Christians, even those nominally as such but politically conservative, for some time now have been transfixed and literally gob smacked by the seeming suddenness and strength of the many and varied aspects of left/liberal moral principles legislated by recent state and federal authorities in the US that so seriously undermine traditional conservative and biblical morality. I appreciate that 'sudden' perhaps may be not quite accurate, for many of the ills of moral decline have been around for millennia, but I and I am sure many others cannot fail to be astounded by the determined ferocity with which these issues have been foisted upon us.
It’s just as bad (depending on your worldview), if not worse in New Zealand, and heading that way fast in Australia. Britain, and Europe have their issues as well. There is a global crisis, at least from my Christian perspective, of immorality, godlessness, political narcissism, and ideological insanity. Particularly in the western world. Praise God for the great moving of the holy Spirit in places such as Africa and Asia where hundreds of thousands are being converted and baptized.
The question however, what we do about it in the west, particularly in the US where Christianity and politics can be so intertwined, is very much open to debate. The topics of Christian nationalism, Zionism, and the separation of church and state, are subjects often treated and discussed with much reluctance in the church, similarly to the reluctance of secular people to discussing politics and religion… Reason being that no-one seems to be able to talk about these things without losing tempers, abusing one another, and losing friends over it. So they bite their tongues and keep mum.
The answer to the ills of our world as we all know, at least theoretically, is the gospel. Jesus and Him crucified. Preaching the gospel won’t literally turn the world upside down, and may not avert impending disasters, but in the midst of turmoil and strife, the gospel does offer individuals the opportunity to add to their lives a deep sense of hope, faith, and courage: lives changed for the better, sometimes radically. On that all Christians at least, tend to agree.
How that plays out, and how the gospel is taught and preached and implemented, well, that’s another story. I thought, perhaps naively, to dedicate a post to discuss such matters, but surely we are all pondering on these things, whether it’s over our coffee or our Bible, or both, for where and to what the direction the world is heading is of great concern to anyone with half an eye open.
I have mentioned several times on other sites PROJECT 2025. No-one it seems wants to talk about that. Why not? Or have you not heard of this? Would anyone like to discuss it? Is it good or bad? Basically, it is evangelicalism and the conservative right’s answer to the nation’s perceived need of a change of mind and heart in response to the current spiritual malaise, moral crisis, and political antagonism toward Christianity in the US. The question is, is this the correct response? Very interested in people’s thoughts on this.
Personally, I believe it is dangerous, anti freedom, and unconstitutional. Superficially, and from the Christian perspective, it may seem a good thing to undo all the ‘evil’ that had been foisted upon society over the last 10 years or so. But is politics and Christianizing the nation through law and statute the right way to go? Is righteousness by politics a thing? Is righteousness by faith now a defunct concept? Is the button of immortality and the 'woke agenda' possible without legislating in favour of the current Christian majority within the administration? History is written in the blood of its victims through eras wherein religion was implemented by law. It seems the pendulum, having of late been hanging out on the extremities of the left, is now trending to the other extreme. Are we about to enter once again into the dark ages? Is PROJECT 2025 designed to simply undo left wing immortality, or is it designed to enforce religion of a particular genre that may be averse to the teachings of other minority religious institutions? How would that play out in the context of religious liberty and freedom of conscience? We shall soon know.
It’s just as bad (depending on your worldview), if not worse in New Zealand, and heading that way fast in Australia. Britain, and Europe have their issues as well. There is a global crisis, at least from my Christian perspective, of immorality, godlessness, political narcissism, and ideological insanity. Particularly in the western world. Praise God for the great moving of the holy Spirit in places such as Africa and Asia where hundreds of thousands are being converted and baptized.
The question however, what we do about it in the west, particularly in the US where Christianity and politics can be so intertwined, is very much open to debate. The topics of Christian nationalism, Zionism, and the separation of church and state, are subjects often treated and discussed with much reluctance in the church, similarly to the reluctance of secular people to discussing politics and religion… Reason being that no-one seems to be able to talk about these things without losing tempers, abusing one another, and losing friends over it. So they bite their tongues and keep mum.
The answer to the ills of our world as we all know, at least theoretically, is the gospel. Jesus and Him crucified. Preaching the gospel won’t literally turn the world upside down, and may not avert impending disasters, but in the midst of turmoil and strife, the gospel does offer individuals the opportunity to add to their lives a deep sense of hope, faith, and courage: lives changed for the better, sometimes radically. On that all Christians at least, tend to agree.
How that plays out, and how the gospel is taught and preached and implemented, well, that’s another story. I thought, perhaps naively, to dedicate a post to discuss such matters, but surely we are all pondering on these things, whether it’s over our coffee or our Bible, or both, for where and to what the direction the world is heading is of great concern to anyone with half an eye open.
I have mentioned several times on other sites PROJECT 2025. No-one it seems wants to talk about that. Why not? Or have you not heard of this? Would anyone like to discuss it? Is it good or bad? Basically, it is evangelicalism and the conservative right’s answer to the nation’s perceived need of a change of mind and heart in response to the current spiritual malaise, moral crisis, and political antagonism toward Christianity in the US. The question is, is this the correct response? Very interested in people’s thoughts on this.
Personally, I believe it is dangerous, anti freedom, and unconstitutional. Superficially, and from the Christian perspective, it may seem a good thing to undo all the ‘evil’ that had been foisted upon society over the last 10 years or so. But is politics and Christianizing the nation through law and statute the right way to go? Is righteousness by politics a thing? Is righteousness by faith now a defunct concept? Is the button of immortality and the 'woke agenda' possible without legislating in favour of the current Christian majority within the administration? History is written in the blood of its victims through eras wherein religion was implemented by law. It seems the pendulum, having of late been hanging out on the extremities of the left, is now trending to the other extreme. Are we about to enter once again into the dark ages? Is PROJECT 2025 designed to simply undo left wing immortality, or is it designed to enforce religion of a particular genre that may be averse to the teachings of other minority religious institutions? How would that play out in the context of religious liberty and freedom of conscience? We shall soon know.
