Category: Christ & Culture (Page 21 of 45)
If you’re looking for something to read from a uniquely Christian perspective two weeks before the general elections, here are a few links to some really good articles. Regular readers of this space know my positions on the politics of this world versus the politics of the Kingdom of God. Hopefully, you’re also aware that I’m aware my positions are not perfect. In other words, I hope you know that I know there’s room for debate about my beliefs and practices. But I unapologetically maintain that the kingdoms of this world, the values and “truths” and motivations those kingdoms war to protect, and the foundational structures that keep those kingdoms going are completely opposed to the Kingdom of God, its values and truths and motivations, and its structures. The two kingdoms are totally opposite. And I find that it’s next to impossible to serve both.
However, most Christians I know will be voting in the general elections in two weeks. For a variety of reasons and motivations, with a mixture of hopes and concerns, most Christians will be heading to the polls. To those who are deciding to vote, I generally say something like this: I believe it’s OK to vote; just don’t pretend it’s an act of righteousness.
Randy Harris, a theology and ethics professor at Abilene Christian University, has written an article confessing the baggage he brings to these discussions. This is good for helping each of us come to terms with our own bias and prejudice as we consider how disciples of Jesus should engage the political systems of the world. Click here for his article “Electing to Follow Jesus: Claiming our Baggage.”
My brilliant brother, Keith Stanglin, has written a post on the Christian Studies blog called “Lewdness in Politics? Say It Isn’t So!” This is excellent social commentary tracing the media’s role — and our role — in giving us Trump and Clinton, the two candidates we actually deserve as a society. Keith shines a bright light on the hypocrisy of the media and those of us who indulge it with paragraphs like this:
“Lewd talk and sexual images, as well as those who peddle them, are mainstream. For instance, Howard Stern, once a shock jock who made a living and became famous for, among other things, treating women as mere objects for sexual stimulus, was, for four years, mainstreamed into culture as one of the celebrity judges on NBC’s family show ‘America’s Got Talent.’ Stern, whose comments on most topics make Trump’s look harmless, went straight from judging naked female bodies in his studio to judging women and children on stage, and no one seemed to notice or care.”
If you only read one of these articles I’m recommending, click here and read this one by Keith.
Christianity Today’s Andy Crouch questions why a lot of Christians are so quick to correctly criticize the Democratic nominee’s win-at-all-costs pursuit of personal and party power but reluctant, at best, to criticize the Republican nominee’s blatant disregard for Christian values and morals. This is an excellent article that points out and makes a strong case for the idolatry of Christians who justify their support of Donald Trump because of the Supreme Court justices that might or might not be appointed over the next four years. Here’s a sample of his article:
“There is a point at which strategy becomes its own form of idolatry — an attempt to manipulate the levers of history in favor of the causes we support. Strategy becomes idolatry, for ancient Israel and for us today, when we make alliances with those who seem to offer strength — the chariots of Egypt, the vassal kings of Rome — at the expense of our dependence on God who judges all nations, and in defiance of God’s manifest concern for the stranger, the widow, the orphan, and the oppressed. Strategy becomes idolatry when we betray our deepest values in pursuit of earthly influence. And because such strategy requires capitulating to idols and princes and denying the true God, it ultimately always fails.”
Click here to read the whole article.
John Mark Hicks gives us a beautiful contrast between confidence in politics, politicians, and the nation versus confidence in our God, the Creator and Sustainer of Heaven and Earth. He uses Psalm 96 to draw a rich comparison between worry and worship. Click here to read “Say Among the Nations.”
And, finally, I don’t read Beth Moore; but I have a dear friend who, occasionally, will send me a Beth Moore post from her Living Proof Ministries blog. This one, “The Scandal of Election 2016,” is a reflection piece on faith in God as the sovereign ruler of the United States and, indeed, the entire universe, regardless of who wins the elections and which party is in power. In one section of her article, Moore describes how our political tunnel vision actually causes Christians to rationalize speaking and acting in decidedly unChristian ways:
“We are driving drunk on rage, swerving all over the road, fenders dangling and headlights shattered from our collisions with one another. Any means to our end. It’s okay to lie to shove people to the truth. To bully, harass, and threaten people publicly and relentlessly into doing the right thing. To twist the facts to straighten this mess out. To pull the covers off our opposition and throw them over our candidate. Our witness to the world has become the crimson-faced hysterical screams of Armageddon after Jesus said, ‘Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.’ We are so void of vision that all we can see is a big fat ‘T’ in the road ahead. It’s right or left. There is no other way.
