Christians follow the Bible and with that comes specific responsibilities to mankind and to God himself. Many who believe in Christ and Him crucified beleive the Bible is inerrant and spend much of their life and time determined to leave a legacy that shows they served out of this impenetrable belief in what is the absolute truth of how and why the universe works the way it does. But, with the current culture wars dividing us the question becomes, are we getting the truth wrong? Are we confusing what is socially acceptable with godly comportment? The following list attempts to explore 6 ways the Christians and His church might be getting the culture wars wrong.
1. Universal Healthcare
Who was the best healer ever? Well, Jesus, of course. He was the most diplomatic healer that ever walked the earth. He healed random citizens for free. So, when the buzz about providing healthcare for the masses began in the 90's it would seem the church would've been the first group to jump on the opportunity. Funny though, that's not what happened. In fact, the republican party, which is supported most fervently by evangelical Christians, represented the fiercest opposition to any legislation regarding healthcare. Strange as fiction, they've spent the past four years opposing it. Why would the church abide this? The God of the Bible showed through His messenger and Son, Jesus, that He completely understood how important it was to be in perfect health. Why would the people believing in Him and representing Him on earth not pounce on the chance to glorify Him by showing they believed it was important too? The church dropped the ball on this one. With so many mega-churches all over the U.S. and a congregation on every corner, we could have developed our own exchanges before the feds even had to intervene to begin with. Jesus spent a wealth of His ministry time healing. We are Christians. It's simple. People need access to healthcare, God's people should follow their leader and help in the effort to provide it.
2. Being Republican
In the 80's Jerry Falwell determined that the republican party was the way for Christian values voters to go and this became the most popular party among evangelical Christians and remains so to this day. When a candidate declares they believe in Jesus Christ and have a history of traditional church participation, they are almost guaranteed to garner the evangelical vote. It didn't necessarily work for Barak Obama, whose Christian background was in a black mega-church. Most evangelical Christians are white and southern. He was also a democrat who was pro-choice and supported marriage equality. But, by and large this declaration works. Is this a biblical position to take? When we look at Jesus and his ministry it's clear he did not campaign for Pontius Pilate or care about Caesar's money. He obeyed the law, but was quick and transparent in pointing out Herod's hypocrisy, never siding with corruption. But, churches came under fire in 2012 for openly campaigning for the republican party and against Obama in the pulpit. They compromised by saying Romney was righteous. Not less than a few years ago he would've been in a cult. This appears to be a huge contradiction with biblical truth. Christians who are politically involved are right to include their voice to protect their own right to worship, practice, and believe what they want. They are wrong to do so in order to side with a specific political party or to engage in the promotion of a candidate simply because he is a part of that party.
3. Segregation and Race
It was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who once observed that Sunday morning was the most segregated hour of the week. He was right then. And unfortunately, he's still pretty much on the money now. While there are integrated churches among us. There is a vastly accepted idea that there are white churches, black churches, hispanic churches, asian churches, etc. When you walk into the average American church you will see generally one racial group represented. The pulpit will speak to that group, its interests, and its culture. But, Jesus was a universal soldier. He did not cater to one people group, as He was rejected by those He came to save. He then opened His heart and mind to all people, all races, all over the world. His message transcended race and culture and spoke to the heart. Marginalizing, polarizing, or delineating our spiritual conquests along racial divisions is not biblical at all. In fact, it's an evil that needs to be eradicated by the Christian church. It should abandon the social construct that embraces white privilege and take up new attitudes and respect for all people. Jesus instructs us not to be respecters of person, meaning not to regard anyone as more important than anyone else because of how much money they have, where they live, their profession, or even the color of their skin.
