Do you think it's ironic that the church wants our government to be small when it comes to our money but big when it comes to enforcing our beliefs?
Is it hypocritical that we vote based on values but spend our money based on value?
Do we really think the only place the Spirit can move in this country is in a voting booth?
Why do we depend on the law instead of the Spirit?
Why do we spend so much time arguing and so little time helping?
Why do we get irate instead of getting involved?
Does the separation of church and state prevent our faith from leaving the building?
If you only love people who agree with you, do you really love anyone but yourself?
Is it logically possible to correct arrogance in anyone other than yourself?
If the climactic event in all of Christian history culminated in the death of the Son of God, why do His followers still have such a problem with defeat?
Good questions I have in my head, too. Must say that sometimes Christians are the HARDEST people to figure out.
ReplyDeleteSteph
Bill and I would like you to elaborate on question one. We get the second part- but are a little fuzzy on the second...
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm fuzzy either about the first part of your question or the second. :)
ReplyDeleteBut I'll assume you got the part about people (Republican people, anyway) wanting small government when it came to our money--we want them to leave our money alone and stay out of our business (literally, I mean). Our taxes and our government programs should be minimal--I agree with it in principal, but it's not the Bible.
On the other hand, we want the government to enforce the Bible. We want the words constitutional and biblical to be as similar as possible and we want the government to see that biblical ideals are upheld throughout society. We want a capitalist economy but a socialist morality. Essentially, the church doesn't want to work to make America a Christian nation, we want the government to give it to us.
We want our TV free of the obscene--but we don't want to put forth the effort to ensure good people are providing good content. We want the government to force the content to be . . . not offensive. We don't want to have to tell our kids not to watch TV--we want the government to make sure they can watch from dawn till 9 without Dora dropping f-bombs.
We don't want to have to teach our kids personally what a load of crap radiometric dating is; that the margins of error are ridiculously large; that the scientific community can only verify the accuracy of artifacts no older than recorded human history; that the rest of their dating methods are based primarily on theory and educated guesses and not at all on controlled testing . . . we don't want to have teach them that, we want the government to teach them that.
We panic when the government threatens to introduce unbiblical laws or refuses to introduce biblical ones. The reason, I believe, is that we want for there to be a smaller difference between the behaviors of those of us who believe in Christ and those who do not. We want the people who follow the laws of the United States of America to closely resemble the people who follow the law of the Spirit. Because when that happens, we can feel comfortable being surrounded by nonbelievers. They look enough like us, talk enough like us, and act enough like us to make us feel like we've done our jobs as Christians simply by being good Americans. It's spiritual welfare.
With our spiritual plan, the evil are forced to act good . . . and the church gives to the government what is rightly ours--the responsibility to do the work of Christ. And as usual, the government does an inferior job.
This might sound like leftist rambling, but it goes the other way just as well. It would be very easy to equate voting Democrat with showing compassion to the less fortunate and then feel like the job has been done.
So what's my point? I think it's good when the government goes in synch with the church, but just because this is America doesn't mean we're entitled to that. I love this country, but I love the church more. I think God can use us to do what the government won't. I don't think we should rely on the government to enforce mock righteousness any more than we should rely on them to carry out mock compassion.
Is that elaborate enough? :)
Adam, I love you man! I need to print out what you wrote to let it sink in, man I miss this kind of mind, heart, soul stimulation. I would, rather, enjoy a sit down with you, a kitchen table discussion. Come out to Colorado brother, breath in the thin air, get out of Indiana for awhile, bring the family, climb the rockies.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to figure out, why after 2000 years, we the corporate members of the church, continue to take the ol two step forward, ten steps backward. I think, as one Dr. (pastor) told me, cause we're people, imperfect, finite creatures. Even so, if a goon like me cab survey Christendom in America and think along the same lines as you, then we need more than a revival, we need to be stripped of all of our pressuppositons of what we think the church should be in America and the world. I think about Jesus speaking to the seven church's, what would he say to us, collectively and what would He say to me individually.
Adam, your elaborations are meat for a book, addressed to us Christians, but would we get the nerve to read it, would we want to be changed as God intended us from the inside out. Why America can not and should not be a Christian nation, if it is forced upon us, it history repeating itself, a la the Roman Empire and legalized Christianity.
It also boils down to different theology camps. I faced something similiar ten years ago in Florida about one camp, similiar to how the church wants the gov't to intervene on goodness, morality, so that they can usher in the Kingdom for God. The other camp, one that I endorse, it that I can not force a law onto a citizen and expect them to obey God's law. I can tell other people about Jesus, what he did for us and let the Spirit of God take it from there. I think God does all the work, my part is the telling and hopefully showing. I'm a Christian, in all the biblical terms, how could I endorse the gov't to provide the platform for the Great Commission.
