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An Evangelical Identity Crisis
An excellent Newsweek article on Politics and Christianity can be found at this URL:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15566654/site/newsweek/
This article brings up the question of what biblical issues should Christians be voting for?
Should we vote for caring for the poor and feeding the homeless or should we be voting for banning all abortions and blocking same sex marriages and putting in prison those who look at porn on the internet?
What issues is Jesus concerned about? This article questions whether we have lost our focus of mercy that Jesus so clearly teaches in Matthew 12:7 when he says, "If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent."
You can think of "sacrifice" as man-made rules or things we should not do (do nots), like not looking at nudity, or prohibiting stem-cell research, or prohibiting women from all kinds of abortion, including taking the birth control pill (The common birth control pill that millions of Christian women take, is technically a form of abortion because it stops the fertilized egg from attaching to the wall of the uterus after conception), and do not give illegal immigrants living in America amnesty.
And you can think of "mercy" as the things we should "do", like helping the poor, or giving amnesty to illegal aliens, and not imposing burdensome man-made rules on unbelievers (1 Corinthians 5:12).
Does Jesus care more about the "dos" or the "do nots"?
It seems the Democrats care more about the "dos" such as helping the poor. And the Republicans care more about the "do nots" such as convicting those who look at porn and blocking same sex marriages and banning abortions. So which issues are most important to God?
If we asked Jesus which issues he cares most about, He might respond by telling us the story found in Luke Chapter 10 verses 25 to 37. The passage goes like this:
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
Let's review what the Bible says about the social issues involved in tomorrow's election.
First there is the issue of abortion. If we are honest, Exodus 21:22-25, are the only verses in the Bible that address the issue of abortion. These verses describe where a man strikes a woman and causes her to deliver her baby. It is not clear what the punishment was if the baby was stillborn.
I know there is the verse in Jeremiah 1:5 that says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you."
If you read this verse carefully you will see that God said that "before I formed you in the womb I knew you." So if we are being honest this would mean before conception God knew us. This would mean that while we were still in the unfertilized egg and still in the sperm that God knew us. So does this mean that God gives a soul and spirit to all 300,000 unfertilized eggs that a young woman has, or to all the millions of sperm that men have?
No, this verse in Jeremiah 1:5, was not talking about when God gives humans a soul or a spirit. This verse has been taken way out of context.
This verse (Jeremiah 1:5) was written by Jeremiah to describe what God said to him. This verse is saying that God picked Jeremiah to be a prophet for a very special task. The verse is actually an introduction to the book of Jeremiah and introduces several verses of things that God said to Jeremiah.
Notice, God picked Jeremiah before he was even conceived. And I guarantee you that if God picks someone, like Jeremiah to do a special task here on earth, that no one will be able to stop that person from being born or from carrying out that job.
If we are honest, we as Christians need to admit that this verse shows that God is not limited by time, and God knows everything in the future, and God knows who will be born, and God loves us and cares about us, but it does not define when life begins. If anything, it indicates that life begins before conception, which we know is not true.
As Christians we should be honest and admit the Bible is not clear on this issue.
However we can say that our conscience tells us that abortion is wrong, after some point, and especially once the baby can live outside of the womb.
As Christians we should also admit, that from our own definition, that "life begins at conception (when the sperm meets the egg)", that millions of our Christian women who take the birth control pill, and who vocally oppose abortion, are aborting their babies by taking the birth control pill. And we need to admit that stem-cell research is no worse treatment to the fertilized egg than taking the birth control pill is.
As Christians we need to rethink this definition of "life begins at conception" and admit the Bible does not say this and that maybe it is ok to take the birth control pill and maybe stem-cell research is ok also. Remember Christ does not require "sacrifice" but "mercy".
Then there is same-sex marriage. God clearly condemns homosexuality in the Bible (Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:26, Deuteronomy 23:17; 1 Kings 14:24;15:12;22:46; 2 Kings 23:7).
As Christians our approach should be, clearly, that God says homosexuality is wrong and so we will vote against same-sex marriage.
