One thing I have come to believe is that Christians in America above all, should be willing to serve in the military or at least absolutely support those who do. I understand that war is distasteful to hopefully most everyone...but until Christ comes back it is an inevitability.
The fact is, there are many people in the world that operate without having Christ as their moral compass. They do not know the love of Christ and in fact operate from the polar opposite. They hate and they act on that hate in ways that are at times beyond comprehension. Many others in the world find themselves helpless in the face of such hate and at it's mercy...which of course never comes. What is needed is for those who have the freedom to fight against such enemies and hate, to come and rescue them. It boggles my mind though, that there are many who would argue that we should not stand and fight against such evil...that Christ wants us to "turn the other cheek", as if when He came to earth He also did away with His moral code. Where in scripture, when there were Godly people in power, did he instruct them to not come to the defense of those who were being persecuted?
The interesting thing for us as citizens of the United States is that WE...YOU & I, are the government! WE are the authority and it is always the authority's responsibility to defend and look out for the weak...taking up the sword if necessary. (Rom 14) A Christian in the United States who refuses this is shirking their God given responsibilities.
YES...I understand that first and foremost, we are citizens of Heaven! AMEN! However, nowhere does God say to not partake in society within the areas where we can do good. There are times where it is immoral for us to not take up the sword...especially when one has the freedom to do so within the context of their society. If we have the opportunity to help the defenseless by standing in the face of evil then we should be!
Click the following link for a much more eloquent account of the idea of the: "Biblical View of War"
The other aspect is that in war, many on the "just side" also have made wrong choices within the context of the battlefield. To minimize this, we need to have as many people as possible who have Christ as their moral compass doing the fighting as well as being around those that are. The military has many who don't know Christ and need a relationship with him for their own lives, which in turn will impact how they conduct themselves in other areas such as the battlefield.
Maybe I am wrong on this and if you have solid Biblical proof showing how I am wrong I would welcome seeing it...but first, read the article above because I think it refutes most arguments I've heard fairly well.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Veterans Day!
As someone who served in the military and someone who loves this great country, I want to thank all of you who have served in the military! As a Christian I believe the principle that there is no greater demonstration of love then this: that just as Christ laid down His life for us, we ought to be willing to lay down our lives for others.
Serving in the military is not easy, but you do it...thank you!
Serving in the military is not easy, but you do it...thank you!
Monday, November 10, 2008
What is the Christ & Culture Intersect?
In the last few months I have been a part of and heard many conversations about the connection between Christianity and culture...aka: The Christ and Culture Intersect! They have covered a large array of issues ranging from what the connection should be between Christianity and media...or politics...or social justice issues. These are obviously not all the issues that I have heard talked about or that could be talked about, but they are issues that should be talked about.
During my undergrad, I took a class that dealt specifically with the idea of developing a Biblical Perspective on Current Issues. It was a great class and really helped stimulate thinking on this issue. One thing I loved is that the professor encouraged you to think about this intersect, but did not expect you to agree with him on everything...which is good, because I disagreed with him on a few things. He did however, expect us to be able to defend our positions and make sure they were based on Biblical ideas and thoughts. In that principle, I want to give a couple of Bible passages that I think are very applicable as a base perspective in looking at issues, as well as developing opinions & actions based in reaction to them. The first is Colossians 3 (with a centerpoint being verses 8-17 & 23).
During my undergrad, I took a class that dealt specifically with the idea of developing a Biblical Perspective on Current Issues. It was a great class and really helped stimulate thinking on this issue. One thing I loved is that the professor encouraged you to think about this intersect, but did not expect you to agree with him on everything...which is good, because I disagreed with him on a few things. He did however, expect us to be able to defend our positions and make sure they were based on Biblical ideas and thoughts. In that principle, I want to give a couple of Bible passages that I think are very applicable as a base perspective in looking at issues, as well as developing opinions & actions based in reaction to them. The first is Colossians 3 (with a centerpoint being verses 8-17 & 23).
