--1 John 5:1-2
This is a partial reading of the Bible passage that was read to my Presbyterian congregation last Sunday by our pastor in preparation for his sermon. What was said in that sermon saddened me immensly, as I witnessed the continuation of a political rift between myself and my church that leaves me with a heavy heart and some choices to ponder.
I have always realized that the Presbyterian church that I attend has a definite liberal bent. There is never a shortage of Obama bumper stickers in the parking lot, and the signature drives calling for the congregation to send a letter to our congresscritters, urging more money for poverty programs or a raise in the minimum wage, are always in the works.
The following is the relevant portion of my pastor's sermon. Read it, and then I have some concerns to articulate afterward:
...Recently, there has been another effort of sorts to refocus in on the love of Jesus Christ by Tony Campolo, who picks up on a theme developed in one of Anne Weems' books, Putting the Amazing Back in Grace, when she talks about her Red Letter Bible when she was growing up.In this sermon, my pastor mentioned two important names: Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis. Both of these men describe themselves as "Progressive" Christians; "progressive" meaning socialist. Tony Campolo was one of Bill Clinton's "spiritual advisors" during the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and Jim Wallis was the president of the Michigan State University chapter of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in the late 1960s. The SDS was a radical socialist group that was purportedly formed in order to oppose U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, but in reality, SDS was one of the many organizations that was born during the turbulent decade of the 1960s whose purpose was to remake America into a socialist paradise. The terrorist Weathermen group - Bill Ayers was a charter member - grew out of the SDS in 1969. In a nutshell, Red Letter Christians are trying to pervert the teachings of Jesus Christ in order to justify socialism, and that favorite term of leftists everywhere - social justice. If you have ever wondered what social justice is, I just read a good definition the other day. Justice is when you get what you deserve. Social justice is when you get what you demand.
Do any of you have a Red Letter Bible? Some of you do. A Red Letter Bible is one that highlights all of Jesus' words in red.
Well, Tony Campolo, noted author and speaker, is ready to shed his evangelical label and replace it with a new one: Red Letter Christians. Campolo is calling for the launch of this new movement - Red Letter Christians - and introduces this idea in his new book, Red Letter Christians: A Citizen's Guide to Faith and Politics.
Jim Wallis, who writes the foreward for the book introduces the idea, saying,
"We affirm the authority of the whole Bible, not just the explicit sayings of Jesus often found highlighted in red. But we believe that the red letters of Jesus need to be focused in on again. We feel a calling together in this historical moment to bring back the distinctive message of Jesus for our time, for our world, and for the critical issues we face today."
Campolo elaborates the agenda by saying,
"Red Letter Christians embrace a broad range of social concerns, giving special attention to legislation that provides help for the poor, and hope fo rthe oppressed."
Declaring that there are more than 2,000 verses of scripture that call us to express love and justice for those who are poor and oppressed, he goes on the urge all camps of the Church to join him and to work together in this new movement.
"In reality," he says, "Conservatives and Liberals need each other. Conservatives maintain many lines that should never be crossed, while Liberals destroy many lines that should never have existed."
John Haberer, the editor of Outlook Magazine, declares that,
"Red Letter Christians are the new evangelicals. Might they also be the new Liberals, the new Conservatives, and the new Progressives?"
The new Presbyterians....?
If you read the New Testament, you will see that Jesus speaks extensively about helping the poor, the downtrodden, the sick, the oppressed. That is wonderful; we Christians take pride in helping those who need help. The problem is that Red Letter Christians believe that we Christians are called by Jesus to enlist the power of government to effect this assistance. Jesus actually admonishes us to help on an individual level with our own wealth, not to confiscate from one person in order to give to another (please reference Commandments 8 and 10). Red Letter Christians, including Tony Campolo, Jim Wallis, and apparently, my Pastor, believe that individual voluntary giving is not good enough. They believe that government should compel you to be charitible by confiscating your wealth and wages through increased taxation, and then redistributing that confiscated wealth as the government sees fit.
During his sermon, my pastor added this admonishment,
...We are called to express love through obedience to God's commandments. Jesus' red-letter words in John's gospel boldly proclaim a new commandment that we must, of necessity, obey: That you love one another.And by God, if you don't express that love to the satisfaction of the self-proclaimed Red Letter Christians, then they will collude with their new God - Government - in order to force you to demonstrate that love through compelled confiscation and redistribution of your hard-earned wealth and wages.
This brings me to a difficult decision. My wife grew up in this church. I have been attending this church ever since I met my wife. We were married in this church. My children were both baptized in this church. I am a deacon for this church and I play in the church's orchestra (clarinet). Our roots run deep.
In a situation like this, do you consider moving to a church whose beliefs are more in line with your own, or do you stay on board and attempt to act as a countering influence to keep the church more anchored toward the middle and not let it go off the left side of the deep end?
The individual members of my church are wonderful people, but the leftist politics of the church leadership often leave a bad taste in my mouth. When I think it through, I am more inclined to stick around witness not just for Jesus, but for common-sense political involvement as well. I think the leadership could use a dissenting voice.
Good Day to You, Sir
5 comments:
I know your post deals with government, but let me add a spiritual dimension:
"And when Jesus was in Bethany . . . a woman came to Him and she poured [a very costly fragrant oil] on His head . . . but when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, 'Why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor.' But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, 'Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me." Matthew 26:6-10
It was after that event that Judas is sent on his way to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
What is missing from most of modern Christianity is the understanding that this world is not our home, the "My kingdom is not of this earth. If My kingdom was of this world, My would fight . . . "
Let me recommend reading (if you have not alread) the works of J. Gresham Machen, particularly CHRISTIANITY & LIBERALISM, which can be found at this link: http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Bad-Theology/Liberal-Theology/
George
" . . . my disciples would fight . . ." (Sorry written with my boy climbing all over me)
George
This liberal line of thinking really bothers me because it misses the point. As it says in Matthew 5:16, "let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven"
If our good works are done through government and by government they glorify government, not God. Lobbying the government to take care of people is putting State above God.
The body of Christ should do these things in the name of God, not work to further solidify the modern day position of government as savior.
Your situation is a tough one. We had to decide whether or not we wanted to leave our church and we were no where near as invested, but it was still very hard. In fact, we ended up going back. Our church is fairly conservative, though, and our difference of opinion was minor compared to this.
One thing we learned from that experience is that the community and fellowship with other Christians is almost as important as the teachings. These days, we don't really need to set foot in a church to hear (or read) a sermon, but the church is still important because we need to fellowship with other believers.
That said, one would want that fellowship to be with Christians who hold the same views, to some extent.
It would be really hard for me to stay at that church, but you have a good point about being a dissenting voice.
What does your wife think about all this?
The Bible commands us as individuals to care for the needy, not for our government to do so. You're not being charitable by supporting the forcible taking of someone's money and giving it to those who may need it.
Voice your concern with the head pastor. Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and unto God that which is God's. It fits in this circumstance.
Voice your concerns with the head pastor. If that doesn't work, you may need to go elsewhere.
Jesus thought his followers would always have them poor with them. That suggests that those persons who avoid the poor by living in gated communities and in areas zoned for 1 million dollar + homes are not following Jesus.
Christianity is not synonymous with capitalism. The Church survived before it and will survive afterward. We don't have to live in a powerful country. The majority of Christians don't now. The confusion of Christianity with understandable American patriotism and unreasonable chauvinism is a huge impediment to our ability to share the gospel today.
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