4. Separation of Church and State
Recently many strides have been made by conservatives lobbying governmental entities to allow Christian institutions and traditions to be commonplace in their annals. Prayer, ten commadments monuments, crosses, bibles, pictures of Jesus, scripture plaques, and other Christian emblems are being put on display in state - run schools, capitol buildings, courthouse lawns, and public thoroughfares. The ACLU fights it, atheists fight it. But, as of late other religions have embraced the idea. Namely, satanic sects have celebrated the defense of religious freedom by jumping on the bandwagon and making bids to erect their own symbols, emblems, and religious implements as a part of public displays. They want to be sure their prayers are included when we start putting the calendar together for city council meetings. Christians have to take a step back and think about this more clearly. While the Constitution most certainly protects our right to worship and practice our religion as we wish without interference from the government, it also ensures everyone else can as well. The government cannot endorse or favor any one religion over any other. It also cannot discriminate against any one religion over another. While the majority of Americans still claim Christianity as their religion, this does not mean it is exclusive. By promoting the government's endorsement of Christianity, Christians are promoting governmental acceptance of all other religions as well. The last thing Christians want is for prayer to be reinstated in schools. You want to teach your children your values. Public schools hold everyone's values, they have to. If Christian values are to be prevalent in our communities then Christians should live by biblical standards and teach them to their children.
5. The Abortion Debate
No doubt Jesus loves the children. The Creator of the universe loves...well, creation. When we engage in the behavior that creates life we are doing a precious thing. Children are born small and helpless and this builds the family design naturally. These helpless little ones need their parents in order to survive. In the wild animal species are generally able to venture out and take care of themselves much more quickly than humans. This is important to note. Dads and moms are a necessary part of every child's growth and development. That's the design. Enter human behavior. People have sex with strangers. People have sex outside marriage. People have sex before they're mental maturity is at a level where they are able to rear another human being. People have sex. And they make babies. Sadly, they look at the design and don't believe they can handle the responsibility of it. Many cannot. They go to clinics and doctors and have the baby exterminated from their bodies. It's heartwrenching to live in a society where there's a need to perform such an act. In a country where 74% of respondents still claim to be followers of Christ, the following is true; Taken from American Life League website these statistics are unnerving. There is an abortion every 26 seconds. 3,288 babies are disposed of every day. Weep for their lives unrealized. Weep for their moms and dads who undoubtedly struggled with this choice. Weep for a society where we do not educate, protect, nurture, or provide enough sustenance for the lives that are already here to avoid the practice. Weep and pray, speak out and oppose, but do not ask our government to interfere in the choices people make. God himself does not take away human choice. The glory for Him is in our choice to serve Him and do what is right. If He wanted to force us to do the right thing we wouldn't have free will. The last thing we need in this country is government having more control over our personal life choices. Leave the abortion debates and fights in our streets, pulpits, and homes, and out of politics.
6. Climate Change
In the beginning...God created the earth and then the humans He put here eventually destroyed it. Sad but true, as a "Christian" nation we are tearing God's work apart. From overusing its precious resources to wasting them, we are slowly but surely turning Earth upside down. The Christian community is first to declare that our God is coming to rescue us from it anyway so we don't need to worry. In all the prophetic words no one mentions that the day and the hour of His imminent return are a secret. There are those who purport to know, then they are proven wrong. There are those who try to guesstimate, but then they are also proven wrong. The fact is we don't have any idea. Paul even said in his own words in the Bible that we were living in the last days. Funny, that was over 2000 years ago. The opponents to protecting the earth also say, the Earth is the Lord's, He's in control. Then we continue to waste, consume, and overuse without thought. So, what about God being in control? Well, stick a pin in that balloon. He wrested the leadership of the Earth to Adam, and then after the fall, to satan. So, pray tell, how is it that when He gave mankind the reins, that the ball is now back in His court? It's not. We're the creationists and believers. We should be the first ones to step up and work to protect what our Leader created. Instead, we balk at those who many times don't even ascribe to an idea that there is a creator. Hypocrisy really, to know we've been given this gift of life on the only planet that will support it, as far as we know, and then waste it away until we have to try and move off the planet only to consume and destroy another one. Hypocrisy at its worst.
