CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
January 27, 2007
25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373
www.geocities.com/adon77373/cypresswoodbulletin.htm
www.cypresswoodchurchofchrist.com
PRAYERS AND SUPPLICATIONS:
Our congregations Various friends, relatives and co-workers
Our nation, military and leaders Peace
THE SUBTLE CULTURE WARS
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
In the last several years, a number of books have been written complaining about the religious right and its ties to one political party. While different authors have written these books, there are several common themes throughout them, centering on moral issues, especially abortion and homosexuality. These books are not just criticisms but rather reveal a disgust for the views of conservative Bible believers. Dennis Prager sees this in the following way (1). The right (political and/or religious) disagrees with the left but for the most part does not hate anyone and is willing to discuss the issues. The left not only disagrees with the right but sees their positions as evil and will not even discuss it, hence the use of words like fascist and extreme which are meant to stop all discussion.
In the last few years, prominent atheists have written a number of books also attacking Christianity as a great evil, that God is not great, and destructive, even abusing children for parents who teach their children about God (2). Others have written picking up on various Gnostic texts and the popular “Di Vinci Code.“ However several are responding to these charges in books and debates (3).
Now comes an election year and as of now, I know of at least six books written from both the Christian right and left on how Christians should view politics (4). This should be an interesting year since it appears that Christianity and the role of faith is going to play an important role.
Since God and Christianity have been prominent of late in the news media, there are some subtle things that we need to consider as we go through this year. Now I am not advocating a vast conspiracy in that people from various fields have gotten together and decided to attack Christianity and Judeo-Christian ethics. But there are some subtle attacks going on that we must recognize. Some well meaning Christians have fallen for these because while they sound good, they can lead to conclusions that, as Christians, we do not want to be involved with. Let’s look at some of these.
Abortion. Of course this has been an issue for four decades. Those who support abortion see the womb as a blob, a fetus, and in some radical cases, a parasite. The woman has a right to choose and the baby has no say whatsoever. The pro-life position see a human in the womb. With the advent of modern technology such as sonograms and surgery in the womb, one can clearly see a human being.
The subtle aspect of this is that humans are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). If this is the case, then all life is precious, especially the weakest and most helpless, the baby in the womb. By changing the name from baby to fetus, it is being stated that life isn’t created in the image of God.
Homosexuality. There are those who are attempting to make this a “normal” lifestyle just like heterosexuality. They say there is nothing wrong with it and all should recognize it as “normal.” So they want no criticism of the subject which they see has “hate speech.” As Christians, we see this as a sinful lifestyle condemned as such in scripture (see Leviticus 18 and Romans 1). We are to love these sinners as Jesus did, but we are not to justify their lifestyle; rather we should attempt to convince them of the sinfulness of it and the need to change (5).
The subtle aspect of this is that God said to increase and multiply (Genesis 1:28). Genesis two also states that a man (Adam) should leave his parents and cleave to his wife (Eve). This relates to marriage. We hear much about civil unions and “gay” marriage. This is an attack on the holiness of what God designed from the beginning. Degrade marriage to a meaningless institution and God’s standards are also eliminated.
Capital punishment. There is another case before the Supreme Court to do away with capital punishment. The arguments for this are that an innocent person might be executed. DNA evidence has found that a number of people on death row were innocent. So let’s do away with this horrible situation, since many other nations have done so. What is not discussed is that DNA evidence works both ways; the guilt of an individual can be confirmed as well as the innocence. What is rarely discuss are the victims and the idea of justice for them. Christians are divided on this. Jesus stated that we are to love our enemies and we certainly do not want to put them to death. Others argue that actions have consequences and that the death penalty is a legitimate form of punishment.
The subtle aspect is found in the idea that we are created in God’s image and that when a man sheds another man’s blood, that is, murders another, then he pays the price with his life (Genesis 9:6). The context is found in the covenant God made with Noah and sealed with a rainbow. In December I saw a beautiful and well formed rainbow in Humble, Texas, which indicates that this is still active. However, if this is not the case, then we do not need God nor His justice.
Science. Not all science is opposed to God or is in conflict with Christianity. Yet some see the idea that God created the universe as an unprovable thesis. Intelligent design is criticized as just an attempt to teach religion to children. The idea is that matter is all there is and that man is an accident of evolution. Materialism is all there is.
