I Am Second

 

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Politics & Religion

If one is looking to ruffle feathers, one needs look no further than the subjects of politics or religion.  If one is looking to get stones throne at them, one needs only combine the two. 

I am stunned at the silence proceeding from many church leaders, denomination leaders, indeed many Christian leaders in our nation regarding some of the happenings of our day.  I know that there are many bold leaders, who regularly preach the truth from pulpits that have a broad and in some cases national and international reach.  Yet these leaders remain silent regarding a great many issues that are effecting our society today. 

Don't get me wrong, some are starting to stand up and to speak up.  But most are choosing the sidelines rather than the front lines.  Bonhoeffer's words reach prophetically from his grave to our day, "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil:  God will not hold us guiltless.  Not to speak is to speak.  Not to act is to act." 

I admit that I do not know all of the details, however as I understand it, there are some rules that pertain to churches in order for them to maintain their tax exempt status.  One of which is that political statements cannot be made from the pulpit.  Again Metaxas' book on Bonhoeffer still rings in my ears with the sound of the nazi government of the 1930's which became very involved in what preachers could and could not say from the pulpits of Germany.

To America's preachers I make this plea:  Speak up.  Speak up now, while you still can.  Engage your congregation in understanding the events of our time, how the Bible speaks to those events, and how that impacts us and our responsibility as followers of Christ.

Surely many people will cry "separation of church and state" when they encounter the combination of politics and religion.  Yet as for me and my house, we will both cherish and use the freedoms that our country was founded on, the freedom of speech, and the freedom of religion (NOT freedom from religion). 

I am a patriot, I love my country, I am proud to be an American, but I am first a follower of Christ.  To the United States of America:  You can keep you tax exempt status.  I'm going to say what needs to be said.

Musings from Socrates in the City

"it is astonishing how almost every culture has some myth of paradise lost. Now, that doesn't mean it's true, but it does mean that it's in the collective unconscious, and to say that there's no truth in it at all is to be a snob. This is my fundamental argument against atheism, by the way.  If atheism is true, then the incredibly small minority of human beings - most of which are concentrated in our uprooted society - are the only ones who are wise, and everyone else is living their lives with a fundamental illusion at the center...  It doesn't prove anything, but at least it ought to give you a bit of pause."

- Dr. Peter Kreeft, Making Sense out of Suffering, Socrates in the City

Metaxas on the Church and the State

The Church's responsibility to the State

Eric Metaxas at the 2012 National Prayer Breakfast

Obama, Biden, and Pelosi were present for this event. Nicely done Metaxas.