We first see some things that should not be a part of the discussions or our lives for that matter: "anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth; Do not lie to one another". I will make it my goal to avoid these things for myself and ask that those who want to post do the same. The goal of this blog is to promote, in a healthy way, the topics that are being approached. In a healthy diet, one of the top issues is to make sure that one is not ingesting harmful things...things that are unhealthy or poisonous both right away or ones whose side effects are seen over time. We need to conduct ourselves in ways that helping people to draw nearer to God and His Body, NOT build barriers. It is Ok to be passionate, in fact, I encourage it...but try to not use the above methods. Equally important to remember is that we are human and prone to resort to these ways many times...in that, Grace and Forgiveness needs to be remembered as well.
The flip side of the things we should not do is that there are things we should: "put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts...be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you". We need to make sure our diet is filled with things that help us grow in size and stature. We need energy food. We need to eat in ways that enable healthy growth (Patience..."slow down when you eat"...talk through issues).
Please...join along and feel free to express your ideas/thoughts and know that you can do so passionately. Those that know me, know that I am passionate about a few things but I try to stay informed on them, so as to discuss them intelligently. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, just as I will probably disagree with others at times...but that is how we refine each other, but we can only refine and build up each other if we do it in the above ways.
Feel free to state your own opinions and to also include articles, links, videos, etc...that you feel add to the discussion. Please make sure that you cite your sites :-)! No Plagiarism! I know there are times when it can be hard to articulately make a point, but that doesn't take away the validity of your perspective...feel free to refer to someone who makes your point in an understandable way.
I look forward to our discussions...or at least hope there will be discussions. I'm just hoping the that people will even come to this page at this point. :-)
~James
The flip side of the things we should not do is that there are things we should: "put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts...be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you". We need to make sure our diet is filled with things that help us grow in size and stature. We need energy food. We need to eat in ways that enable healthy growth (Patience..."slow down when you eat"...talk through issues).
Here is the ultimate way of thinking about it: "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."
It's the whole "What Would Jesus Do?" aspect in a way. Basically, in view of Christ's life and sacrifice on account of you and I, we need to live as if that is the most important thing. We need to let our lives and language be seasoned with Christ in every aspect of it.
In looking at the intersect of Christ & Culture we need to remember that we have an enemy in Satan who seeks to deceive and divide and he is extremely devious in his schemes. Another class I had during undergrad was one on World Civilizations. The prof had everyone memorize Colossians 2:8 "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ."
Recently we have seen the rise of Christian groups that are basically seeing & approaching God and the Bible through the lens of their culture. When they don't match up, they opt to adjust their view of God and the Bible. They are questioning THE standard of truth, rather then adjusting their view of the culture. As Christians, we are to view everything...EVERYTHING, though the lens of God and the Bible. When they don't match up, we need to question the culture NOT God.
It's the whole "What Would Jesus Do?" aspect in a way. Basically, in view of Christ's life and sacrifice on account of you and I, we need to live as if that is the most important thing. We need to let our lives and language be seasoned with Christ in every aspect of it.
In looking at the intersect of Christ & Culture we need to remember that we have an enemy in Satan who seeks to deceive and divide and he is extremely devious in his schemes. Another class I had during undergrad was one on World Civilizations. The prof had everyone memorize Colossians 2:8 "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ."
Recently we have seen the rise of Christian groups that are basically seeing & approaching God and the Bible through the lens of their culture. When they don't match up, they opt to adjust their view of God and the Bible. They are questioning THE standard of truth, rather then adjusting their view of the culture. As Christians, we are to view everything...EVERYTHING, though the lens of God and the Bible. When they don't match up, we need to question the culture NOT God.
Feel free to state your own opinions and to also include articles, links, videos, etc...that you feel add to the discussion. Please make sure that you cite your sites :-)! No Plagiarism! I know there are times when it can be hard to articulately make a point, but that doesn't take away the validity of your perspective...feel free to refer to someone who makes your point in an understandable way.
I look forward to our discussions...or at least hope there will be discussions. I'm just hoping the that people will even come to this page at this point. :-)
~James
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