\nAll,\n<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nIt's been about one election (two years, that is) since I last posted here, and the developments of this election campaign have led me, once again, to feel compelled to put my thoughts on paper (virtual though it may be).\n<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nI am of course concerned about the election itself and its potential to
\nend the long nightmare of the Bush presidency, not to mention the
\nsavage, crony capitalism that has become the hallmark of Republican
\nrule. But a different concern motivates me in posting this, now, on
\nthis particular site. And my concern, or rather my question, is this:
\nwhen did Christ ever instruct His Church to be God's Gestapo?\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nLet me elaborate. The last time I checked, the New Testament tells us
\n(and I paraphrase slightly) that \"the law was given through Moses;
\ngrace and truth, however, came through Jesus Christ.\" And \"the law
\nshall not rule over you, because you are not under the law; rather, you
\nare under grace.\" Now if we as Christians are truly thankful to God, as
\nwe should be, for salvation by grace through faith and the accompanying
\nfreedom from condemnation under the law, then what in God's name (I say
\nthat without irony) could possibly lead us to believe that we should
\nbecome lawgivers in God's stead? That Christians have the right \u2013 no,
\nthe obligation \u2013 to impose a narrow reading of biblical law on an
\nentire society? Have we lost sight of the fact that Jesus and the
\napostles lived and preached in the midst of one of the most cruel,
\ncorrupt, and decadent empires in human history, and yet their teaching
\nemphasized forgiveness, mercy, and love, not judgment and condemnation?
\nThey didn't spend their days railing against the evils of Roman
\nculture, lying and scheming to put believers in positions of government
\npower through dishonesty and subterfuge in order to subvert Rome from
\nwithin; no, they opposed Rome, literally putting their necks on the
\nline, by preaching the Gospel \u2013 the GOOD NEWS \u2013 of salvation in Christ.
\nHow many so-called \"men (and women) of God\" in the Religious Right
\ntoday would abandon their plush ministries and cozy, lucrative
\npolitical connections for the kind of life Jesus lived, much less the
\nkind of death He died?\n<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nThose of us who are so concerned about morality and protecting God's
\ngood name should stop for a second and consider how egregiously we have
\ncaused God's name to be slandered through our self-righteousness,
\nhypocrisy, and animosity toward our fellow man. Worse still, consider,
\nas Jesus said, that the standards we use in judging others will be the
\nstandards by which we ourselves will be judged.\n<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u00a0Lord, grant us the wisdom to stop trying to be holier than God.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
All, \u00a0 It’s been about one election (two years, that is) since I last posted here, and the developments of this election campaign have led me, once again, to feel compelled to put my thoughts on paper (virtual though it may be). \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1176,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c18-reader-blogs"],"yoast_head":"\n