Justice Sunday
Justice Sunday
WOAH!!!!!!!!!!! Justice Sunday! Have you guys heard about this?!?!?! Apparently this Sunday tomorrow at 7:00PM- 8:30PM there will be simulcast at Highview Baptist Church
( http://www.highviewbaptist.org/) on trying to engage Christians concerning the filibustering by democrats in the Senate concerning appointment Bush’s judicial nominees This is amazingly interesting that it going to be a simulcast to address Christians on the issue! I am still not exactly sure how I feel about this, but I know this is big news for Evangelical Christians and for people who care about the cultural war going on in this country!
Making things more interesting Senator Bill Frist is going to be on the show. If you check out yahoo news you can see people are already upset saying that he is mingling Religion and Politics. You know the next liberal war cry will be violation of Church and State! He is being accused by the left of “pandering to the religious right”. Not only that he is being a sent a petition by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee not to politicize faith. I actually confess I do not know much about Frist and can not make informed opinion on what I think about him but I think its interesting again how the left are saying disassociate yourself with religion! That is the thing that he and others are taking a stand on! That strong personal beliefs should not disqualify you from public service! That is just plain prejudice and bigotry to say you can not have certain job because of who you are and what you believe!!!!! It is amazing how some in this country want to twist the concept of freedom of religion to mean you can not express religion! That is why freedom of religion was so dear to the United States and our American history and heritage! It is completely amazing to me how the same people who preach universal tolerance of absolutely EVERYTHING are so completely intolerant when it comes to people having strong convictions and faith! We are not talking Jesus Christ, or Sola Scriptura, or One Way we are talking about something as general as people acting on convictions! It seems like the left is saying we don’t want anybody with CONVICTIONS because that makes them biased! How incredibly intolerant is that! From the same people who preach that the only sin that exist is that of intolerance! And they call religious people hypocrites!
It is an interesting it major battle in the culture war in the country. It is also nice to see Evangelicals standing up against the religious discrimination in the government. I still have a few reservations if this is the right way. It is interesting too that it is in support of a Catholic nominee showing that it is not about an evangelical agenda being pushed! This is something that we need to have our eye on for so many reasons. Never before has a filibuster been used this way to block a nominee! What happens next will be interesting. Democrats are already threatening to respond by shutting down the government like the Republicans did back in the day during the Clinton years. So if we are able to end the filibuster for blocking nominees then what? Will some one just make a law against all filibustering how will this change the political landscape? Will it give the party in power too much power or does it do something necessary to end needless road blocks for accomplishing the will of the people in the legislature?
Another issue that must be dealt with is what is the Christian response to something like ‘Justice Sunday’. Honestly, I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand I am happy to see Evangelicals taking a stand and engaging the culture and a nation. But here is what scares me is this Conservative Christianity making an alliance with a certain political party? It seems like they are just standing up against judicial tyranny and religious discrimination that has been too prevalent in the government. But can we do that with out making an unholy alliance with a political party? I seriously want to know what you think. Please leave a comment on this or anything else from this blog.(btw anyone can post a comment you don’t have to be blogger since I know a few were wondering) It raises another question how can Christians responsibly engage the political world with out making God a political party member? How do we engage the dirty world of politics while keeping ourselves clean and not tarnishing our faith as we do it? It seems often like our choice is always the lesser of two evils in politics how can we avoid endorsing any evil big or small.(theological yes I know no sin is bigger than the next so that intensifies our problem of not supporting anything evil even if it is “lesser”) Like I said I don’t think this is an alliance of the Republican party and Christianity but you know what that is not how the rest of the world thinks of it! They often view the religious right as group of people that are being used by Republicans. So what is our response to that?
