I'll volunteer the question.....maybe you wondered the same thing. Why do I write very aggressive political posts.....followed by pious Christian posts? A better question might be how I do this? Does it seem odd.....even hypocritical to you? Here's my answer:
I would never have worked on these posts....almost every day for the past ten years....if they were just politics.....not even if they were all on liberty and freedom and our Constitution. Let others do that. Yet if I wrote only on Christian topics....there would be far fewer visitors....and they would mostly be Christians. I don't know if you have noticed but I try to alternate political posts with Christian posts?
The passion in these political posts is real. My interest in politics began in 1968 with Robert F. Kennedy. It was either the first or second book that I read in my life....1958 I believe....it was one of two books that were Christmas presents....books for a young person....(the second book was The National League....there were only eight teams at the time)....it was a biography on the Marquis de Lafayette. He had more first names than anyone I had ever heard of. I remember being amazed at that. I could never even remember them all....but Lafayette stayed with me throughout the years. Many years later while on a walking tour of Paris I asked the young guide where I might find Lafayette's statue. She said...."Who?"
We have confused meekness with piety in the church....not a biblical individual piety but a Pietism that has wreaked havoc in Europe....and in America. For one thing it produces a liberal church. It takes our focus off of what Christ accomplished. I have to go back to the Martin Luther story that I've told so often. Someone came up to him and asked the question...."Father Martin....if you knew for certain that Jesus was coming back tomorrow.....what would you do? Luther answered....."I'd plant a tree"....today it could have been plant a tree.....build a house....open a savings account.....or work for God-fearing leaders.
Luther's personality was rough. Calvin's was more tempered. The Puritans could produce a Luther personality and a Calvin personality. Folks, that's what is great about this. It's diversity in God's creation. This personality variety I suspect could even be seen within the Apostles....or between Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.....or maybe even even R.C. Sproul and Billy Graham.
We're in this together folks. You're going to make mistakes and so am I. What we do not want to do is eliminate half of our resources because they either are too opinionated or too easy-going....too rough or too smooth.....too educated or too redneck. This takes effort....something we have neither the time nor inclination for. You see we feel that if we enter this arena....we may lose....and we do not in this day and age want to appear as a loser....not in the eyes of the world or of family or of friends or of anyone!
Appearances today are everything. We don't want to emphasize the nearness of Christ's return too much because someone might snicker....or eventually call us out on it. We can also see this fear of losing face in our support for Donald Trump no matter who it is he has turned out to be. We threw everything we had in that 2016 election....and won....and now we're supposed to admit that we made a mistake in the primaries?
What we should have done was pick up that sledge again when we saw who Donald Trump was....and continue to pound rail spikes like we did for the eight years of Barack Obama. We thought that the track was long enough in November 2016.....but it wasn't. We miscalculated....but if we admit this then we will just look like a bunch of losers. Pick up the sledge friends! This track may not lead to "peace and security" but in the last election it took us out of Petrograd 1917....and in the next it might pass right by Mar-a-Lago.
On the other hand do my words seem too syrupy at times? Sorry...can't help that. About twenty-five years ago I showed up at a real Presbyterian church session meeting with some questions and concerns about Reformed Theology. The teaching elder listened politely....I remember him smiling....he looked at me as our time ended....and beckoned me with...."Keep on coming!" Well I did....and try as I always do....I cannot describe the majesty and the power and the glory as we see it now....of Jesus Christ. If you yourself are a little drawn by this.....'Keep on coming!"
I would never have worked on these posts....almost every day for the past ten years....if they were just politics.....not even if they were all on liberty and freedom and our Constitution. Let others do that. Yet if I wrote only on Christian topics....there would be far fewer visitors....and they would mostly be Christians. I don't know if you have noticed but I try to alternate political posts with Christian posts?
The passion in these political posts is real. My interest in politics began in 1968 with Robert F. Kennedy. It was either the first or second book that I read in my life....1958 I believe....it was one of two books that were Christmas presents....books for a young person....(the second book was The National League....there were only eight teams at the time)....it was a biography on the Marquis de Lafayette. He had more first names than anyone I had ever heard of. I remember being amazed at that. I could never even remember them all....but Lafayette stayed with me throughout the years. Many years later while on a walking tour of Paris I asked the young guide where I might find Lafayette's statue. She said...."Who?"
We have confused meekness with piety in the church....not a biblical individual piety but a Pietism that has wreaked havoc in Europe....and in America. For one thing it produces a liberal church. It takes our focus off of what Christ accomplished. I have to go back to the Martin Luther story that I've told so often. Someone came up to him and asked the question...."Father Martin....if you knew for certain that Jesus was coming back tomorrow.....what would you do? Luther answered....."I'd plant a tree"....today it could have been plant a tree.....build a house....open a savings account.....or work for God-fearing leaders.
Luther's personality was rough. Calvin's was more tempered. The Puritans could produce a Luther personality and a Calvin personality. Folks, that's what is great about this. It's diversity in God's creation. This personality variety I suspect could even be seen within the Apostles....or between Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.....or maybe even even R.C. Sproul and Billy Graham.
We're in this together folks. You're going to make mistakes and so am I. What we do not want to do is eliminate half of our resources because they either are too opinionated or too easy-going....too rough or too smooth.....too educated or too redneck. This takes effort....something we have neither the time nor inclination for. You see we feel that if we enter this arena....we may lose....and we do not in this day and age want to appear as a loser....not in the eyes of the world or of family or of friends or of anyone!
Appearances today are everything. We don't want to emphasize the nearness of Christ's return too much because someone might snicker....or eventually call us out on it. We can also see this fear of losing face in our support for Donald Trump no matter who it is he has turned out to be. We threw everything we had in that 2016 election....and won....and now we're supposed to admit that we made a mistake in the primaries?
What we should have done was pick up that sledge again when we saw who Donald Trump was....and continue to pound rail spikes like we did for the eight years of Barack Obama. We thought that the track was long enough in November 2016.....but it wasn't. We miscalculated....but if we admit this then we will just look like a bunch of losers. Pick up the sledge friends! This track may not lead to "peace and security" but in the last election it took us out of Petrograd 1917....and in the next it might pass right by Mar-a-Lago.
On the other hand do my words seem too syrupy at times? Sorry...can't help that. About twenty-five years ago I showed up at a real Presbyterian church session meeting with some questions and concerns about Reformed Theology. The teaching elder listened politely....I remember him smiling....he looked at me as our time ended....and beckoned me with...."Keep on coming!" Well I did....and try as I always do....I cannot describe the majesty and the power and the glory as we see it now....of Jesus Christ. If you yourself are a little drawn by this.....'Keep on coming!"