Poor, poor God. He’s down to his last two options. And poor, poor us for having such a poor, poor God. We are called to be a people of faith in a God who never needed a man-paved road to get anywhere. A dead end means nothing to the God of resurrection.”
Click here for Moore’s complete article.
Each of us has to make our own decisions regarding our Lord’s exhortation that no one can serve two masters. He says we will either hate the one and love the other, we’ll despise one and embrace the other; but we cannot submit to and serve both. Each of us has to decide what to do with Christ’s insistence that his Kingdom is not of this world. Again, I think it’s probably OK for Christians to vote; just don’t pretend like it’s an act of righteousness.
Peace,
Allan
Gerry Fraley has written an excellent piece on the Texas Rangers’ historic record this year in one-run games. The Rangers are 36-11 in one-run games this season — the highest winning percentage in one-run games in Major League Baseball history. But does that mean the Rangers are lucky or clutch? Does that speak well of the bullpen or is it a bad sign? What does that statistic portend for the postseason that begins for the Rangers this Thursday? Click here to read the article.
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My monthly “faith column” for the Amarillo Globe News was published yesterday. I decided to write about how difficult it must be for Christians who are personally and emotionally invested in this country’s presidential race. How does a Christian get involved in the politics and still reflect the glory of our Lord? I called it “Refusing to Join the Rage.” You can click here to access the whole column.
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And this quote from yesterday’s sermon here at Central as we kicked off our annual Missions Month with a look at Jesus’ stories in Luke 15. The quote is from Henri Nouwen:
“God rejoices. Not because the problems of the world have been solved, not because all human pain and suffering have come to an end, nor because thousands of people have been converted and are now praising him for his goodness. No, God rejoices because one of his children who was lost has been found.”
Peace,
Allan
To hold you over until my traditional Labor Day game-by-game prediction of the upcoming Dallas Cowboys football season, I’m providing you with links to two outstanding pieces that are (mostly) about football. Both of these articles are “must read.”
First, let’s go to the Colin Kaepernick national anthem protest that has ignited a DEFCON4 firestorm of outrage and controversy. (First, take a very, very deep breath. Now, exhale. And read quietly to yourself.)
I have never, ever, one time, ever agreed with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban about anything. Ever. But I find myself completely down with Cubes and his angle on Kaepernick’s silent sit-in during The Star Spangled Banner. Cuban tweeted earlier this week, “He didn’t throw a bomb, fire a shot, start a riot, throw a punch, shut a business, yell at someone, troll anyone. He just sat there quietly.”
Thank you. I don’t understand how a person is supposed to protest in this country. We scream and yell and condemn any person who uses violence or vandalism as a protest, and rightly so. We see far too much of it, daily it seems, in the United States. Violence or vandalism or any other type of law-breaking as an act of protest cannot be condoned or allowed. Non-violent protests and silent sit-ins have always been the most honored and traditional and effective and respected forms of protest in the short history of this country. His protest is by the time-honored and approved method, right?
Plus, has anybody noticed the terrible hypocrisy of condemning professional and college athletes for not speaking out on political matters, for not using their voices to effect positive change, and then ripping them to shreds when they do? Now, the pig socks are out of bounds. Not cool. I lose respect for what Kaepernick’s doing, and what he’s doing loses credibility, because of those obscene socks. That’s name-calling and labeling and generalizing and insulting — the very things he’s supposedly protesting. It’s not OK. I’m not good with the socks as a form of protest. They’re mean-spirited and do nothing to foster conversation and debate. But is a celebrity/athlete supposed to speak out or not? It seems they’re brewed either way.
Lastly, and most importantly, as Christians, where are our/your priorities? Or, asked another way, why don’t we Christians get just as upset when we catch somebody talking or texting during the singing of “How Great Thou Art?” Why aren’t we Christians reposting Facebook memes ripping to shreds people who don’t take off their caps when we pray? Why are we followers of Christ so over-the-top incensed about someone not “showing respect to the American flag,” yet we don’t give it a passing thought when someone walks out of a baptism service or gets up to use the restroom during the reading of Holy Scripture. Why are our priorities so out of whack?
