I predicted that Romney would win the election. It never occurred to me that Americans would NOT put an end to our economic / political slide into social and fiscal oblivion. I Was Wrong! But, upon reflection I realize I was actually Right before I was Wrong! Let me explain:
For years I have been warning the Christian Community about the effort to subordinate Doctrine and elevate Experience. This anti-intellectual approach to Christianity has destroyed churches, corrupted doctrine and marginalized The Message. Christianity has become a lapdog instead of a guard dog.
What I failed to understand is that the general population has evolved along the same lines. What I thought was a religious phenomena was actually a popular social trend. The recent elections illustrated this fact in frustrating and discouraging ways.
The candidate that offered the least amount of sound doctrine and the greatest amount of emotional satisfaction, won! The candidate who has set out to destroy our economy; the candidate who has worked tirelessly to undermine the Rule of Law; the candidate who has worked hard to Regulate every area of American life; this is the candidate a slim majority of voters saw as Qualified to be their President.
What happened? While we slept the enemy slipped in and sowed tares among the wheat. No, not President Obama! Not the Democrats! Not the Socialist-Progressives! Christians, so-called!
We bemoan the moral condition of our society without giving credit to those calling themselves Christian who have led the way. The group commissioned to be Salt and Light in a dying world have seen their Mission to embrace that world. In so doing, they have become just like the world they embrace. The consequence of which is a lessening of morality among those who profess Christ, followed by an even lower standard of morality being expressed by the world.
Let me explain: The Church of The Lord Jesus Christ is the moral conscience of the society in which it exists. In America, more than any other nation on earth, Christianity, as it reflected the legal, social, moral standards enshrined in our Constitution and By-Laws, was the bell-weather of American culture. As it has abdicated its responsibility the culture has become more crude.
It's like parents in a family. We know children will only live up to a certain percentage of what parents expect: it's in their nature to resist. For this reason, parents have an obligation to hold children to the highest possible standards of morality and character. If a parent lowers the expectation, the child will naturally lower his / her response. [there are exceptions -- they're called exceptions because they are not normal and they are so rare]
As Christians sought to 'build bridges to the culture,' [1947 Harold J. Okenga's "New Evangelicalism"] they were forced to compromise. "Politics creates strange bedfellows."
As Post-moderism's "Situation Ethics" came along [1957], Christians first reacted against it and then embraced it [The Charismatic Movement of the 1960's -- with it's rejection of the standard interpretation of words and emphasis on subjective feeling].
Then came the 'Sexual Revolution' [1970's], with it's new-found 'Right' to abortion. Self-centered 'Baby-Boomers' were raising their children to be true to themselves and not let other people squeeze them into their mold. The result was an explosion of drugs, sex and teen-pregnancies. The music was loud and raucous. The fashions were lewd and shocking in its color and style.
How did The Church respond? By embracing it! All of it! Being non-judgmental and by bringing the music into church, Christians were saying the profane culture was something they could live with. They would modify it, but not condemn it. Thus was born the 'Chorus' which replaced the 'Hymn,' and Doctrine took a back seat.
Mega-churches sprang up all across America. Not one of them built on the Preaching of The Word of God! 'Sharing' was now the accepted means for communicating to Christians. 'Dialog' was more important than authoritative pronouncement. 'Relationships' were more important than doctrine. How the Service made me "feel" was more important than the information communicated.
In all of this, groups of 'christians' were finding common-cause with one another -- not around what they believed -- but around their shared feelings / needs. Disparate groups were embracing one another. Religious Cults were being brought into the Christian Fold. Enemies of The Cross of Christ were now 'brothers in the Lord.' No longer was the Goal to Evangelize, now it was to Consolidate in order to influence the world for Jesus.
Today, churches spring up like weeds in every city, town and hamlet. The secular-sounding music draws them in. The relaxed atmosphere makes them feel comfortable. The messages delivered do not insult or condemn. All-in-All, folks have a good time. The Message? You're going to church, praying, worshipping, contributing, loving one another -- who's to say you're NOT a Christian?
The Church following The World. The World feeling greater moral freedom, since Christians are doing it too. The society slipping into oblivion.
'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee,.....seeing thou has forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children' [Hosea 4:6]
So....when you bemoan the recent election result, look in the mirror. These folks who voted to support and extend the profane, bankrupt, licentious culture are simply acting out, in the extreme, what the visible church is illustrating to be God's purpose for life.
I Was Right!
