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Tag Archives: politics and religion
Jesus: A Political Asset?
The only way to get the Republican party to stop their religious posturing and work with the Democrats to solve some serious problems is to purge the party of the extremists on the religious right. (more…)
Jesus as the Model for Intolerance in the Public Square
Matt Walsh identifies himself as a “blogger, writer, speaker, and professional truth sayer.” What I cannot determine from his blog is whether he is a Christian. For the purposes of what I want to say, however, it doesn’t really matter, because he has quite a following among Christians, especially those who lean toward the religious right. The following is an excerpt from an article Mr. Walsh posted on his blog in response to President Obama’s executive action on immigration. A fellow Christian called it to my attention.
Dear President Obama, Lord, Sultan, Emperor, Pharaoh, Caesar, God-king, Prince of the Americas, whatever we’re supposed to call you. ‘President’ alone simply won’t suffice, will it, Your Grace? We had a thing called a president once, but that lowly office could scarcely contain your Majesty. You found that you couldn’t effectively govern while constrained by the rule of law, so you superseded it, just as you’ve done countless times before. This time you are waving your mighty scepter and magically granting defacto citizenship to millions of illegal aliens.
Incredibly, even after all of the scandals, corruption, lies, and deceits; even after this past week when we learned about the depth of your Obamacare deception; even after using the IRS to target your political opponents; even after letting your ambassador die in Benghazi and lying about it afterwards; even after dividing the nation and exploiting racial tensions for your own gain; even after six years of incompetence, dishonesty, conspiracy, and illegality; even after every law you’ve flouted, promise you’ve broken, and lie you’ve told, you still found a way to top yourself. In refusing to enforce our borders and uphold our immigration laws, you are now guilty of the most profound presidential power grab since Abraham Lincoln. This is a landmark moment, and I’m sure you’re proud of that fact.
Preachers, Prophets, and Pissin’ Contests (Conclusion)
In Part 1, I argued that the church’s engagement in the culture war is subverting its own mission. I proposed that we have not been called to preach “biblical morality” to unbelievers apart from our evangelistic effort, and that our habit of doing so is simply a tradition of Christendom in the West. One response I often get is, “What about John the Baptist’s condemnation of Herod?” or “What about Jonah’s preaching to Nineveh?” These are good questions, but my own understanding of texts like these comes from my understanding of the overall biblical narrative. So before I address these questions, we need a narrative context. (more…)
Preachers, Prophets and Pissin’ Contests (Part 2)
My plea in Part 1 was for Christians to withdraw from the culture war, and especially the political dimension of that war. Several individuals have responded to this by pointing that the American War of Independence was born and nurtured in the colonial churches. They claim that colonial pastors such as Jonas Clark, James Caldwell and others were key leaders in the American Revolutionary War. The Reverend John Muhlenberg is quoted as saying, “There is a time to preach and a time to pray. But there is also a time to fight, and that time has now come!” This group of pastoral patriots is known as “The Black Robed Regiment.” (more…)
Preachers, Prophets and Pissin’ Contests (Part 1)
The religious liberty of Christians is once again being infringed upon by the government. Same play, different cast. In the latest remake of this epic tale, the role of the emperor Nero is being played by the mayor of Houston. It seems the city of Houston passed an immoral law. Area churches embarked on a noisy campaign to get the law repealed, the first step of which was a petition and signature drive. They needed a certain number of signatures for a referendum, and they ended up getting more than enough. The city claims, however, that the petition did not comply with the rules, and therefore rejected it. No referendum. Several pastors have filed a lawsuit against the city of Houston. In a quest for evidence that the pastors were lying about issues pertaining to the petition campaign, the city issued subpoenas for certain church communication records. Initially, the subpoenas demanded the sermons of the five pastors involved in the signature drive. (more…)
Fightin' Words 