Ideas Have Consequences
As we grieve for the loss of brothers and sisters at Fort Hood, Texas, and pray for Gods peace and comfort for their families and the community, may we consider the urgent need to come to our senses regarding the folly of political correctness.
How many tragic events will it take before we realize that our current battles are not unlike the battles of yesterday? Why are we so often surprised by the actions of people who have a clear and dangerous ideological distinction from us? Many of us remember the stories of the Nazi occupation of European countries, the concentration and death camps and the determination of the followers of one ideology to extinguish all others. It took tremendous resolve and sacrifice to win this war. We faced a similar threat after World War II and fought the Communist in Korea and Vietnam and a Cold War with an arms build up and a somewhat diminished ideological debate. That debate like many others has been abandoned by the embracing of the new tolerance and moral relativity.
We are witnessing the fruits of ideological capitulation on the part of our religious, educational and political institutions. Nurtured by our intellectual political enemies in the universities and agencies of social change "Political Correctness" has become the defining quality of the New Progressive American. Not willing or able to take a stand against ideologies that destroy the liberating qualities of a moral absolute we are now unwittingly falling for anything, surrendering security and freedom. PC has neutered our ability to engage in a reasonable debate regarding the validity and consequences of philosophies and ideologies that shore up or tear down the God given freedoms we have been blessed with in America.
Kerby Anderson, of Probe Ministries International explains the problem.
“Much of the confusion stems from our country's misunderstanding of democratic pluralism. Our founders wisely established a country that protected individual personal beliefs with constitutional guarantees of speech, assembly, and religion. But undergirding this pluralism was a legal foundation that presupposed a Judeo-Christian system of ethics. Thus, in the area of personal ethics, people are free to think and believe anything they want. Moreover, they are free to practice a high degree of ethical pluralism in their personal life. To use a common phrase, they are free "to do their own thing." But that doesn't imply total ethical anarchy. Not everyone can "do his own thing" in every arena of life, so government must set some limits to human behavior.”
We are called time and again to stand up and engage the enemies of this freedom at all levels, spiritual, intellectual and physical. By necessity this will entail a healthy discussion unfettered by the touchy feely relativity of the PC intellectual. This will entail a healthy loving evangelical proclamation of the absolutes found in scripture with the hope of the propagation of the forgiveness and grace of Jesus Christ. This will entail a strong posture of defense in our government and military that stands to defend the rights of all who do good, and punishing those who do evil while maintaining the highest capacities and qualities of justice and liberty. (Romans 13) This assumes that we are able to freely discern and express what is good and evil without the interference of those who would destroy our freedoms.
This first great battle was lost in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis chapters 2 and 3) When Eve was approached by the serpent, his first strike was to her intellect. He questioned Eve as to the validity of Gods word. “ Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’? As the devil twisted the words of God, Eve accepted his premise that perhaps God was not revealing all the beneficial attributes of his creation. Having captured Eves mind it was a short step to corrupting her will. You know the rest of the story. The concept is clear in scripture “as he thinketh in his heart so is he” (Proverbs 23:) the mind and heart control the will. “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” (Matthew 12: 35)
In many countries, Muslim thinking, based on studies of their religious text the Koran, is perceived as anti-Christian and consequently follows that it is anti-American. Many Muslims assume incorrectly that all Americans are Christian, much like we assume incorrectly that all Muslims are either followers of a peaceful religion or terrorist. Our lack of understanding the extremes in both the Christian and Muslim world adds to our confusion and ability to reason correctly. In fact sin has no boundaries; the Muslim and the Christian are equally plagued with sin and its tragic consequences. The great distinction (that we are in danger of losing) is the fact that our foundation of freedom is based on scriptural principles and the freedom by which Christ has set us free. (Galatians 5:1) In comparison many extremist believe the Koran calls for death to infidels and un-believers (Jews and Christians included), Christianity calls for speaking the truth in love and extending the grace and forgiveness of our lord Jesus Christ to those who are lost. We have no mandate to force our faith upon the others by the sword but to explain the mercy and grace of the gospel, and to teach all things that has been revealed to us in His word. (Matthew 28:20)
This battle is not to be taken lightly and we ignore its necessity to our peril. As we grieve with those who grieve and pray for the souls that suffer in this loss let us not lose faith in God. May He empower us in His Spirit to engage the enemy at all fronts intellectually, spiritually and physically to preserve our freedom and the freedom of others to pursue God without doing harm. For we truly believe that “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
(Hebrews 11:6)
How many tragic events will it take before we realize that our current battles are not unlike the battles of yesterday? Why are we so often surprised by the actions of people who have a clear and dangerous ideological distinction from us? Many of us remember the stories of the Nazi occupation of European countries, the concentration and death camps and the determination of the followers of one ideology to extinguish all others. It took tremendous resolve and sacrifice to win this war. We faced a similar threat after World War II and fought the Communist in Korea and Vietnam and a Cold War with an arms build up and a somewhat diminished ideological debate. That debate like many others has been abandoned by the embracing of the new tolerance and moral relativity.
