I wrote an oped for today's The New York Times. Click here to read the piece. As always, I love thoughts and comments either posted here or emailed to dkuo@beliefnetstaff.com.
David's article does not hold up the Democrats, but points to a fallacy that said Democrats may be under vis-a-vis the reason for some of the closing of the God-gap. His article is a well argued position that the shift is in all likelihood spiritual rather than political in nature. The affect of this may have shown itself as a shift from the Republicans towards the Democrats, but that in no way implies that what is happening has a political root. I am actually hoping that David's view is reflective of a return from the desert of political ideology to the oasis of spiritual faith. Many have conflated politics and religion with the result that their individual and corporate faiths have been degraded. May all people who are motivated by love of God and man reflect seriously upon this, and relinquish the allure of Caesar's coin to live their faith.
Donny
November 16, 2006 3:47 PM
HASH(0x90d5708)
Abortion as a birth control method is murder one. There is no such thing as same-sex "marriage" law. It has never been legal, so no one is outlawing or denying "it." A little reality is always good. I would outlaw that children be taught to embrace deviant sexual behavior in public schools. Stick with sound anatomical lessons. Sexual deviance and promiscuity It is really killing them. AND NOT always anonymously. Seperation of sex and state. It's time for that. Whatever . . ., the difference between conservatives and progressives is reality. Progressives hate morality and conservatives embrace it. While dishonesty in the GOP - when exposed - is dealt with by ridding the party of the offender, the Democrats keep re-electing their criminals. David proclaims Christ and has helped the Liberals - and worse - the Progressives, take control of power over the populace. Amen means "so be it." Right? How can I, as a Christian, amen what David Kuo has done? That's not throwing stones, that is asking an honest question.
Gretchen
November 16, 2006 4:33 PM
HASH(0x90d5a2c)
This is an excellent article! What I think David is pointing out, and which few fellow Christians are getting (just yet), is that our faith in Jesus Christ is what will change the culture, not our faith in the American political scene. By putting our energies into defeating abortion, hunger, poverty on the street level (seeking the lost and actually providing aid), we will be doing what government can never do, no matter how many laws are enacted. Christians are behaving just like liberals...thinking that the enacting of more laws is going to fix the problems. The problems have been with us since the beginning, and the only lasting fix is a life redeemed through the Savior. The government is not our Savior, it is Caesar and the twain shall never meet.
HASH(0x90d5c60)
November 17, 2006 8:31 PM
HASH(0x90d5d08)
There is one question that cannot be overlooked: What has having a self-proclaimed Bible-believing Christian in the oval office for the past six years done for the state of morality in America? Do we need more time? more power? neither of which we either deserve or can control. All I know is the conservative right has been breathing down the neck of America's moral consciousness for a long, long time, while simultaneously stabbing it in the back. The amount of corruption and immorality we see (in both parties) is heart-breaking. Do not talk about morality. We as humans do not possess it. And we especially will not achieve it by desperately clutching what power we think we have through politics and making laws. Law is powerless, weakened by the sinful nature. So in relation to my earlier question, where is the fruit of our political strivings? Believe me, I wish it were that simple. I wish that political power and legislation could set our country right and protect "the family." But until we see that fruit, which I honestly think is unlikely, if not impossible, I will be open to taking a second look at how Jesus did it in his day: not in power, but in humility. I don't think we're "supporting the annihilation of morality" by re-evaluating our methods.
John Carothers
November 18, 2006 2:28 PM
http://www.johnswork.org/
Over the past ten years I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the identification of my faith with political agendas,however noble the cause. As a body of believers, Jesus charged us with the task of spreading the message of salvation not legislation, and I can t help wondering if many Christians have gotten it backwards. I also wonder what might have been accomplished during that time had the tens of millions of dollars and thousands of hours spent in the last twenty years by Christians promoting political agendas been spent reaching out to unbelievers with the message of hope and redemption, a message about a church of the do's not the don'ts. I suspect that more might be accomplished in the worthy task of reducing sin in this great country by producing more Christians rather than more legislation. God Bless
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David's article does not hold up the Democrats, but points to a fallacy that said Democrats may be under vis-a-vis the reason for some of the closing of the God-gap. His article is a well argued position that the shift is in all likelihood spiritual rather than political in nature. The affect of this may have shown itself as a shift from the Republicans towards the Democrats, but that in no way implies that what is happening has a political root.
I am actually hoping that David's view is reflective of a return from the desert of political ideology to the oasis of spiritual faith. Many have conflated politics and religion with the result that their individual and corporate faiths have been degraded. May all people who are motivated by love of God and man reflect seriously upon this, and relinquish the allure of Caesar's coin to live their faith.
Abortion as a birth control method is murder one. There is no such thing as same-sex "marriage" law. It has never been legal, so no one is outlawing or denying "it." A little reality is always good.
I would outlaw that children be taught to embrace deviant sexual behavior in public schools. Stick with sound anatomical lessons. Sexual deviance and promiscuity It is really killing them. AND NOT always anonymously. Seperation of sex and state. It's time for that.
Whatever . . ., the difference between conservatives and progressives is reality. Progressives hate morality and conservatives embrace it. While dishonesty in the GOP - when exposed - is dealt with by ridding the party of the offender, the Democrats keep re-electing their criminals. David proclaims Christ and has helped the Liberals - and worse - the Progressives, take control of power over the populace.
Amen means "so be it." Right? How can I, as a Christian, amen what David Kuo has done? That's not throwing stones, that is asking an honest question.
This is an excellent article! What I think David is pointing out, and which few fellow Christians are getting (just yet), is that our faith in Jesus Christ is what will change the culture, not our faith in the American political scene. By putting our energies into defeating abortion, hunger, poverty on the street level (seeking the lost and actually providing aid), we will be doing what government can never do, no matter how many laws are enacted. Christians are behaving just like liberals...thinking that the enacting of more laws is going to fix the problems. The problems have been with us since the beginning, and the only lasting fix is a life redeemed through the Savior. The government is not our Savior, it is Caesar and the twain shall never meet.
There is one question that cannot be overlooked: What has having a self-proclaimed Bible-believing Christian in the oval office for the past six years done for the state of morality in America? Do we need more time? more power? neither of which we either deserve or can control. All I know is the conservative right has been breathing down the neck of America's moral consciousness for a long, long time, while simultaneously stabbing it in the back. The amount of corruption and immorality we see (in both parties) is heart-breaking. Do not talk about morality. We as humans do not possess it. And we especially will not achieve it by desperately clutching what power we think we have through politics and making laws.
Law is powerless, weakened by the sinful nature. So in relation to my earlier question, where is the fruit of our political strivings? Believe me, I wish it were that simple. I wish that political power and legislation could set our country right and protect "the family." But until we see that fruit, which I honestly think is unlikely, if not impossible, I will be open to taking a second look at how Jesus did it in his day: not in power, but in humility.
I don't think we're "supporting the annihilation of morality" by re-evaluating our methods.
Over the past ten years I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the identification of my faith with political agendas,however noble the cause.
As a body of believers, Jesus charged us with the task of spreading the message of salvation not legislation, and I can t help wondering if many Christians have gotten it backwards.
I also wonder what might have been accomplished during that time had the tens of millions of dollars and thousands of hours spent in the last twenty years by Christians promoting political agendas been spent reaching out to unbelievers with the message of hope and redemption, a message about a church of the do's not the don'ts. I suspect that more might be accomplished in the worthy task of reducing sin in this great country by producing more Christians rather than more legislation. God Bless
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