Everyone knows these type of people. They start out protesting a cause for a good reason and over time, their hard work and perseverance actually pays off in the form of change. The cooperation feels the pressure of their boycott and quietly agrees to their terms - it is suddenly a new day! Reform has occurred and it is time to get to work implementing the new ideas or policies - or is it?
Ever notice that when a group that unites to promote change eventually gets their way, it is never enough? We think to ourselves 'what is wrong with these people?' They got what they wanted, yet during the first interview after the victory, the leader proudly announces that the group will continue to fight for change. Huh?
Of course, when you think about it - it all becomes clear - if the protest group admitted that they actually completed their mission, they would have to disassemble - there would be no need for the group anymore. In fact, it would be impossible to continue to meet together because the group is dialectic in nature - it has to have an enemy to exist.
Notice the similarities in America, which started as a rebellion; and how about Protestantism? The same was true for Catholicism in the beginning - they were breaking away from the Jewish church and later used Islam as an enemy. Today, for the traditional Catholic, it is Modernism and Post Modernism.
The crazy thing is - Christianity initially rejected the need for an enemy - the truth does not depend on falsehood to define it. Such dualism was declared a heresy. Unfortunately, today Modernists still use communism as a common enemy of America - without Communism to define the boundaries of our country - we might become Communist ourselves, without knowing it!! Fundamentalists in the Protestant churches had Catholicism to fight, then liberalism, then new age and now the Emergent Church Movement.
Of course, those big enemies are tough to fight on a daily basis - for many there is a daily need to define themselves by alienating the opposition - thank goodness for message boards! Here is a place were the Dualist, steeped in the dialectic can confront his dragon! Pantse the wolf in sheep's clothing! Burn the heretic! This is the place where an oasis of black and white prevails in an increasingly grey world........
Seems to me that there has to be another way. How about defining ourselves through our experience of Christ's love rather than the errors of the dragons we prop up? Isn't that what Christianity is really about? Experiencing God's love and going out to share it with others? This is the good news! We are free to love because we are loved.
So can watchdogs ever lay down? Can swords really be turned into plowshares?
Ever notice that when a group that unites to promote change eventually gets their way, it is never enough? We think to ourselves 'what is wrong with these people?' They got what they wanted, yet during the first interview after the victory, the leader proudly announces that the group will continue to fight for change. Huh?
Of course, when you think about it - it all becomes clear - if the protest group admitted that they actually completed their mission, they would have to disassemble - there would be no need for the group anymore. In fact, it would be impossible to continue to meet together because the group is dialectic in nature - it has to have an enemy to exist.
Notice the similarities in America, which started as a rebellion; and how about Protestantism? The same was true for Catholicism in the beginning - they were breaking away from the Jewish church and later used Islam as an enemy. Today, for the traditional Catholic, it is Modernism and Post Modernism.
The crazy thing is - Christianity initially rejected the need for an enemy - the truth does not depend on falsehood to define it. Such dualism was declared a heresy. Unfortunately, today Modernists still use communism as a common enemy of America - without Communism to define the boundaries of our country - we might become Communist ourselves, without knowing it!! Fundamentalists in the Protestant churches had Catholicism to fight, then liberalism, then new age and now the Emergent Church Movement.
Of course, those big enemies are tough to fight on a daily basis - for many there is a daily need to define themselves by alienating the opposition - thank goodness for message boards! Here is a place were the Dualist, steeped in the dialectic can confront his dragon! Pantse the wolf in sheep's clothing! Burn the heretic! This is the place where an oasis of black and white prevails in an increasingly grey world........
Seems to me that there has to be another way. How about defining ourselves through our experience of Christ's love rather than the errors of the dragons we prop up? Isn't that what Christianity is really about? Experiencing God's love and going out to share it with others? This is the good news! We are free to love because we are loved.
So can watchdogs ever lay down? Can swords really be turned into plowshares?
