Blog » SteveDennie.com - Miscellaneous inconsequential musings from Steve Dennie

CT: An Evangelical Voice that has Earned the Right to be Heard

December 30, 2019 | Category: Politics

About 40 years ago, Paul Rees spoke at our denomination’s Michigan Annual Conference. He was an elder Christian statesman—pastor, author, denominational exec, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, leader at Billy Graham crusades, and much more. Dr. Rees lived that week in a humble trailer on the Carson City campground, and it was there that I interviewed him one scorching hot summer afternoon.

Among my lame questions was, “What do you read?” It’s something I always want to know about most anybody. Rees began with the usual suspects, like Eternity and Christianity Today. Then he mentioned The Christian Century, the flagship for “liberal” mainline Christians. Dr. Rees noticed me raise my eyebrows. He responded, “I don’t agree with some of what they say, but I want to know what they are saying.”

I’m sure The Christian Century published many articles which caused short-fused readers to indignantly cancel their subscriptions. But Rees was above that. To him, the people at The Christian Century were fellow Christians, and he sincerely valued what they had to say, even if he disagreed with them.

Dr. Rees’s attitude created a life-long principle for me, which I follow more often than not. I don’t climb aboard the impulsive bandwagons of boycotts, canceling memberships, protesting against speakers, burning Nikes, and general shunning. I just don’t. Nor does something in the news suddenly prompt me to buy stuff from Hobby Lobby or Chik-fil-A. If that’s your thing, fine. It’s not mine. I’m certainly not going to stop watching NFL games just to make a political point.

I was thinking of this regarding that controversial Christianity Today editorial by Mark Galli, titled “Trump Should be Removed from Office,” and the uproar from people who furiously react to any criticism of President Trump. Some people are now cancelling subscriptions, while others are starting subscriptions. It’s a game we play. It’s been two weeks since the editorial appeared, and media obsessions have moved on. But I continue musing about it, and thought I’d add a postscript.

For several years, I’ve subscribed to The Galli Report, a free email which comes every Friday. Each edition references 3 or 4 things Mark Galli has read or stumbled across. Galli’s intellectual curiosity is broad and enviable, and he writes with a delightful, sly sense of humor. Recent editions have included links about learning styles, aging, the true cost of free parking, climate change (“a level-headed response to some of the hysteria”), silence, parenting, “racial absurdities,” boarding planes, astrology, and “laughing with God.” It’s eclectic, sometimes quirky, and brief. I often click on his links and learn interesting stuff.

Galli does occasionally stray into politics, but never in a pushy way. He prefers to offer links to opposing views on the same subject, and he freely admits his own ambiguities. His intent, it seems, is to challenge readers as they form their own opinions. It’s what I like to do.

I was surprised, yet not, by Galli’s editorial. It was thoughtful, presented his case well, and threw some deserved barbs at people on the left. I’m not sure I agree with removing President Trump from office through impeachment, and it would have been prudent for Galli to not reference Billy Graham (though he was entirely accurate). But millions of American evangelicals, like me, are NOT Trump enthusiasts, yet their voices are not being heard. We hear constantly from Trump’s evangelical cheerleaders—Jeffress, Graham, White, Reed, Dobson, Falwell, Perkins, and others. It’s time we exited the echo chamber to hear, and permit, a significant voice from a different Christian perspective. The CT editorial in no way balanced the total voice volume—not even close—but I’m glad it got noticed above the din.

Christianity Today has been an outstanding publication, and company, for many decades. From my teen years reading Campus Life, into adulthood with CT and Leadership Journal and other Christianity Today Incorporated publications that have come and gone, I’ve been a beneficiary. Sure, they’ve made mistakes and bad decisions, which critics are now dredging up and citing with indignant glee. But their total track record speaks for itself. They’ve been good for evangelicalism.

I subscribe to the Christian Post’s emails, and generally find them fair-minded. But they apparently decided to go all-out in criticizing Christianity Today, with many articles on the subject. Some are over-zealous; an editorial accused CT of having a “disdainful, dismissive, elitist posture.” Other articles (let me recommend Michael Brown’s excellent piece on “Evangelical Elites Versus Evangelical Deplorables: An Attempt at Mediation”) are more balanced and shed good light. But every article on The Christian Post gives a net-negative portrayal of CT. That disappoints me.