Anyway, I didn't want to ramble, just wish you lived next store and we can sit on the front porch and discuss these topics. Dang it all.
Thanks, Bill. I wouldn't mind being in Colorado, either. It's been almost exactly ten years since our last excursion there, and I don't know when the next time will be.
ReplyDeleteSave me some porch, just in case.
Personally I think the TWO of you should sit down and each write out your ideas. And Adam- our door is always open to you and the fam. We would love to have you and yes we do have a Major League Baseball team. So no worries!
ReplyDeleteAdam, I love you man! I need to print out what you wrote to let it sink in, man I miss this kind of mind, heart, soul stimulation. I would, rather, enjoy a sit down with you, a kitchen table discussion. Come out to Colorado brother, breath in the thin air, get out of Indiana for awhile, bring the family, climb the rockies.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to figure out, why after 2000 years, we the corporate members of the church, continue to take the ol two step forward, ten steps backward. I think, as one Dr. (pastor) told me, cause we're people, imperfect, finite creatures. Even so, if a goon like me cab survey Christendom in America and think along the same lines as you, then we need more than a revival, we need to be stripped of all of our pressuppositons of what we think the church should be in America and the world. I think about Jesus speaking to the seven church's, what would he say to us, collectively and what would He say to me individually.
Adam, your elaborations are meat for a book, addressed to us Christians, but would we get the nerve to read it, would we want to be changed as God intended us from the inside out. Why America can not and should not be a Christian nation, if it is forced upon us, it history repeating itself, a la the Roman Empire and legalized Christianity.
It also boils down to different theology camps. I faced something similiar ten years ago in Florida about one camp, similiar to how the church wants the gov't to intervene on goodness, morality, so that they can usher in the Kingdom for God. The other camp, one that I endorse, it that I can not force a law onto a citizen and expect them to obey God's law. I can tell other people about Jesus, what he did for us and let the Spirit of God take it from there. I think God does all the work, my part is the telling and hopefully showing. I'm a Christian, in all the biblical terms, how could I endorse the gov't to provide the platform for the Great Commission.
Anyway, I didn't want to ramble, just wish you lived next store and we can sit on the front porch and discuss these topics. Dang it all.
Well, I'm fuzzy either about the first part of your question or the second. :)
ReplyDeleteBut I'll assume you got the part about people (Republican people, anyway) wanting small government when it came to our money--we want them to leave our money alone and stay out of our business (literally, I mean). Our taxes and our government programs should be minimal--I agree with it in principal, but it's not the Bible.
On the other hand, we want the government to enforce the Bible. We want the words constitutional and biblical to be as similar as possible and we want the government to see that biblical ideals are upheld throughout society. We want a capitalist economy but a socialist morality. Essentially, the church doesn't want to work to make America a Christian nation, we want the government to give it to us.
We want our TV free of the obscene--but we don't want to put forth the effort to ensure good people are providing good content. We want the government to force the content to be . . . not offensive. We don't want to have to tell our kids not to watch TV--we want the government to make sure they can watch from dawn till 9 without Dora dropping f-bombs.
We don't want to have to teach our kids personally what a load of crap radiometric dating is; that the margins of error are ridiculously large; that the scientific community can only verify the accuracy of artifacts no older than recorded human history; that the rest of their dating methods are based primarily on theory and educated guesses and not at all on controlled testing . . . we don't want to have teach them that, we want the government to teach them that.
We panic when the government threatens to introduce unbiblical laws or refuses to introduce biblical ones. The reason, I believe, is that we want for there to be a smaller difference between the behaviors of those of us who believe in Christ and those who do not. We want the people who follow the laws of the United States of America to closely resemble the people who follow the law of the Spirit. Because when that happens, we can feel comfortable being surrounded by nonbelievers. They look enough like us, talk enough like us, and act enough like us to make us feel like we've done our jobs as Christians simply by being good Americans. It's spiritual welfare.
With our spiritual plan, the evil are forced to act good . . . and the church gives to the government what is rightly ours--the responsibility to do the work of Christ. And as usual, the government does an inferior job.
This might sound like leftist rambling, but it goes the other way just as well. It would be very easy to equate voting Democrat with showing compassion to the less fortunate and then feel like the job has been done.
So what's my point? I think it's good when the government goes in synch with the church, but just because this is America doesn't mean we're entitled to that. I love this country, but I love the church more. I think God can use us to do what the government won't. I don't think we should rely on the government to enforce mock righteousness any more than we should rely on them to carry out mock compassion.
Is that elaborate enough? :)