While it's clear that Christian people are trying all the time to carve a righteous life out of what we've been given, we sure are sending some contradictory messages to the masses that don't quite coincide with what our biblical tradition dictates. It's time to make a change. With a few simple adjustments to our practice, we may just be able to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
1 - First, we need to start helping people get access to healthcare. Just like that, we need to turn it around and get to work on building up the exchanges and creating an atmosphere where people know they can get help. We should also start using some of the money we donate to ministries to pay people's medical bills. They are so insurmountable for individuals that it would be such a relief for us to work together to help make them affordable.
2 - Second, we have to drop political party affiliation. We are the Believer party and we represent His agenda first. If the dems and repubs and libertarians can't get on board, then we'll do it ourselves. All Christians should abandon party affiliation and vote independently for candidates who will serve their interest in maintaining individual choice and responsibility.
3 - Next, we must discontinue the practice of assigning characteristics to color. No longer should it be acceptable to anyone who fears a creator God to look upon any of His people and consider them less important, or less anything for that matter, for any reason. Jesus commanded we not be respecters of person. We can start with what we call race.
4 - Then, Christians have to stop forcing non-believers to practice our beliefs. The Bible calls God's people peculiar. Our God has made man in His image, meaning free will thinkers. The decisions we make for His name's sake either bring Him glory or shame. When we try to make those who do not belong to the tribe of Judah follow our rules it is not flattering to Him because it's not their individual choice. This just needs to stop.
5 - Also, the church should be doing all we can to support pregnancy and adoption. Jesus told us to feed the hungry and then preach the Gospel, in that order. Women who have to explore the idea of terminating the life developing inside them are, no doubt, in a tough spot. We have to help first. Not counseling, or chiding right and wrong, but actual help. Money, time, resources, mentally and financially stable adoptive families are all part and parcel to lowering the abortion rate and the Christian church should be among the first to step up and provide it.
6 - Finally, when Jesus tells the parable of the talents it's often interpreted to be money. But, what if the talents in the story are Earth. Some of us have a lot of Earth and some of us only possess a little. But, we have to do our own individual part to ensure our God's creation does not whither away. Recycle, reuse, reduce. Start composting, go to thrift stores, even if you don't have to. Ride your bike instead of driving. Don't run water unnecessarily. Get some reusable water bottles and reusable grocery bags. Please God by taking care of His property while He's away so that when He returns He can be pleased with your work and invite you to be with Him.
1. Universal Healthcare
Who was the best healer ever? Well, Jesus, of course. He was the most diplomatic healer that ever walked the earth. He healed random citizens for free. So, when the buzz about providing healthcare for the masses began in the 90's it would seem the church would've been the first group to jump on the opportunity. Funny though, that's not what happened. In fact, the republican party, which is supported most fervently by evangelical Christians, represented the fiercest opposition to any legislation regarding healthcare. Strange as fiction, they've spent the past four years opposing it. Why would the church abide this? The God of the Bible showed through His messenger and Son, Jesus, that He completely understood how important it was to be in perfect health. Why would the people believing in Him and representing Him on earth not pounce on the chance to glorify Him by showing they believed it was important too? The church dropped the ball on this one. With so many mega-churches all over the U.S. and a congregation on every corner, we could have developed our own exchanges before the feds even had to intervene to begin with. Jesus spent a wealth of His ministry time healing. We are Christians. It's simple. People need access to healthcare, God's people should follow their leader and help in the effort to provide it.
