealing with behavior were based on a different ethical system we would have 'the right'; but because it is based on God's Word we do not have 'the right'. This makes no sense whatsoever. It is discriminatory and, therefore, intolerant and close-minded. We are told we must stand idly by and let society take it's course. But the truth is that we as Americans have the Constitutionally given right and obligation to "tell" (freedom of speech, 1st Amendment) and the right and obligation to "tell others what they can and cannot do" through the power of our vote (15th Amendment) and through organizing ourselves. The truth is that we as Christians have the God-given right and obligation to confront any brother or sister in sin, Matthew 18:15-17. We have the right and obligation to voice ourselves in love and respect and take The Stand against any human behaviour that would bring harm to ourselves, our country, and, most importantly, our children.
Never be afraid to take your stand publically, politically, or in any other form.
For our children, God bless them and protect them.
In Him,
Ben
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Author: galahad
Location: Oklahoma City Oklahoma USA
Gender: Male
Age: 54
Blog Entries: 84 (archive)
Blog Comments: 264
hi everyone. my name is ben. i grew up in california and moved to oklahoma in 1979; living here ever since. my favorite things to do: studying the scriptures; they are my source of spiritual nourishment. playing with my cat, galahad. cooking. seafood is my favorite; especially shrimp dishes. christian...
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as a child i knew very little about god. i lived in a home where my parents spoke very little about anything to us, much less god or going to church. it would have been called a 'disfunctional' family if the word had been used back then. living in an...
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