JOYFULLY EMBRACING INADEQUACY

A young lady recently came to me in quite a bind. She decided that she wanted to join the Church but was not sure how to go about certain things. She wanted to know what she was supposed to do about the fact that her husband is furious about her decision and was refusing to allow her to attend Catholic services. She also wanted to know if she was permitted to attend Sunday service at the Protestant ecclesial assembly they had recently joined. If so, was she permitted to be actively involved in worship? To top it off, how was she supposed to deal with the fact that her husband was not at all interested in seeing their 6-week-old son baptized? These questions and many others were at the center of the discussion.

Instead of giving her my half-cocked answers to these questions, I did something I have rarely ever done. Were I to be honest, I would have to admit that I cannot recount a single occasion where I had actually done anything like this. What did I do? I admitted my lack of knowledge and authority in regards to matters such as these. I also informed her that while I was more than desiring to give her my personal opinion in regards to these questions, I felt that it would be dangerous for me to do so. To paraphrase, I said,

“I fear that I would place you in potential danger were I to act like I have sufficient knowledge or authority to speak on matters such as this. While my intentions may be in the right place, I fear that I may tell you to do something that you should refrain from doing or to refrain from something that you ought to do. This being said, as much as I would love to help, I have to admit my weakness. I will do my best, though, to help find someone who would be able to give you advice worthy of full acceptance.”

While this young lady may not have understood the significance of my answer, I sure did.

Christianity Without a Secular Mouthpiece

Historic Picture of a Battle Creek Radio Tower

Why is it that Christians have sold their birthright for a bowl of porage when it comes to politics? I mean, although they are entertaining and genuine, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are not Orthodox Christians. They do not use the Bible as their primary source of political or social theory. Rather, they turn to Commentary, Weekly Standard, and Irving Kristol's bookshelf. And to make matters worse we all buy into it!

Does the Bible itself not talk about social issues? Immigration, trade, warfare, currency, schooling, taxation, and the like are all talked about in the scripture. Instead they (and ourselves for the most part) turn to natural law (to Mr. Jakeway's applause) all the while ignoring the fountainhead of truth given in the Word. If King David was proud to resort to the Law before foreign leaders then why are we so hesitant to use it in formulating local and State politics? Ask yourself honestly whether the majority of your beliefs come from conservative pundits or the Word of God? And if you say that it came from the word of God can you point our where in the Bible you formulate your belief? Trust me, I have done this (and continue to all the time) and it is embarrassing!

We need a local political commentator that will talk about all of the local, state, regional, national, and world issues (in that order preferably) from a distinctly Biblical worldview. We need a man that can talk about water-lines, sewage systems, and zoning laws from a Biblical Law-Word perspective. We need a man that can talk about eminent domain, private property, gun rights, and pollution from a God's eye view. In fact, we need one who will talk about EVERY issue from a purely Biblical perspective. No more of this utilitarianism. No more of this pragmatism (though she is America's darling). No more secular mouthpieces. We need a real voice for the Religious Right of Battle Creek.

Furthermore, we need to learn how to formulate Biblical policies on our own! To learn how to use the Bible to put together a comprehensive world and life view. This would not only inform but also instruct. It would give people not only the know-how but the courage to become active in helping to resolve local matters in the best, most Biblically constructive fashion.

My question is: Why don't we have this already? Where is the outcry? Where are the people pushing their pastors, their schools, their teachers, friends, families, and local radio stations? In a free market such as the one that we have in the U.S. an idea only comes to fruition if there is enough want... The question then for us is how bad do we want it?