2. Being Republican
In the 80's Jerry Falwell determined that the republican party was the way for Christian values voters to go and this became the most popular party among evangelical Christians and remains so to this day. When a candidate declares they believe in Jesus Christ and have a history of traditional church participation, they are almost guaranteed to garner the evangelical vote. It didn't necessarily work for Barak Obama, whose Christian background was in a black mega-church. Most evangelical Christians are white and southern. He was also a democrat who was pro-choice and supported marriage equality. But, by and large this declaration works. Is this a biblical position to take? When we look at Jesus and his ministry it's clear he did not campaign for Pontius Pilate or care about Caesar's money. He obeyed the law, but was quick and transparent in pointing out Herod's hypocrisy, never siding with corruption. But, churches came under fire in 2012 for openly campaigning for the republican party and against Obama in the pulpit. They compromised by saying Romney was righteous. Not less than a few years ago he would've been in a cult. This appears to be a huge contradiction with biblical truth. Christians who are politically involved are right to include their voice to protect their own right to worship, practice, and believe what they want. They are wrong to do so in order to side with a specific political party or to engage in the promotion of a candidate simply because he is a part of that party.
3. Segregation and Race
It was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who once observed that Sunday morning was the most segregated hour of the week. He was right then. And unfortunately, he's still pretty much on the money now. While there are integrated churches among us. There is a vastly accepted idea that there are white churches, black churches, hispanic churches, asian churches, etc. When you walk into the average American church you will see generally one racial group represented. The pulpit will speak to that group, its interests, and its culture. But, Jesus was a universal soldier. He did not cater to one people group, as He was rejected by those He came to save. He then opened His heart and mind to all people, all races, all over the world. His message transcended race and culture and spoke to the heart. Marginalizing, polarizing, or delineating our spiritual conquests along racial divisions is not biblical at all. In fact, it's an evil that needs to be eradicated by the Christian church. It should abandon the social construct that embraces white privilege and take up new attitudes and respect for all people. Jesus instructs us not to be respecters of person, meaning not to regard anyone as more important than anyone else because of how much money they have, where they live, their profession, or even the color of their skin.
4. Separation of Church and State
Recently many strides have been made by conservatives lobbying governmental entities to allow Christian institutions and traditions to be commonplace in their annals. Prayer, ten commadments monuments, crosses, bibles, pictures of Jesus, scripture plaques, and other Christian emblems are being put on display in state - run schools, capitol buildings, courthouse lawns, and public thoroughfares. The ACLU fights it, atheists fight it. But, as of late other religions have embraced the idea. Namely, satanic sects have celebrated the defense of religious freedom by jumping on the bandwagon and making bids to erect their own symbols, emblems, and religious implements as a part of public displays. They want to be sure their prayers are included when we start putting the calendar together for city council meetings. Christians have to take a step back and think about this more clearly. While the Constitution most certainly protects our right to worship and practice our religion as we wish without interference from the government, it also ensures everyone else can as well. The government cannot endorse or favor any one religion over any other. It also cannot discriminate against any one religion over another. While the majority of Americans still claim Christianity as their religion, this does not mean it is exclusive. By promoting the government's endorsement of Christianity, Christians are promoting governmental acceptance of all other religions as well. The last thing Christians want is for prayer to be reinstated in schools. You want to teach your children your values. Public schools hold everyone's values, they have to. If Christian values are to be prevalent in our communities then Christians should live by biblical standards and teach them to their children.
5. The Abortion Debate
No doubt Jesus loves the children. The Creator of the universe loves...well, creation. When we engage in the behavior that creates life we are doing a precious thing. Children are born small and helpless and this builds the family design naturally. These helpless little ones need their parents in order to survive. In the wild animal species are generally able to venture out and take care of themselves much more quickly than humans. This is important to note. Dads and moms are a necessary part of every child's growth and development. That's the design. Enter human behavior. People have sex with strangers. People have sex outside marriage. People have sex before they're mental maturity is at a level where they are able to rear another human being. People have sex. And they make babies. Sadly, they look at the design and don't believe they can handle the responsibility of it. Many cannot. They go to clinics and doctors and have the baby exterminated from their bodies. It's heartwrenching to live in a society where there's a need to perform such an act. In a country where 74% of respondents still claim to be followers of Christ, the following is true; Taken from American Life League website these statistics are unnerving. There is an abortion every 26 seconds. 3,288 babies are disposed of every day. Weep for their lives unrealized. Weep for their moms and dads who undoubtedly struggled with this choice. Weep for a society where we do not educate, protect, nurture, or provide enough sustenance for the lives that are already here to avoid the practice. Weep and pray, speak out and oppose, but do not ask our government to interfere in the choices people make. God himself does not take away human choice. The glory for Him is in our choice to serve Him and do what is right. If He wanted to force us to do the right thing we wouldn't have free will. The last thing we need in this country is government having more control over our personal life choices. Leave the abortion debates and fights in our streets, pulpits, and homes, and out of politics.
