And another thing...

Is there anything more annoying than when a big government leftist, someone who believes the government should do everything except prohibit abortion or allow prayer in schools, uses Jesus as a club to beat on someone with whom they disagree?

"You want prayer in schools? Haven't you ever heard of separation of church and state?"

"You want to ban abortion? No, that's a fundamental right!"

"The marriage laws in this country are just government-enforced religious bigotry."

"What do you mean the government shouldn't force health care plans to provide contraception? Are you trying to impose your religion on everyone else?"

"You're opposed to government health care? I thought you were a Christian!"

Are Christians Obsessed With Gays and Abortion?

David French, the the director of the Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom, has an excellent piece at Patheos.com this morning on the topic of Christians, priorities, and the culture war.

How do those numbers stack up with leading Christian anti-poverty charities? Let's look at just three: World Vision, Compassion International, and Samaritan's Purse. Their total annual gross receipts (again, according to most recently available Form 990s) exceed $2.1 billion. The smallest of the three organizations (Samaritan's Purse) has larger gross receipts than every major "pro-family" culture war organization in the United States combined. World Vision, the largest, not only takes in more than $1 billion per year, it also has more than 1,400 employees and 43,000 volunteers.

And I don't begrudge them a single dime. In fact, I'd say our relative priorities are just about right. When you see World Vision efforts on the ground in Africa, you see they are often standing as a firewall between life and death, hope and despair. Samaritan's Purse and Compassion International are likewise standing in the gap for the "least of these," living out the pure religion that scripture commands.

So given these realities, what is our real "obsession"? Historically, monetarily, and with our time and lives today, it is serving our fellow man. We fight the culture war, but largely as a defensive struggle—fighting against changes instigated by the Left, like legalized abortion, the redefinition of marriage, and attacks on the basic free speech rights of Christian parents and students. Do critics expect no opposition to such cultural change? Do they believe any such opposition is inherently illegitimate?

I think that the highlighted quote in that last paragraph is vitally important. The "culture wars," to the extent that they exist, are instigated and promulgated from the left. There is no fight from Christians to oppress homosexuals; there is a fight from the left to redefine the institution of marriage. The "prayer in school" movement is a response to the attempt, from the left, to criminalize religious speech. The fight against abortion is a fight against killing babies, instigated by a fight from the left to enshrine it as a right.

But I don't know any Christian who is "obsessed" with any of those issues to the exclusion of helping feed the hungry, house the homeless, care for the sick and spread the Gospel...

Happy Easter, everyone!

He is Risen!

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas, to one and all...

¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. ² (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

³ And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. ⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) ⁵ To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

⁶ And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴ "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

¹⁵ And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. ¹⁶ And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Good Friday

Today is the day on which the western Church recognizes ("celebrates" is not the right word) the crucifixion of Christ. As I was pondering this today, I was struck, for the first time, by the centrality of this day on the calendar.

Growing up, Christmas always seemed the most important Christian holiday. As I got older, I started to think that it was Easter. But today, I'm thinking that Good Friday is it. It certainly isn't the most cheerful, but if the central purpose of the incarnation was Jesus dying for the sins of mankind...well, this is the day on which we commemorate that event. With the incarnation, God took on flesh and became man. The resurrection foreshadows what will happen to all of us on the day of judgement, and it built the church*. But it is the death on the cross that is the central, pivotal act, as Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world, and died that we might live.




This video consists of various depictions of the crucifixion, with the wonderful "God So Loved the World" by Sir John Stainer, from his oratorio The Crucifixion, as the background music...





* - At the crucifixion, the disciples of Christ, the ones who needed to convey the Gospel to the ends of the earth, made up a very small and disheartened group. It was the resurrection, and then Pentecost, that provided the Holy Spirit and the inspiration for the evangelism that followed.

The culture war is over. We lost...

Is there any doubt that Great Britain is a post-Christian nation? I don't think so...

A supermarket chain got itself into a huge muddle over the meaning of Easter yesterday in its attempt to sell more chocolate eggs.

“Brits are set to spend a massive £520 million on Easter eggs this year — but many young people don’t even know what Easter’s all about,” said the press release from Somerfield after a survey.

It then went on to claim that the tradition of giving Easter eggs was to celebrate the “birth” of Christ.