Some of life’s concepts are so defining that, by their very nature, they preclude any alternatives. An individual who is honest ninety-nine percent of the time is a liar. Someone who is almost always intoxicated is properly deemed a drunk. No common ground exists between the absolutes of right and wrong. And any attempts at establishing such philosophy will be in vain. Jesus expressed this perfectly when He warned against attempting to serve two masters.
Sadly, the modern Church increasingly ignores Jesus' simple counsel and seeks to bridge that gap on a host of issues. From abortion to same sex marriage to the enviroment, churches are trying to bridge the gap with empathy towards those who have views in todays society that are contridictory to the core values of Christianity. Attempting to relate to the secular world on this basis of intermingling with popular culture only causes the Church to lose its credibility in the eyes of the very people who need it most. The more the Church seeks to look like the world around it, the more diluted and useless it becomes.
Just look at the example of Europe. During the twentieth century, the Church pursued the very path that they are pursuing now here in the United States. On hindsight, we see the very example that used to have a very dominate and vital influence on the culture and the lifestyles of those in Europe, become almost non-existent. Huge churches in Europe stand nearly empty, while those who are in attendance and their clergy, almost belittled and scoffed for having such "radical" views on the world and society. Here in America, Churches verge on following the same course.
The latest episode that should cause concern among real Christians is the collective decision of Southern Baptists to accept the premise of global warming, attempts to offer it legitimacy by spiritualizing society’s anxieties over it, and to far too great a degree, accepting the worldly “solutions” proposed by the likes of Al Gore and other enviromentalists.
It is bad enough that the Southern Baptists will quickly find themselves entangled in efforts to theologically reconcile the Sermon on the Mount with compact fluorescent light bulbs. What is next? Perhaps liberal theologians now spreading the word in the Southern Bapist Church will now attempt to make the pitch that the winged creatures spoken of in the books of Isaiah and Revelation provide a prophetic basis for the Endangered Species Act. Who knows, but the obviously let the cat out of the bag here. Worse however, they are joining the fray just as the hoax of global warming is being thoroughly debunked by scientists who want us to know the turth and are tired of being silenced by the same type who pulled the theory of darwinism and evolution over our eyes and blinded us with nothing but conjecture and lies.
Rather than remaining permanently set on the enduring truths that define Christians and Christianity according to the precepts handed down from the Prophets and the Savior, the Church is opting to offer its own, predictably watered down version of the Gospel according to the nightly news. Even more abominable is that this hoax is presented with a smattering of Scripture, in a statement entitled “A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change,” which is clearly intended to project the notion that this latest Baptist foray into “political correctness” is being perpetrated for Biblical purposes.
Contrary to those who seek the abolition of religion from our day-to-day lives, the Bible declares no prohibition on involvement in politics. Even a haphazard reading of the Book of Esther provides convincing proof that God’s people ought to utilize the opportunities given them to honorably help those around them. Yet when such an effort is undertaken in response to social pressure and passing fads, it represents little more than a submission that stems from a lack of faith.
Southern Baptists, Lutherans, Catholics, Methodists, Eposcopalians, and many other sects have had multiple opportunities during the past few years to make a profound statement on unfolding events that adversely affect the spiritual health of the Church. Amazingly, these people can not find sufficient Scriptural grounds to take a stand against a government school system that is institutionally hostile to Christian principles. But are now willing to wag righteous fingers in the faces of their congregations while preaching on the immorality of driving an SUV.
In February of this year, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the chief spokesman for the Church of England, shocked his fellow Anglicans by suggesting that Islamic sharia law might be implemented as a means of cultural coexistence with that nation’s exploding Muslim population. Within the past few days, Democrat Presidential candidate Barack Obama postulated that in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was making a pitch for same-sex marriage.
As a result of incidents like these, the real purpose and message of the Biblical Church is increasingly being stifled and muddied. Generations to come will look less and less to such an institution for guidance and direction on those matters of life and eternity about which it was charged to enlighten mankind.
It is important to point out that throughout the ages, such abominations did not burst upon the Christian scene overnight. Rather, they resulted from the slow infiltration of secular ideology into a Church that has at times willingly dropped its defenses. This latest outrage by the Southern Baptists represents a significant step in that direction and soon to be mimcked by other denomiantions in America.