Then you’ve got all the usual Trump defenders—Ralph Reed, Franklin Graham, Tony Perkins, and others—appearing on FoxNews and writing for this and that to excoriate CT. Two hundred Christian leaders signed a harsh letter about Galli’s editorial (you can find 200 people to sign most anything). When CT deigned to voice criticism of President Trump, his supporters came out with all guns blazing. Mount your horses, draw your swords; do it in the name of heaven. It was clearly overkill. Trump is known as a counter-puncher, and white evangelicals have apparently suspended the “turn the other cheek” principle for the duration of the Trump presidency. The Christian Post and the White House faith council advisers seem to enjoy punching, and punching hard. I don’t find it attractive. I doubt that a watching world does, either.

Meanwhile, at the Christianity Today website, you’ll find exactly two articles on the subject: Galli’s editorial, and a response from CT Inc. president Timothy Dalrymple. Just two. Nothing more. They said what they had to say, and let it ride.

CT has never endorsed a presidential candidate…but they’ve now published articles condemning the immoral behavior of two presidents facing impeachment. As Galli pointed out, the same statements they made about Bill Clinton’s moral leadership apply to Donald Trump.

I find Christianity Today’s consistency refreshing, and rare. There are many examples (like James Dobson) of Christian leaders and politicians who strongly advocated impeaching Bill Clinton, but are outraged at the idea of impeaching Donald Trump. And vice versa (Democrats who decried impeaching Clinton, but favor going after Trump). Many Christians talk about Donald Trump as God’s anointed and chosen one, and use Scripture to support that view—yet they never said anything like that about Barack Obama, a president who happened to be a Democrat. The hypocrisy runs deep. It’s obvious. It lacks integrity. And to a watching world, it smells like rotting fish. The Bride of Christ smells like rotting fish.

God’s Word doesn’t change. There is not one set of moral mandates for Republicans, and another set for Democrats. If it was immoral for Bill Clinton, it is immoral for Donald Trump. People of biblical integrity acknowledge it. I have never seen this partisan dichotomy in Christianity Today. They have remained rooted in the Bible and, more specifically, in the evangelical tradition. They have not changed their tune depending on which party is in power. And they decided, after a prolonged silence, to speak out.

Donald Trump called Christianity Today a “far left” magazine, which is ridiculous (as if he’s EVER read anything in CT). Franklin Graham, James Dobson, and others who serve in the Trump court have echoed those sentiments, smearing Christianity Today as leftist and elitist. I’ve seen critics refer to CT as Socialist Today. That CT echoes a liberal agenda. That the editorial was a ploy to gain subscribers. Rubbish.

Over the years, CT has upheld the banner of biblical orthodoxy, and provided a forum for discussing important issues of theology, religious practice, and occasionally, public policy. CT has always been uncompromisingly theologically conservative, Bible first, pro-life, pro-family. Elizabeth Warren is not in danger of getting their endorsement. I’ve known, for decades, the chairman of their board of directors—a man of impeccable evangelical credentials and with an impassioned commitment to biblical authority. CT doesn’t court political influence, and therefore has no need to compromise beliefs to keep such influence. They have now published one lonely editorial which states the views of millions of evangelicals. That does not make them “leftist.”

Christianity Today makes no claim to speak for all evangelicals. Franklin Graham’s magazine, Decision, arrogantly proclaims on every cover, “The Evangelical Voice for Today,” and then fills the opening pages with articles which support the Republican agenda. You’ll find nothing like that in CT. They know what they believe, and they know their mission. Publisher Timothy Dalrymple wrote:

“As an institution, Christianity Today has no interest in partisan politics….We are far more committed to the glory of God, the witness of the church, and the life of the world than we care about the fortunes of any party. Political parties come and go, but the witness of the church is the hope of the world, and the integrity of that witness is paramount.”

It’s a publication which makes me proud, year after year. Sure, I take issue with a few things in this one editorial—legitimate quibbles and areas of disagreement. But that’s okay, and no reason to beat them into submission.

I think CT has earned the right to speak about the Trump presidency. More than earned it. And I wish more of my fellow evangelicals would take Paul Rees’s respectful attitude: I don’t have to agree with them, but they are fellow Christians, and I want to know what they have to say.

(Disclaimer: in the distant past, Christianity Today Inc. published two of my articles, both of them silly humor pieces. Most significantly, I was Eutychus for one glorious issue.)

