Scriptures teach consistently that faith comes through the proclamation of the gospel, not through good works. Christ himself was not arrested and arraigned because he was trying to restore family values or feed the poor...The mounting ire of the religious leaders toward Jesus coalesced around him making himself equal with God and forgiving sins in his own person, directly, over against the temple and its sacrificial system. Michael Horton
My previous blog was a warning against mixing pulpits and politics. I
feel even more strongly so this week. A few days ago an aged Billy
Graham allegedly came out in support of (Mormon) presidential hopeful
Mitt Romney, calling all Christians (read evangelicals) to vote for him
in the upcoming election. There are so many things wrong about this.
Frankly, it just doesn’t sound like something the Billy Graham we have
come to know and admire would do or say, especially in this final season
of his very long life. I’m guessing that the 93-year old evangelist
and his reputation are being exploited by right-wing politicos and
certain key family members. Whatever is really going on in the
backrooms, it is further proof of the Republican captivity of the
contemporary evangelical church.
For decades Billy Graham has been the quintessential hero of a
trans-partisan evangelicalism. He has stood on an ecumenical platform to
proclaim a biblically-faithful and Christ-centered Gospel worldwide,
and backed up his message with a life of exemplary morality and gracious
statesmanship. In recognition of his achievements and personal
charisma, he has been catapulted up into the role of spiritual
confidante to numerous United States presidents since the 1940s.
For the most part he has conducted himself as a religious statesman
through these years, lending a spiritual tone to many American
administrations. His one horrible stumble was to be discovered on tape
affirming some of the anti-Semitic prejudices of then-president Richard
Nixon. Duly chastened by this egregious gaffe and the lack of moral
courage it seemed to display, Graham distanced himself thereafter from
alignment with politicians and their agendas. This is the image of a
chastened Graham that emerges in his official biography, Just as I Am
(1997). In his latest and possibly last book, Nearing Home (2011), which
won the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association 2012 Book of the
Year award, we discover an irenic spiritual giant at peace with his own
soul and looking forward to eternity. Continue at Glen G. Scorgie
I know. I was surprised at the notion myself. A tireless champion of
Civil Rights, a participant of the Niagra Movement and one of the
founders of the NAACP, one would expect DuBois to argue the moral
responsibility of voting–particularly for a people recently
disenfranchised.
But in a piece entitled, “Why I Won’t Vote,”
delivered on October 20, 1956, DuBois made an eloquent case for not
voting at all. The entire speech really should be read; it’s haunting
in its description themes and tensions in 1956 that could as easily
apply to 2012. DuBois begins with a kind of biography of his voting
record:
Since I was twenty-one in 1889, I have in theory followed
the voting plan strongly advocated by Sidney Lens in The Nation of
August 4, i.e., voting for a third party even when its chances were
hopeless, if the main parties were unsatisfactory; or, in absence of a
third choice, voting for the lesser of two evils. My action, however,
had to be limited by the candidates’ attitude toward Negroes. Of my
adult life, I have spent twenty-three years living and teaching in the
South, where my voting choice was not asked. I was disfranchised by law
or administration. In the North I lived in all thirty-two years,
covering eight Presidential elections. In 1912 I wanted to support
Theodore Roosevelt, but his Bull Moose convention dodged the Negro
problem and I tried to help elect Wilson as a liberal Southerner. Under
Wilson came the worst attempt at Jim Crow legislation and discrimination
in civil service that we had experienced since the Civil War. In 1916 I
took Hughes as the lesser of two evils. He promised Negroes nothing and
kept his word. In 1920, I supported Harding because of his promise to
liberate Haiti. In 1924, I voted for La Follette, although I knew he
could not be elected. In 1928, Negroes faced absolute dilemma. Continue at Gospel Coalition
This is a fantastic book on the parallels between today’s society in America and that of Nazi Germany.
The author takes a chilling look into the
similarities between the life, culture, politics, and mindset of the
populace in Nazi Germany and how we are seeing history begin to repeat
itself (as it often does) today.