6. Climate Change
In the beginning...God created the earth and then the humans He put here eventually destroyed it. Sad but true, as a "Christian" nation we are tearing God's work apart. From overusing its precious resources to wasting them, we are slowly but surely turning Earth upside down. The Christian community is first to declare that our God is coming to rescue us from it anyway so we don't need to worry. In all the prophetic words no one mentions that the day and the hour of His imminent return are a secret. There are those who purport to know, then they are proven wrong. There are those who try to guesstimate, but then they are also proven wrong. The fact is we don't have any idea. Paul even said in his own words in the Bible that we were living in the last days. Funny, that was over 2000 years ago. The opponents to protecting the earth also say, the Earth is the Lord's, He's in control. Then we continue to waste, consume, and overuse without thought. So, what about God being in control? Well, stick a pin in that balloon. He wrested the leadership of the Earth to Adam, and then after the fall, to satan. So, pray tell, how is it that when He gave mankind the reins, that the ball is now back in His court? It's not. We're the creationists and believers. We should be the first ones to step up and work to protect what our Leader created. Instead, we balk at those who many times don't even ascribe to an idea that there is a creator. Hypocrisy really, to know we've been given this gift of life on the only planet that will support it, as far as we know, and then waste it away until we have to try and move off the planet only to consume and destroy another one. Hypocrisy at its worst.
While it's clear that Christian people are trying all the time to carve a righteous life out of what we've been given, we sure are sending some contradictory messages to the masses that don't quite coincide with what our biblical tradition dictates. It's time to make a change. With a few simple adjustments to our practice, we may just be able to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
1 - First, we need to start helping people get access to healthcare. Just like that, we need to turn it around and get to work on building up the exchanges and creating an atmosphere where people know they can get help. We should also start using some of the money we donate to ministries to pay people's medical bills. They are so insurmountable for individuals that it would be such a relief for us to work together to help make them affordable.
2 - Second, we have to drop political party affiliation. We are the Believer party and we represent His agenda first. If the dems and repubs and libertarians can't get on board, then we'll do it ourselves. All Christians should abandon party affiliation and vote independently for candidates who will serve their interest in maintaining individual choice and responsibility.
4 - Then, Christians have to stop forcing non-believers to practice our beliefs. The Bible calls God's people peculiar. Our God has made man in His image, meaning free will thinkers. The decisions we make for His name's sake either bring Him glory or shame. When we try to make those who do not belong to the tribe of Judah follow our rules it is not flattering to Him because it's not their individual choice. This just needs to stop.
5 - Also, the church should be doing all we can to support pregnancy and adoption. Jesus told us to feed the hungry and then preach the Gospel, in that order. Women who have to explore the idea of terminating the life developing inside them are, no doubt, in a tough spot. We have to help first. Not counseling, or chiding right and wrong, but actual help. Money, time, resources, mentally and financially stable adoptive families are all part and parcel to lowering the abortion rate and the Christian church should be among the first to step up and provide it.
6 - Finally, when Jesus tells the parable of the talents it's often interpreted to be money. But, what if the talents in the story are Earth. Some of us have a lot of Earth and some of us only possess a little. But, we have to do our own individual part to ensure our God's creation does not whither away. Recycle, reuse, reduce. Start composting, go to thrift stores, even if you don't have to. Ride your bike instead of driving. Don't run water unnecessarily. Get some reusable water bottles and reusable grocery bags. Please God by taking care of His property while He's away so that when He returns He can be pleased with your work and invite you to be with Him.
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