Comments Off

This Man is Your Friend

August 10, 2019 | Category: This or That

I’m outraged by the arrest yesterday of a 20-year-old man in Springfield, Miss., who was just exercising his constitutional rights.

This good American was fully obeying the law. He walked into a Walmart wearing military clothes and body armor, and carrying an AR-15 rifle around his neck and a handgun holstered at his side. In Missouri, you’re allowed to carry guns in public as long as you don’t display them to people in a menacing way. He was just minding his own business as he pushed a shopping cart through the Walmart aisles.

But mamby-pamby shoppers got all scared and panicky, running from the store and screaming nonsense about a gunman. The store manager pulled the fire alarm, shoppers fled to the exits, and police came to arrest the man. He was fully compliant. Under Missouri law, he was doing nothing wrong.

This is an outrage, unjust persecution. Every American should be able to carry assault rifles into public places without people getting all uptight and paranoid. Chill out, people! There is nothing to fear about guns!

If you’re in a public place and see a stranger wearing military fatigues and carrying an assault rifle and other weaponry, don’t be alarmed. You and your children are perfectly safe. Keep Calm and Carry On.

He is your friend. Remember: the only way to stop a bad guy wearing body armor and carrying an assault rifle, is with a good guy wearing body armor and carrying an assault rifle.

Comments Off

Eight Months, ICE, and the Soul of America

August 10, 2019 | Category: This or That

I recently spent a day helping a Hispanic family who are going through the asylum process. It required a trip to Indy. My rudimentary Spanish came in handy.

The father and his five-year-old son came in May 2018, at the height of the Trump Administration’s deliberate policy of separating children from their parents. ICE deported the father to his home country, and sent the boy to the Bronx, where he went through a series of detention centers before landing in a foster home. For eight months he was separated from his family. A five-year-old child. My country did that, and it was unconscionable.

When I picked them up, the boy and I walked out to my Dodge Durango. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, looked at me with bugged-out eyes and a delighted grin, and exclaimed, “Nice car!” He’s a happy, fun kid who loved getting my attention for his playful antics. But I couldn’t help wondering about those eight months.

Just before the Civil War, a United Brethren minister wrote a song which swept through the North and rallied sentiment against slavery. “Darling Nelly Grey” told the story of a runaway slave from Kentucky whose sweetheart had been sold to a Georgia plantation.

It was based on a real situation. Benjamin Hanby and his father, a UB bishop, were highly involved with the Underground Railroad. Among the fugitive slaves they sheltered was Joseph Selby, who told about his “darling” who had been sold away. Selby died in the Hanby home, and Benjamin later wrote that song. It grabbed people’s hearts, because tearing families apart has never been an American value.

Today, we need a Benjamin Hanby to write a song about that Hispanic father and child. But I sense that American sentiment is already pretty much rallied against what happened to them.

When I write against the forced separation of families, I feel I’m in the best tradition of United Brethrenism. That applies to deporting a parent from an intact family that has been here a long time. And it applies to removing children from parents who cross into the States illegally as a punitive tactic of deterrence. The family is sacred. We can make allowances. Increasing the number of single-parent homes doesn’t make America better.

Bishop William Hanby, one of my predecessors as the denominational editor and a writer of UB history, intentionally broke the law to help slaves. He wrote:

“We may be bound by a man-made law, but we are more bound by a Lord given conscience….I have made my voice known and shown my scorn for injustice, and I will continue to stand against any law that makes it a felony to give food to a hungry slave or befriend precious men, women, and children who deserve freedom….When a man-made law is in conflict with God’s law, there is no compromise. We choose one way or the other.”

Amen.

Comments Off

Robert Mueller Doesn’t Deserve What Congress Did to Him Yesterday

July 25, 2019 | Category: Politics

I was revolted by the Congressional hearing yesterday. Revolted by the Republicans screaming insults at a man who has served his country faithfully, and who accepted an enormously difficult task and carried it out well. And revolted by the Democrats, trying to manipulate that man into saying something they could use in their petty partisan games against President Trump.

Throughout the day, Mueller gave the briefest of answers, refusing to elaborate, and constantly pointed his questioners to the report. Had he been the anti-Trump partisan many accuse him of being, Mueller could have skewered President Trump. With what he knew, he could have given soundbites which would be replayed for generations. But instead, Mueller mostly sat their stoically absorbing the blows of Republicans, not inclined to defend himself, and refusing to give Democrats what they so desperately wanted.