Lastly, I want to ask as Christians with Justice Sunday in the news do we realize it is an Evangelism opportunity. There is going to be all kinds of liberal backlash to what is going on. People will probably be angry with the religious right for trying to interfere with politics and the direction this country is headed. As a Southern Baptist I can imagine trying to explain to people why people like Al Mohler are involved and why is the simulcast being broadcasted in a church going to churches. That gives Christians lots to explain. You know you will hear things about the “separation of church and state.” It is an opportunity to remind people that it was Christians who came up with idea of the separation of church and state and that was not because any secular state said so. It is an opportunity so say why we believe what we believe. That people should not be denied a job because they have convictions! We can also be ready to explain why we have convictions. That there is a difference between right and wrong. Not a subjective difference that is culturally produced but an objective difference that we can know by the law given to all mankind by a sovereign, authoritative Lord of all creation. Truth too is not relative. Truth is really knowable and that truth is a person. His name is Jesus Christ! (John 14:6) 1 Peter 3:15 says …be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that in you… Peter was telling this to the persecuted church during the Emperor Nero‘s reign to be ready to explain to the world why they had hope when the rest of the world would think they should be sad wretches due to their persecution. The world at that time thought they should have no hope. Can we explain to the world that thinks we should not have any convictions or real reason to believe in an objective understanding of right and wrong as we well as truth when it goes against the flow and may cause us not to agree with everyone, or be politically incorrect or make any sense in the world’s eyes? To the world that can not discern their left hand from their right.
For More on Justice Sunday see:
Family Research Council
https://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=EV05D03
or from Highview Baptist Church
http://highviewbaptist.org/
or yahoo news
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?
posted by John @ 2:03 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Again, John! Excellent thoughts. You are more and more articulate everytime I read you!
I appreciate you letting people see your struggle. I too struggle with the issue of making an unholy alliance. Do I agree that judicial tyranny is a problem? Absolutely. Here is my struggle.
Is it really a loving thing to do to work to make the world, particularly America, a "better" place to live, while, of necessity to accomplsh the task, making an alliance with other so-called Christians that deny the very gospel that will heal people's only REAL need - eternity.
My friend Steve Camp commented at great length about this on his web ministry - audienceone.org.
I also commented (mullinsmusings.blogspot.com) Monday on the need for leaders to clearly take the lead and not confuse people regarding the essential heart of the gospel. When someone who has stood so boldly in the past for the gospel, like Mohler for example, joins hands with a blantant compromiser like Dobson, it sends a very confusing message to the people he tries to lead. Are we compromising the gospel by "being unequally yoked" with Catholics and other who deny the very Gospel of grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone?
What do you think?
Thanks for responding Dave, I really wanted some dialog on this one.
Yeah its a tough issue thanks for bringing up the part about being unequally yoked. I am still not sure where my convictions are on this issue. We diffently share alot of common interest with political conservatives and Catholics on issues like Judicial Tyranny, Marriage and Abortion. So my main concern is how do we work with them but not become some sort of peice of a conservative pie. There are tons of conservative's we can't agree with too like some Ultra Libertarin views.
One thing I am also concerned about is Evangelicals also inadvertantly writting Political Conservatives a blank check. And just plain letting them get away things that we need to call them out on.
So I definately don't have not everything all worked out. Like you said Dave I would never want to compromise the Gospel at the expense of politics!
The only thing I can think to say is we as Christian need to engage politics but not drag Christianity through the mud of politics. How this is done I still dont know.
Anyway to try to answer your question I dont think we are being unequally yoked when we work Catholics or other political conservatives but we must be careful not identify with them. Some how we need to draw a line between collaboration and identificiation. Thats difficult as I sit here typing both those words I wonder how. But I know we can't as Evangelicals lose our identity as a group of people who support a conservation agenda and be a peice of a Conservative confederation.
Random thoughts as I am typing: maybe we could do that by doing a better job of calling conservative politians out when they too arent doing whats right. SHowing we are not a subdivision of the consevative political world and that we just plain stand for Biblical based morals and truth. Well those are some thoughts for the moment.
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