We are witnessing the fruits of ideological capitulation on the part of our religious, educational and political institutions. Nurtured by our intellectual political enemies in the universities and agencies of social change "Political Correctness" has become the defining quality of the New Progressive American. Not willing or able to take a stand against ideologies that destroy the liberating qualities of a moral absolute we are now unwittingly falling for anything, surrendering security and freedom. PC has neutered our ability to engage in a reasonable debate regarding the validity and consequences of philosophies and ideologies that shore up or tear down the God given freedoms we have been blessed with in America.
Kerby Anderson, of Probe Ministries International explains the problem.
“Much of the confusion stems from our country's misunderstanding of democratic pluralism. Our founders wisely established a country that protected individual personal beliefs with constitutional guarantees of speech, assembly, and religion. But undergirding this pluralism was a legal foundation that presupposed a Judeo-Christian system of ethics. Thus, in the area of personal ethics, people are free to think and believe anything they want. Moreover, they are free to practice a high degree of ethical pluralism in their personal life. To use a common phrase, they are free "to do their own thing." But that doesn't imply total ethical anarchy. Not everyone can "do his own thing" in every arena of life, so government must set some limits to human behavior.”
We are called time and again to stand up and engage the enemies of this freedom at all levels, spiritual, intellectual and physical. By necessity this will entail a healthy discussion unfettered by the touchy feely relativity of the PC intellectual. This will entail a healthy loving evangelical proclamation of the absolutes found in scripture with the hope of the propagation of the forgiveness and grace of Jesus Christ. This will entail a strong posture of defense in our government and military that stands to defend the rights of all who do good, and punishing those who do evil while maintaining the highest capacities and qualities of justice and liberty. (Romans 13) This assumes that we are able to freely discern and express what is good and evil without the interference of those who would destroy our freedoms.
This first great battle was lost in the Garden of Eden. (Genesis chapters 2 and 3) When Eve was approached by the serpent, his first strike was to her intellect. He questioned Eve as to the validity of Gods word. “ Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’? As the devil twisted the words of God, Eve accepted his premise that perhaps God was not revealing all the beneficial attributes of his creation. Having captured Eves mind it was a short step to corrupting her will. You know the rest of the story. The concept is clear in scripture “as he thinketh in his heart so is he” (Proverbs 23:) the mind and heart control the will. “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” (Matthew 12: 35)
In many countries, Muslim thinking, based on studies of their religious text the Koran, is perceived as anti-Christian and consequently follows that it is anti-American. Many Muslims assume incorrectly that all Americans are Christian, much like we assume incorrectly that all Muslims are either followers of a peaceful religion or terrorist. Our lack of understanding the extremes in both the Christian and Muslim world adds to our confusion and ability to reason correctly. In fact sin has no boundaries; the Muslim and the Christian are equally plagued with sin and its tragic consequences. The great distinction (that we are in danger of losing) is the fact that our foundation of freedom is based on scriptural principles and the freedom by which Christ has set us free. (Galatians 5:1) In comparison many extremist believe the Koran calls for death to infidels and un-believers (Jews and Christians included), Christianity calls for speaking the truth in love and extending the grace and forgiveness of our lord Jesus Christ to those who are lost. We have no mandate to force our faith upon the others by the sword but to explain the mercy and grace of the gospel, and to teach all things that has been revealed to us in His word. (Matthew 28:20)
This battle is not to be taken lightly and we ignore its necessity to our peril. As we grieve with those who grieve and pray for the souls that suffer in this loss let us not lose faith in God. May He empower us in His Spirit to engage the enemy at all fronts intellectually, spiritually and physically to preserve our freedom and the freedom of others to pursue God without doing harm. For we truly believe that “He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
(Hebrews 11:6)
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