The day’s big loser was Robert Mueller. And I suspect he was probably okay with that.

Two years ago, nobody had anything bad to say about Robert Mueller. He was hailed by both Reps and Dems as a man of integrity with a stellar reputation–the perfect man to lead the Special Counsel investigation.

Mueller spent two years following where the evidence took him, making judgment calls which were sometimes criticized by Democrats, sometimes by Republicans, and nearly always by President Trump. There were virtually no leaks–a rare novelty in Washington. Over 30 people were indicted. It was no witchhunt, as the President and his parrots continually whined.

Throughout it all, Mueller avoided the spotlight, remained in the shadows, doing his assigned job (unlike, say, Kenneth Starr, whose investigation wandered across the horizon for five endless years and yielded practically nothing beyond regular appearances before media microphones for Starr).

For two years, right-wing media personalities–Limbaugh, Hannity, Carlson, Ingraham, Guiliani, and others–have continually assaulted Robert Mueller. Talk to someone today who imbibes conservative media, and you may well hear that Robert Mueller is a horrible person, even treasonous. It’s disgusting.

Robert Mueller volunteered to go to Vietnam, where he fought heroically as an Army Ranger. In those days, Ivy League guys from wealthy families didn’t end up in Vietnam, let alone in a frontline rifle platoon. And they certainly didn’t volunteer. Mueller, like Donald Trump and others, could have avoided service by finding a doctor to claim he had some fictional ailment. But Mueller didn’t even wait to be drafted. He enlisted. And when initially turned down–which would have prompted many young men to shout “Hallelujah!”–he came back and tried again.

One month into his tour, Lt. Mueller was ordered to lead his platoon in a dangerous relief mission. It was a full day of fighting, with 13 Marines lost, but they accomplished their mission and decimated the enemy. Recalled one of his men, “The minute the s* hit the fan, he was there. He performed remarkably. After that night, there were a lot of guys who would’ve walked through walls for him.”

There was much more intense combat after that. In April 1969, the bullets were coming so fast that he didn’t even notice when a bullet went clean through his thigh. He stayed in the fight, directing his platoon’s fire.

So maybe he had that in mind yesterday when Republican low-lifes were taking pot-shots at him. He’d seen worse.

Robert Mueller went from Vietnam to an admirable career in public service. He left a lucrative law practice to become a front-line homicide prosecutor at one-fourth his previous salary, a job one writer compared to a general deciding to become a private.

He ended up leading the FBI, where he had a reputation for avoiding the limelight (unlike his successor, James Comey). He would cross out every “I” in speeches, telling speechwriters that it wasn’t about him, but about the organization. He is described as having the same mindset as Bob Dole and George HW Bush, who seldom talked about their wartime experiences and felt an obligation to serve the country–and not boast about it.

Men with heavy responsibilities must make judgment calls, and not everyone will like them. But Mueller operated from a core of integrity, doing what he felt was best, and no doubt recognizing when he made bad decisions. Goes with the job.

Mueller has remained married to Ann, whom he married just after graduating from college. One of their two daughters has spina bifada. At one point, Mueller took a job just to be near the treatment she needed.

Yesterday was no way for such a man to end his career. It was a disgrace. Last night, the conservative media gurus were gloating and criticizing him, the late-night comedians were mocking his performance.

Rubert Mueller is a better man than any of them. Than any of his House questioners. Than any of those pundits and comedians. Certainly a far better man than the President. He deserves better. This is a man we should emulate, whom we should hold up to children as a model American.

Is this how America should treat its remarkable people?

Mueller is America at its best, a man who gave up privilege to fight for his country and pursue public service. President Trump’s life, by contrast, has followed three obsessions: money, women, and adulation. Two very, very different lives. And yet, so many conservatives–including my fellow evangelical Christians–now despise Mueller and glorify President Trump.

Yesterday did nothing to make me proud of America, except for the fact that America produces such men as Robert Mueller.

Comments Off

The President Targets a Lutheran Minister for Deportation

May 25, 2019 | Category: Current Issues

Rev. Betty Rendon

Betty Rendon, a Lutheran minister, is a horrible person who is damaging the United States of America, and President Trump wants her out of the country ASAP.