Then there is the issue of illegal immigrants. The Bible is obviously silent on this except that we should show mercy. The merciful thing to do would be to first build a fence so no more illegal aliens can enter America, and then give amnesty to those illegal aliens who have been here for years, and then set up a legal way for Latin workers to come into the US and work.
And then there is the issue of prayer in schools. I am the son of a faith missionary who lived off the GI bill after World War II and raised a family of 8 without every asking anyone for money. My Dad's life rates with that of the David Livingston's in Christendom. As a missionary family we spent all summer and most other holidays visiting village churches in Mexico. We would have daily vacation Bible school for the kids in the morning, and then my parents would visit homes in the afternoon and then we would have a big meeting with singing and a movie and preaching at night.
Needless to say I knew as a young boy of 8 or 9 what a personal relationship with Christ was. I could see the difference between religion and a real relationship with God.
So at the age of 8 or 9 it is no wonder that when I heard the morning prayer come over the intercom system in the public school I attended, it was no wonder that I thought, "Why are they praying a prayer over the intercom. These unbelieving kids will think that those prayers is what Christianity is about and they will never want to get saved."
I sensed at an early age that forcing kids to listen to a prayer was not what God would want. It simply would turn off the kids to God. I have heard that in Europe people are cold to the church because for centuries the people were taxed with the money going to the church and now people still associate church with the forced taxation.
Forced religion does not further the Kingdom of God. Instead of prayer in schools, why not have a moment of silence and prayer so that each individual can pray silently? This also would save our kids from having to listen to Muslim prayers and other prayers that we would find offensive.
Then there is the issue of the Ten Commandments. The Bible does teach that we should honor God and respect the laws of God. And our nation was founded on Biblical principles. On the other hand we do live in a democracy and not a theocracy. But I would think out of respect for our heritage that our secular society would allow the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public places. It certainly is worth pleading in a loving way with our unbelieving fellow citizens to ask them to allow the display of the Ten Commandments in public places.
Then there is the issue of porn. Christian leaders have defined porn as anything erotic. "Erotic" means anything that might cause someone to have an increase in sexual desire.
There is no verse in the Bible condemning "erotic" materials. In fact Song of Solomon, a book of the bible is an erotic story.
There is also no verse in the Bible condemning looking at nudity. Matthew 5:28 is used to justify a Biblical position condemning admiring the beauty of a woman, but the verse is actually referring to coveting a married woman.
Simply condemning everything erotic because it might cause an increase in sexual desire, is not Biblical.
As Christians what we should be condemning, is stories and movies and videos and pictures that promote or condone immorality, that took immoral conduct to create, that take God's name in vain, or that promote violence or other immoral conduct.
We should also advise folks to not become obsessed with looking at nudity because, like any other obsession, it can become counter productive.
As Christians we should admit the truth that while erotic materials can be misused in some situations, the Bible does not condemn erotic materials, and in fact actually has an example (i.e. Song Of Solomon). And we as Christians should recognize that moral erotic materials can be used to help marriages.
Then there are the many verses in the Bible which teach that God wants us to help the poor. (Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 12:33, Luke 14:13, Luke 14:21, Luke 18:22, Luke 18:22, Acts 10:5, Acts 10:31, Acts 24:17, Romans 15:26, 1 Corinthians 13:3, Galatians 2:10, James 2:2, James 2:3, James 2:5, James 2:6.
Notice the list of verses on helping the poor dwarfs the list of verses on most of the other issues.
As Christians we should recognize that helping the poor is the big issue to God. This is an issue that we should take seriously.
As Christians we need to remember one of the last things Jesus said. It is recorded in Matthew 25 verses 41 to 46. It is a warning that those who do not care about the poor will go to hell. It reads:
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
So which issues are the most important?
I am going to vote Republican but I'm not too pleased with how our Christian leaders get Christians to give billions of dollars of Gods money to their causes which impose far harsher rules on people than God does in the Bible, while neglecting the good works and hindering the spreading of the Gospel that we are called as Christians to do.
We need to call upon our Christian leaders to ease up on issues that God is not clear about in the Bible, and admit the truth that those issues are opinions and are not spelled out clearly in Gods word.
Because those legalistic issues are giving God a bad name and they are hindering the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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