OK. That’s my angle. That’s not the “must read” stuff. The really good article that puts a lot of this in a wider perspective is written by Sports Illustrated columnist Charles P. Pierce. He gives us a brief and entertaining history of the American anthem, a thorough examination of the politics of The Star Spangled Banner, and a balanced view of the Kaepernick mess. You can click here to get to the excellent article.
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The other article you have to read this weekend is the cover story to the current issue of Texas Monthly. It’s by Michael J. Mooney about Tony Romo. It’s called “The Last Best Hope of Tony Romo.” It was written one week before Romo broke his back on the third play of last Saturday’s preseason game in Seattle. It’s a wonderfully written preview of Romo’s upcoming season, imagining the best and the worst of what’s possible. This is the year Romo writes his legacy. It’s genius. Looking back now, it’s genius. Romo detractors will glory in the piece; Romo supporters will, too. It’s wonderful and tragic, at once beautiful and horrible — just like Romo. You can click here to read the full article.
(Before you click on that “comments” link up there… take a deep breath…)
Peace,
Allan
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.'” ~Romans 12:17-19
When people hurt me, my gut instinct, my sinful human instinct, is to hurt them back. When someone does something that causes me pain or causes pain to someone I love, I want that person to suffer some pain, too. Even when that person apologizes, even when that person asks for forgiveness, even after I forgive that person, my gut thinks, “but he needs to feel some pain, too. He can’t get away with this and nothing bad happen to him. It’s his fault this bad thing happened to me or this painful thing happened to my family; he needs to have something bad happen to him, too. He needs to feel this, too.”
We know that justice will be served. We know that God’s children will all be vindicated. We know that evildoers will be punished. But that is not your job. Or mine. That’s not our job. Judging and taking revenge and seeking that kind of justice is the Lord’s job. And it’s his job alone. As followers of Christ Jesus, we do not ever seek to punish the people who hurt us. Ever.
God is the perfect judge. He knows all things, he sees all things, and he has all righteous power. He is a perfectly just God who will not allow evil to go unpunished. So we can trust him. If we try to exact any kind of revenge, we’re trespassing into territory our God has reserved only for himself. So we let him handle it.
Surrounding the above text from Romans 12, Paul quotes from the teachings of Jesus to make his point:
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse” (12:14).
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil” (12:17).
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (12:21).
We believe that God in Christ is ultimately going to make all things right. God is going to right all the wrongs and avenge all the evils. In the meantime, Christians respond to wrongdoing and to evil with kindness and love. This is one of the most distinctive things that sets Christianity apart from Islam and Buddhism and all the other world religions: we do not live tit-for-tat. Harming or killing our enemies is not an option for Christians. Our job is to love and forgive, to bless and to pray. Our job is to faithfully trust God. Trust God that he will judge and avenge.
“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” ~1 Peter 2:21-23
Our Lord Jesus did not retaliate. He didn’t seek to punish or act to avenge the injustices he suffered. Look at Jesus. He refuses to lift a finger in his own defense. He rebukes his followers who try to defend him with a sword. He doesn’t call ten thousand angels to destroy his enemies. He prays for their forgiveness. The people who are killing him — Jesus prays for their forgiveness.
I know this is hard. I know this is counter-cultural, counter-natural, almost anti-American. But this kind of thinking and acting, this way of living, is not just for Jesus. Loving our enemies and being kind to people who do you harm and leaving all retribution to God is not some unattainable ideal or something only for super Christians or the spiritually elite. This very hard thing is required of all who confess Jesus as Lord. When Jesus says “teaching them to obey all I have commanded,” this is part of it.
There are people who say they don’t believe in the God of the Bible, the God who judges and punishes people, because they believe in a God of love. Now, what makes them think God is love? Can they look at the world today and see anything that proves God is love? Can they see anything in history, is there any evidence out there, any proof at all at that God is love? Where does that come from? Where do people get the idea that God is love?
The Bible. The Bible tells us over and over again that God Almighty is a God of deep and eternal love. And the same Bible also tells us that because of God’s deep and abiding love, he will judge and avenge and ultimately make everything in the world right.
Peace,
Allan
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