It started with Rendon’s daughter, Paula, who was SUPPOSED to have been protected under DACA. Paula, 26, was driving her 5-year-old daughter, Layla, to school when ICE pulled her over, handcuffed her, and then took over the car.

They drove to Pastor Betty Rendon’s home. Betty was cooking breakfast in her pajamas when ICE burst in, guns drawn. They handcuffed Betty and her husband, Carlos, along with Paula’s cousin, who was present. Meanwhile, Layla screamed and cried. ICE wouldn’t let the pastor change out of her pajamas, but they did let her arrange childcare for her granddaughter. That was very pro-family of them, as they prepared to tear this family apart.

ICE took everyone to a field office, but didn’t bother securing the home. Thieves then entered and took everything of value–TVs, jewelry, wedding rings, money, Carlos’s tools.

Until 2004, Betty was principal of a school in Columbia. Rebels wanted to recruit students from her school. When she refused, they threatened her life. Betty and Carlos came to the US on tourist visas seeking asylum, but their petition was denied. A deporation order was issued in 2008, but was never executed. Under the Obama administration, ICE was told not to prioritize such families.

So, for the past 10 years, Betty Rendon has gone about raising a family, contributing to society, and ministering to God’s flock. She is a candidate for ordination in the Lutheran church, and has been accepted into the Doctor of Ministry program at Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. A good kind of person to have in our country.

But President Trump regularly speaks in the harshest ways about Hispanic immigrants–we’ve all heard his sweeping generalizations–and cannot tolerate their presence in America. Although Betty and Carlos are not a threat to anybody’s safety or livelihood, Republicans insist that they must be removed from the country. And it doesn’t matter that it will tear apart a family.

And so, early next week, ICE will deport Betty and Carlos to Columbia. Paula will lose her parents, and Layla, a US citizen, will lose her grandparents. The cousin has already been deported to Columbia. When DACA expires, the President can then deport Paula, and let her take her crying kid, too.

As always, every Trump supporter among my Facebook friends will agree with the President. It’s verboten to question his judgment.

I’m just really disgusted when families are torn apart for no good reason. This shouldn’t happen in my country, and certainly shouldn’t garner applause from Christians. It undoubtedly doesn’t set well in heaven.

“When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:33-34)

“Do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.” (Zechariah 7:10)

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in.” (Matthew 25:41-43)

Comments Off

Dumped Like a Dog

February 16, 2019 | Category: General silliness

Most people like dogs. I’d love to have a dog, but we have cats because they fit our lifestyle; they don’t require the attention that a dog needs.

Studies (yes, they’ve done studies) show that Republicans prefer dogs over cats. However, President Trump doesn’t care for dogs, says he doesn’t have time for a dog, and that’s okay.

However, he frequently refers to dogs on Twitter…and almost always in a negative way, so it’s good he doesn’t have one. To the President, dogs are something you get rid of, that you spuriously dump. That’s the context for his numerous Twitter references to dogs.

Consider these Presidential tweets (and please, don’t take this post too seriously):

“DavidGregory got thrown off of TV by NBC, fired like a dog!”

“GlennBeck got fired like a dog by #Fox.”

“Now Sloppy Steve [Bannon] has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad!”

About Omarosa: “Good work by General [John F.] Kelly for quickly firing that dog!”

“Erik Erickson got fired like a dog from RedState.”

About a newspaper: “Union Leader refuses to comment as to why they were kicked out of the ABC News debate like a dog.”

“I hear that sleepy eyes @chucktodd will be fired like a dog from ratings starved Meet The Press?”

“George Will is perhaps the most boring political pundit on television. Got thrown off ABC like a dog.”

“Does anyone remember this @BillMaher clip when he got fired from ABC- in fact, fired like a dog!”

“Obama called Reverend Wright his friend, counselor & great leader–then dumped him like a dog!”

“Mitt Romney had his chance to beat a failed president but he choked like a dog.”

“Robert Pattinson should not take back Kristen Stewart. She cheated on him like a dog & will do it again–just watch.”

“Why is it necessary to comment on Arianna Huffington looks? Because she is a dog who wrongfully comments on me.”

“General McChrystal got fired like a dog by Obama.”

“Egypt is a total mess. We should have backed Mubarak instead of dropping him like a dog.”

“Obama called Reverend Wright his friend, counselor & great leader–then dumped him like a dog!”