Here’s the book’s description:
“According to Dr. Lutzer, the German people’s progression
from civility to barbarity was not extraordinary yet the Nazi regime
will forever serve as an example of brutality and extreme racism run
amok. More than a few benchmarks from their transition can be observed
in present day American society. This book does not suggest the United
States is definitely marching toward authoritarian oblivion, but that we
— especially we believers — must take note of these lessons from
history and be vigilant in our stand for truth, justice, and
righteousness.”
This book serves as not only a history lesson, but as a warning for where we’re headed. Here is a quote from the book:
. . . [L]aws making education in public schools
compulsory have historically been found in the most totalitarian of
governments where state-sponsored indoctrination was a major goal of the
educational system. Although it is still legal to homeschool children
in America, we can’t assume that freedom will continue. . . . The
children in [Nazi] Germany were subjected to films that presented the
Nazis’ view that the Jews were subhuman and that they were an
unnecessary burden on society. Darwin’s evolutionary notions were also
presented in the classroom to extol the virtues of the Aryan race (the
Germans) and that the evolutionary idea of survival of the fittest could
be hurried along by the extermination of the weak. Since only the
fittest survive it makes good sense that “might makes right.” Hitler
asked, “Why can’t we be as cruel as nature?” Continue at Pilgrim
What follows is an article I wrote for the current issue ofTableTalk—my
favorite monthly periodical. You should subscribe if you're not already
a subscriber. Also, heads up: You won't want to miss"The Pursuit of Holiness: An Interview with Jerry Bridges"in the January edition.
"You are the salt of the earth . . . . You are the light of the world
. . . . Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your
good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:13-16).
That
text is often cited as if it were a mandate for the church to engage in
political activism—lobbying, rallying voters, organizing protests, and
harnessing the evangelical movement for political clout. I recently
heard a well-known evangelical leader say, "We need to make our voices
heard in the voting booth, or we're not being salt and light the way
Jesus commanded."
That view is pervasive. Say the phrase "salt
and light" and the typical evangelical starts talking politics as if by
Pavlovian reflex.
But look at Jesus' statement carefully in its
context. He was not drumming up boycotts, protests, or a political
campaign. He was calling His disciples to holy living.
The
salt-and-light discourse is the culminating paragraph of the
introduction to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. It comes immediately after
the beatitudes. Jesus was pronouncing a formal blessing on the key
traits of authentic godliness.
What's most notable about the
beatitudes is that the qualities Jesus blesses are not the same
attributes the world typically thinks are worthy of praise. The world glorifies power and dominion; force and physical strength; status and class. By contrast, Jesus
blesses humility, meekness, mercy, mourning, purity of heart, and even
persecution for righteousness' sake. Collectively, those qualities are
the polar opposite of political clout and partisan power. Keep Reading >>>
In our current culture, especially as we are heading into the next
election cycle, moral questions are being hotly debated and people are
looking to to political leaders to solve these problems. For example,
perhaps the two mostly controversial subjects are the definition of
marriage and the issue of abortion.
Everyday, we hear news reports of
organizations petitioning political leaders for changes to these laws.
Everyday, state governments pass, or attempt to pass, a law that will
define marriage as either traditional, being between one man and one
woman, or redefining it to include same sex couples. Abortion laws
continued to be hotly contested as states pass laws that require women
be informed of a baby’s development or the use of ultrasound to show
them the child. Yet, efforts to extend personhood rights are being
denied due to political machinations.
As we see cultural diversity, political correctness, pluralism,
post-modern and secular humanism spread throughout, and erode, the
culture, Christians rightly see the damage this does to the
understanding of the word of God. Additionally, because these concepts
demand that Christians capitulate their exclusivist position, which we
are often unwilling to do, Christians are often seen as obstacles to
unity within the culture. We recognize that the culture is moving to a
point where Christianity could conceivably be seen as a threat. The
further the culture takes this perception, the greater the possibility
that one day Christianity could be outlawed. Therefore, Christians are
rightly seeing a growing threat to the practice of our faith and,
ultimately, the moral degradation of a country in rebellion to God. Keep Reading >>>
While Dever may serve a church on Capitol Hill, he does not commonly address issues of Christianity and government so directly. But as an expository preacher working his way through the Gospel of Mark, Dever obligated himself to address Jesus’ teaching in Mark 12:13-17. In these days of overheated rhetoric and protest rallies, I pray that evangelicals will set aside 70 minutes to listen to Dever’s sermon. Much of the wisdom expressed here echoes the forthcoming book City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era, written by Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner, with a foreword by Tim Keller. We need to hear from the best evangelical thinkers about a faithful, biblical approach to politics. Perhaps I can help the cause by summarizing four pages of notes I scribbled from Dever’s sermon. Read it all HERE
He may well be the world's most famous Sunday School teacher, but over just the last several years he has publicly expressed his rejection of the belief that persons must come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in order to be saved. He has also stated that his faith would not be shaken if Jesus did not perform some of the miracles attributed to him in the New Testament. His denial of biblical inerrancy is not merely theoretical -- he actually operates on the assumption that at least some texts of the Bible are false, untruthful, malignantly oppressive, and thus untrustworthy.
