Societal Decay – Where Are the Christians

Opinion, Religion

Opinion article by John Tutten:The violence and mayhem on display in Baltimore this week illustrate the unmistakable failure of big government liberalism. It’s a scene that has played out in other areas of the country in cities where the liberal establishment is deeply entrenched.

The derangement and dysfunction we are witnessing bring into full relief the fact that liberalism is bankrupt and incapable of providing citizens with fruitful, productive, and meaningful lives. Everywhere liberalism has full rein, we see fractured families, high unemployment, rampant crime, and hopelessness.

Liberal politicians and their cronies attach themselves to the misery like leeches, bleeding the citizens of hope and opportunity. They perpetuate a cycle of misery by robbing people of their initiative and belief in their own ability to find happiness while they enrich themselves off the public largess. They cynically portray themselves as the champions of the common man while they ensnare him in a web of deceitful rhetoric and stifling bureaucracy.

Yet, the cycle of degradation continues to turn unabated. With the failure of liberalism so apparent, why does it continue to spread and bring increasing societal decay?

Those of you reading who are Christians, take a good look in the mirror. As Pogo said, “We have met the enemy and he is us”. Christians have abdicated their responsibility to be the “salt and light” in our culture that Jesus called us to be.

As Christians, we have been charged to engage and influence the culture for the Kingdom. We are directed to have a solid understanding of our theology and be able to give good reasons and evidence for what we believe. Christians are to follow the example of Jesus and challenge the political authorities (the Pharisees in Jesus’ day) on actions they may be taking in conflict with the Christian worldview.

That’s not how we see Christians acting today and I believe it starts with the Church. Unfortunately, the Church is not influencing the culture for the Kingdom. Instead, the Church is conforming to the culture. Instead of standing for Biblical truth, the Church is “going along to get along”.

I’m sorry if I offend some of your sensibilities, but homosexual marriage is and will forever be destructive to society. Ancient Greeks appear to have understood this. Though their culture embraced homosexual behavior, the Greeks were against homosexual marriage. They clearly believed it was bad for their society. (Thanks to Justice Scalia for that tidbit.)

However, the Presbyterian Church officially endorses it despite the Bible clearly calling the behavior an abomination. The Episcopal Church has consecrated openly gay bishops. Certain Evangelical churches are getting a bit wobbly on this too.

We see many of the biggest and richest Christian churches today peddling a “prosperity gospel” that is preoccupied with how individual followers can gain whatever material wealth they desire. All they have to do is claim it. Speaking truth to power, influencing the culture for the Kingdom – fahgetaboutit! Instead, say a prayer, make a tithe, and the truck of your dreams is yours! This is paganism not Christianity.

The Christian Church remains terrified of science despite the fact that so much of what we are learning about creation supports the Biblical account. On one hand, churches are aligning theology with the Darwinian account of how life began to conform to secular culture. On the other, we have the young earthers who essentially reject any evidence that does not support a six thousand year old earth and in turn alienate the Christian worldview from most thinking men and women.

The teaching we get from most churches today is shallow and superficial and it’s directly affecting our children. We are not equipping and preparing them for the attacks they will encounter when they leave the home and go off to college. There’s ample statistics that show about seventy-five percent of them will leave the faith because they can’t stand up to the secular onslaught. Churches are spending all of their effort telling kids what to believe, but are not giving them a clue as to why they should believe it or how to defend it.

Is it any wonder why Christianity is losing so many followers? Is it any wonder why its influence is waning so rapidly? Christians have become so self-centered and ignorant of Biblical truth that they are simply not equipped to engage the secular culture. It doesn’t have to be this way.

No other worldview has the wealth of corroborating physical evidence that Christianity has. The universe had a beginning like the Bible says. The universe is expanding like the Bible says. The universe is unbelievably fine tuned for life as the Bible says. All biological life is based on information and we know this kind information only comes from a mind, an unbelievably powerful mind.

The Bible’s veracity is well supported by archeological evidence and extra-biblical writers and historians. Most Biblical scholars agree that what is written in the Bible today accurately reflects what the scriptural authors originally wrote.

Wherever and whenever Christians show up and fight, we win. We have the all the tools to win the country back to the values and principles it was founded on. We just have to get engaged.

So you have money issues or health issues or relationship issues. Get over it. Your reward is not in this life. Your engagement in the cultural battle must be.

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