“Piss on Rahm [Emmanuel]. He is just an Obama lap dog.”

“Ted Cruz lifts the Bible high into the air and then lies like a dog–over and over again!”

At some point, probably during his childhood, a dog apparently did something to deeply offend the President, and he has never gotten over it. I’m just glad he doesn’t speak ill of cats.

Comments Off

We Don’t Need Chatty Gas Pumps

October 15, 2018 | Category: It's My Life

Gas pumps have become annoyingly demanding. It’s one thing after another. I just want to fill my tank. But before the gasoline will flow, the machine makes me respond to a bunch of prompts.

Enter your Kroger ID number.
Enter your zip code.
Do you want to use your Kroger points?
Please insert your card.
Credit or debit?
Do you want a car wash?
Do you want a receipt at the end?
Do you know for certain that if you died tonight, you would go to heaven?

It’s like going to Office Depot, and when you’re checking out, they ask if you want stamps. No, I don’t want stamps.

I don’t mean to be anti-social, but I’m not interested in carrying on a conversation with a gas pump. Before we know it, gas pumps will become sentient. I suspect this is how the whole Terminator thing began–that Skynet was the grandchild of a jabbery gas pump.

Comments Off

Rebranding General Robert E. Lee

October 11, 2018 | Category: This or That

In the fall of 1870, Bishop Jonathan Weaver, who would serve as a United Brethren bishop until 1901, took a train from Maryland to Tennessee to conduct the annual meeting of the churches of Tennessee Conference. Robert E. Lee had just died. Weaver wrote, “All along the railroad, I see houses draped in mourning for Robert E. Lee.”

But Weaver had no sympathy for the Confederate general. His thoughts were on the hundreds of thousands who had recently died in the Civil War. Weaver continued:

“There are thousands of hearts draped in mourning over the dear ones that fell in defending the flag that Robert E. Lee strove to trail in the dust. Whatever may be said in favor of Mr. Lee as a gentleman, a scholar, and a Christian, that one act of his life will remain a dark spot on his character as long as there are hearts that love the Stars and Stripes.”

Unfortunately, time pretty much erased that “dark spot.” I, frankly, grew up with mostly favorable impressions of Lee–a great general, a southern gentleman, a devoted Christian who, as the myth goes, hated slavery and tirelessly tried to heal the country after the war. That mythology is a product of one of history’s most successful rebranding efforts, the Confederacy “Just Cause” revisionism of the early 1900s (early chapters of Jon Meacham’s recent “The Soul of America” cover it well).

Today, much of that revisionist mythology is being corrected. This would please Bishop Weaver and other United Brethren of the 1800s. It pleases me. It’s long overdue.

When it comes right down to it, Robert E. Lee was a slaveholder who betrayed his country and helped spearhead a terrible war that killed over 600,000 people. Does any American, liberal or conservative, really want to defend that? To erect monuments to traitors and defenders of slavery in town squares?

Lee was a despicable owner of over 100 slaves who split nearly every slave family under his care. After giving 50 lashes to escaped slaves, he ordered that saltwater be poured onto their wounds. When Union troops seized Lee’s plantation, they found slaves living in squalid conditions (one officer described it as “a village of pigsties”) and with no affection whatsoever for their former owner. During his incursions into Pennsylvania, Lee’s army kidnapped free blacks and forced them into slavery.

I know: it doesn’t square with your lifelong impression of Lee. But that’s who he was. People cherry-pick quotes from Lee both pro- and anti-slavery, but you can do the same for Abraham Lincoln. People are complicated. Their overall life tells the tale, and Lee’s doesn’t fare well.

I initially opposed taking down monuments to Confederate generals. But having studied how these monuments came about (most during the Klan resurgence of the early 1900s) and learning the nature of Lee, I’ve changed my mind.

Statues at battlefields are appropriate; they help tell the story of that battle (there is a statue of Lee at Gettysburg). But statues of Confederate leaders do NOT belong in the town square. They honor racists and traitors, and are a slap in the face to African Americans, to American soldiers, and to vets. Get rid of those statues. Quit exalting traitors and racists. I’m quite sure that’s what Bishop Jonathan Weaver would tell us.

(I know this troubles many people who, like me, grew up with a very positive view of General Lee. I encourage you to do your own reading about him. Do NOT rely on what you hear from pundits, either conservative or liberal.)