President Carter actually makes no argument for women as pastors. He simply dismisses out of hand what the Christian church has believed for centuries -- and what the vast majority of Christians around the world believe even now. His argument should embarrass any serious person who considers this question, for it is grounded in little more than his own sense of how things ought to be. He makes claims about the Bible that are reckless and irresponsible and historical claims that would make any credible church historian blush. He straightforwardly rejects what he admits some texts of the Bible teach. Read the rest HERE
I've done a lot of reading about "Isa" and Islam in the last 24 hours, but I have not reached a definite conclusion about what Rick Warren actually prayed. I guess if we could ask Rick what he actually intended in his prayer we would have a clear answer. Below are two links that deal with the Inaugural prayer - one is from "The Phoenix Preacher" and the other is from "Team Pyro".
I listened to the Inauguration Service today on my MP3 player while I was walking from car to car doing my job. From 7:30am to 10:30am I listened to CBC Radio and heard many interviews about this Historic event in the US of A. I don't know what it is but I can really get "into" American politics. I think what draws me to American politics is that they appear to be more interested in acknowledging God, at least at every Inauguration Service, than does Canada.
In spite of all the negative things we have heard about Barack Obama in the past few months (from various Christians) regarding his Worldview on certain issues, and rightly so, I was impressed with his Inaugural speech. He was "preaching" his convictions very forcefully. We have to remember what Proverbs 21:1-3 tells us: (ESV)"21:1 The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. 2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. 3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice."
As for Rick Warrens prayer - I thank God that he had the intestinal fortitude to close his prayer in the Name of Jesus. As a result of his prayer today and the negative feedback he's receiving from some of the bloggers out there, I have unsubscribed them from my Google Reader. I don't see eye to eye with many of the things that Warren stands for, but I have to give credit where credit is due. His prayer included many of the things that I would have prayed had I been asked. Did he preach the gospel? No, BUT he invoked the name of Jesus at the end of the prayer and it was clearly understood throughout his prayer that he was praying to the God of the Christian Scriptures. I've been painfully reminded lately of how easy it is to always be in a "critical" mode when we deal with people who do not see things the way we do, and the Scripture that the Lord has hit me with is Philippians 1:14-18 (ESV)"1:14 And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of rivalry, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way,
whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed
, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice..."
Below is Rick Warrens prayer as per YouTube:
Let us Pray Almighty God, our Father, everything we see, and everything we cant see, exists because of You alone. It all comes from You, it all belongs to You, it all exists for you glory. History is your story. Scripture tells us hear oh Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One; and You are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made. Now today, we rejoice not only in Americas peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time. We celebrate a hinge-point of history with the inauguration of our first African American President of the United States (Cheers). We are so grateful to live in this land. A land of unequal possibility. Where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven. Give to our new President, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him; his family, Vice President Biden, the cabinet; and every one of our freely elected leaders. Help us oh God to remember that we are Americans; united not by race or religion or blood; but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all. When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us; when we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone; forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us. And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes, even when we differ. Help us to share, to serve, and to seek the common good of all. May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just a more healthy and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day, all nations and all people will stand accountable before you. We now commit our new President, and his wife Michelle, and his daughters, Malia, Natasha, into your loving care.
I humbly ask this in the name of the One who changed my life, Jeshua, Esau, Jesus,
who taught us to pray, Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen
