Is God just judging our secular sins?
Shortly after 9/11, Falwell and Robertson and others came forward to declare that that horrific event was God's judgment on America for its sins, abortion et al. While I could not help but agree with them that this event was a judgment - God has always raised up evil nations to judge His people - I could not disagree with them more than over the object of that judgment. Not one of them stopped to consider that just maybe the judgment was intended for what passes for Christianity in America. Just maybe the secular forces in our society have experienced God's wrath because of the abysmal failure of the priesthood of believers - our advocacy on their behalf.
If our presence in anyway averts judgment on our fellow citizens - and it can be argued that this is how we function in the world - then just maybe our collective failure to represent historical Christianity has brought upon them - and us- God's judgment in history, otherwise known as 'wrath'.
It can be demonstrated that the 'faith' pervading our land has become nothing more than the Church of Ego-Massage with all its juvenile banality and short-lived phases. 'I', 'me', 'my' occur more in its music than in the secular pop of adolescent America. Its once metaphorically-filled ritual has been replaced with the puffed up among us who take center stage in God's victory celebration to exhalt themselves like cheap gameshow hosts.
Worse, the Church's morality has followed in lockstep with this decline in true worship. Crass materialism, hollywood-like star worship, and gluttonous feasting have become hallmarks of the American faith. Worldly clergy and a world-loving, world-chasing laity fill the pews. Who among them does not love the praise of men? Who among them does not revel in the adulation that comes from prestigious degrees, professionalism, the big house, the big paycheck or the have-it-all-together lifestyle? In fact, they love it so much that they have argued to give it divine sanction!
So then, what should be concluded? Are the abortionists the badguys? The evil bankers? Is it because of the moral bankruptcy of Hollywood?
Doubtful.
Something to consider is the possibility that, just perhaps, Islam has been raised up in our day to bring the Church back to its time-honored position- the bended knee. Just maybe. Just maybe.
If our presence in anyway averts judgment on our fellow citizens - and it can be argued that this is how we function in the world - then just maybe our collective failure to represent historical Christianity has brought upon them - and us- God's judgment in history, otherwise known as 'wrath'.
It can be demonstrated that the 'faith' pervading our land has become nothing more than the Church of Ego-Massage with all its juvenile banality and short-lived phases. 'I', 'me', 'my' occur more in its music than in the secular pop of adolescent America. Its once metaphorically-filled ritual has been replaced with the puffed up among us who take center stage in God's victory celebration to exhalt themselves like cheap gameshow hosts.
Worse, the Church's morality has followed in lockstep with this decline in true worship. Crass materialism, hollywood-like star worship, and gluttonous feasting have become hallmarks of the American faith. Worldly clergy and a world-loving, world-chasing laity fill the pews. Who among them does not love the praise of men? Who among them does not revel in the adulation that comes from prestigious degrees, professionalism, the big house, the big paycheck or the have-it-all-together lifestyle? In fact, they love it so much that they have argued to give it divine sanction!
So then, what should be concluded? Are the abortionists the badguys? The evil bankers? Is it because of the moral bankruptcy of Hollywood?
Doubtful.
Something to consider is the possibility that, just perhaps, Islam has been raised up in our day to bring the Church back to its time-honored position- the bended knee. Just maybe. Just maybe.
posted by Johannes Bifrons at 9:03 AM
1 Comments:
I had a similar discussion with someone the other day about the idea that God had raised Islam to judge the West.
Needless to say, it wasn't a popular subject.
Christians have forgotten that Christianity is to be its own culture, that is the significance of Paul telling Gentile believers "I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk". Eph. 4:17 If they were Gentiles what did Paul mean that they should walk no longer as the Gentiles? Christianity is to be its own culture. We are a different Kingdom, with a different culture, set, as a city on a hill, to be obviously different in our lifestyles and actions. Somewhere along the way we lost the obviously different part, and became reassuringly similar. Except that we are reassuring the wrong part of the world. We are reassuring them that there is no need for true repentence, because we are just like they are.
Heaven help us. If there's still a chance.
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