Comments Off

The Mindless Tribalism Curse

September 29, 2018 | Category: Current Issues

Yesterday, Facebook blew up with people expressing, with delusional authority, their opinions about the Brett Kavanaugh situation. Here’s how it broke down:

Trump supporters: believe Kavanaugh. He’s innocent, and Lindsey Graham is God’s servant. “Ditto” to whatever Rush Limbaugh says.

Not Trump supporters: believe Christine Blasey Ford. He’s guilty, and they’re still mad about Merrick Garland. “Ditto” to whatever Rachel Maddow says.

Is nobody capable of making up their own mind? Is everyone so mindless, so incapable of independent thought, that they automatically embrace the party line, and refuse to even acknowledge any evidence to the contrary? Is there no room for discussion?

I’m not a Trump supporter (Breaking News!), but here’s my opinion: I don’t have a clue. There are holes in both stories, and the Senators on both sides–though individually good men and women, I’ve chosen to believe–are entrapped in an abominably dysfunctional system that, in group situations, turns them all into crazed, grandstanding jerks.

Members of each tribe, Republican and Democrat, believe their side is wholly righteous and the other side is the epitome of evil. That their side speaks only the truth, and there is no merit to ANYTHING coming from the other side.

As a person who weighs the merits (and doesn’t claim membership in either tribe), this drives me nuts. I like discussing things rationally. But it has become practically impossible. Hardly anyone makes up their own mind anymore. They just mindlessly accept the party line.

Is this a preview of how people will respond to the Mueller report? Most likely.

Comments Off

Don’t Disparage Social Justice

September 27, 2018 | Category: Religion

A couple weeks ago, John MacArthur and others issued “The Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel.” It was controversial and stirred some pots. The statement covered 14 different subjects, and there were things I liked. But the overall theme was that Christians should focus on sharing the Gospel, rather than laboring for social justice.

If you’re familiar with John MacArthur, then you probably know that he’s never wrong. Just ask him. He’s got it all figured out. And he has determined that working for social justice, while commendable, isn’t ultimately important, so don’t focus your time there.

We can all point to sayings, principles, teachings, etc. that have guided us for many years–maybe a pithy saying learned from a parent, or a youth pastor, or from a book. I can point to several such guiding principles in my life. One came from Chuck Colson, from a message I heard him give in 1985 at a conference in Washington D.C. It was during the Moral Majority’s heyday, when the only thing that mattered (according to James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, and others) was fighting abortion.

Colson said he’d been criticized for not joining the fight against abortion. But his thing was prison ministry. He said God gives different people different passions and burdens. We shouldn’t expect everyone to share our particular passions. He cared about abortion, but that’s not what God called him to. There are things you’re passionate about, but I’m not, and vice versa. That’s okay.

I don’t think John MacArthur understands that. God has given numerous people a burden for issues of social justice–the poor, hunger, race relations, refugees, prison reform, human trafficking, income inequality, etc. (lots and lots of issues in this area, most of which many Republicans dismiss as “liberal” for some stupid reason). MacArthur implies that the goal should always be to bring salvation to people. So, if I may put words in his mouth, you help people as a way to get their attention so you can share the Four Spiritual Laws.

Is it not okay to feed a hungry child, not because he’s unsaved, but because he’s hungry?

Is it not okay to heal the sick, just because they are sick?

The United Brethren Discipline instructs members, “Take care not to despise each other’s gifts (Romans 12:3-8).” While this passage specifically talks about spiritual gifts, for me, the principle also applies to the burdens and passions God gives to people. Don’t look down on what somebody else has been called to do. Respect and honor their obedience, even if God has called you to something totally different.

God has given many people (including me) a burden for issues involving social justice, or the “social gospel.” It may or may not involve overt evangelism. What it does involve is faithfulness.

Comments Off

CT: An Evangelical Voice that has Earned the Right to be Heard

This Man is Your Friend

Eight Months, ICE, and the Soul of America

Robert Mueller Doesn’t Deserve What Congress Did to Him Yesterday

The President Targets a Lutheran Minister for Deportation

Dumped Like a Dog

We Don’t Need Chatty Gas Pumps

Rebranding General Robert E. Lee

The Mindless Tribalism Curse

Don’t Disparage Social Justice

Receive Posts by Email

Recent Posts

Categories

Facebook

Monthly Archives