Subtly, if God did not create the universe, then anything goes. One can believe anything or nothing, and one can live anyway they want. The famous atheists family, the Huxley’s, Thomas, Julian, and Aldous, held that to eliminate God meant they could be sexually immoral with as many people as they wanted. Though not all atheist agree with this, it does motive many people.
Environment. We all want a safe environment and we have a responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation. Global warming states that humans are responsible for the earth heating up and that draconian means are necessary to stop it. Man has the ability to do so, we are told. Christians recognize the cycles of warming and cooling that God has design and a number of scientists see that the sun has had more impact on this than some of the alarmists recognize (6).
The subtle thing here is that the earth becomes something to be worshipped. Some of the extreme views here include women who are voluntarily being sterilized so as not to pollute the earth with more humans. Others think that if we eliminate humanity from the planet. then it would be a wonderful thing. Be fruitful and multiply is sacrilegious to these people. God created a planet that is capable of holding billions of people and that God has given us the ability to use it to benefit all. This would include all material resources that are available such as oil.
Corporal punishment. Spanking children has come into question among some and a number of countries have outlawed it. Children should be allowed to do what they want. There is no thought of boundaries, of right and wrong, of yes and no. As Christians, we recognize that it is parents responsibility to raise children, not the government’s, and it is not child abuse to teach children about God. Setting boundaries is not child abuse, nor is spanking. Yes, because many do not have a basic ethical standard, child abuse is occurring, but it is not because the Bible suggests that. People sin and need to learn self-control and responsible behavior.
Subtly, child raising comes into question, especially as seen in Proverbs and Ephesians 6. Children are to be disciplined based on God’s standards. God too disciplines us (see Hebrews 12:10-11).
Each of these and more could be discussed. We could address the subject of poverty; is Caesar (government) better able to deal with it or are individuals and congregations? Katrina and the tsunami in the Indian Ocean showed the response of individuals and the difficulty of government response (7). Political correctness and multiculturalism needs to be address as well from a Christian perspective. Education and what is taught in schools, private and home schooling likewise can be discussed. Corporate welfare and greed is another subject. Both the religious right and left recognize some of the problems, though both offer different solutions. We do need to listen to each other and work together, but we also need to be careful not to develop an attitude of anger between us. I heard a brother, who opposed the war on terror and in Iraq in particular, expressed anger, and in my mind, hatred for the President. This was from a brother who talked about ‘loving our enemies!”
There are subtle influences and ideas behind many of the discussions we hear today. They are cleverly worded attacks on God and scripture. The idea is to deny that God is, or that He is in anyway active in His creation. It is to state that we can save ourselves and that we do not need a Savior. It is offering us other gods or no gods. It is stating that humans have the answer to all problems and we do not need anyone or the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to assist us. Some Christians are buying into some of these ideas without recognizing the philosophy or theology underlying the ideas.
Now I will admit that I am of the religious right and that my bias certainly effects my thoughts. I know that there are things that we need to recognize and consider from other perspectives. Over the next year I hope to address some of these in more detail. We do need to pray for our nation and the leaders that we are choosing, or in truth, that God will, in His will, choose for us and through us.
George B. Mearns
(1) Mr. Prager is a Jew, a radio talk show host, and a author.
(2) Among them are Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris.
(3) See Dinesh d’Souza What’s So Great About Christianity and Lee Strobel The Case for the Real Jesus.
(4) Cal Thomas, Tony Campolo, D. James Kennedy, Joel Hunter, Albert Mohler, and David Klinghoffer have or will release books on this topic. Os Guiness will release a book which touches on this as well.
(5) This is what Abilene Christian University attempted to do when the homosexual group, Soul Force, visited that campus. While they were not convinced to change, they were impressed by the attitude displayed.
(6) Mars is warming and as far as I know, there are no cars or humans there. Of course, it could be all those Martians that might be getting ready to invade earth (listen to Orson Wells radio broadcast in 1938, The War of the Worlds).
(7) When people talk about Katrina, they rarely mention that the news media might have contributed to the slow response by reporting every rumor such as snipers and criminals killing people. Government has a way of doing things and one has to follow the red tape less one violate the rules. The tsunami showed the U.S. military at its best in rescue and relief efforts where commanders were allowed to do their job without the need for every “I” dotted and every “T” crossed.