One of the things that seems more and more obvious as the days go by is that the acceptability of being a Bible believer in the culture has been diminishing very quickly. In American history it has been seen as a positive in most areas of culture to call oneself a Christian. From presidents to athletes, to businessmen, many people in the past announced their Christian faith as an aid to their standing with the people. Christians were seen as being honest, kind, selfless and caring. I'm here to tell you today: Time are changing.
Now there are many people who will screech in horror at someone saying they are a Christian. Intolerant, simpleton, hateful, backward, and insane are the words they use to describe Christians. The group of people who speak this way used to be very few in number and on the fringe of society. But their numbers have grown. Now when a national reporter speaks to someone about their Christian faith you can often hear the sarcasm and contempt in their voice. The political spectrum has shifted to the point where those on the "liberal" side of politics make no false pretense of their disdain for Christian beliefs. "Right to life" and "traditional marriage" are just two of the areas that bring out the wrath of the Left. In many ways we have learned to expect these reactions, but recently the numbers that subscribe to this type of perspective have grown to well over half the public.
One mechanism that has been used in this downgrading of Christians is the question: "Do you believe that the world was created literally in 6 days" or "Do you believe that the Bible should be taken literally?"
President Bush recently answered this question. He said that the Bible is "probably not" literally true. Why would he respond this way? It seems he wanted to give an "acceptable" answer.
The basis for this question is the assumption that Darwin's theory of macro-evolution is 100% true, and not only true, but proven to the point that there is NO ONE of any intelligence that has any doubts as to its truth.
So when a Bible believing Christian says that they do believe the Bible is literally true, they are automatically dumb and simplistic. According to the power brokers of culture, someone is disqualified for national prominence if they take the Bible seriously.
Even on the conservative side things have gotten to the point that a friend of mine told me during the Presidential primaries that he wouldn't vote for Huckabee because he is "too Christian" and the press would hound him with questions. Therefore he has no chance to win.
Now my point was not to say that everyone should have voted for Huckabee. But when a conservative Christian is seen as "disqualified" to be President by other Christians the reality of the marginalization of Christians on the national stage is complete.
So what are we to do about this? Should we abandon our belief in God's literal creation? To many who claim the name of Christ, that is exactly what they do. They filter their understanding of the Bible by what science tells us is true.
So does it really matter if we abandon the literal creation? Yes it does. Next post I will examine what importance to the whole Biblical message is the literal creation.
Now there are many people who will screech in horror at someone saying they are a Christian. Intolerant, simpleton, hateful, backward, and insane are the words they use to describe Christians. The group of people who speak this way used to be very few in number and on the fringe of society. But their numbers have grown. Now when a national reporter speaks to someone about their Christian faith you can often hear the sarcasm and contempt in their voice. The political spectrum has shifted to the point where those on the "liberal" side of politics make no false pretense of their disdain for Christian beliefs. "Right to life" and "traditional marriage" are just two of the areas that bring out the wrath of the Left. In many ways we have learned to expect these reactions, but recently the numbers that subscribe to this type of perspective have grown to well over half the public.
One mechanism that has been used in this downgrading of Christians is the question: "Do you believe that the world was created literally in 6 days" or "Do you believe that the Bible should be taken literally?"
President Bush recently answered this question. He said that the Bible is "probably not" literally true. Why would he respond this way? It seems he wanted to give an "acceptable" answer.
The basis for this question is the assumption that Darwin's theory of macro-evolution is 100% true, and not only true, but proven to the point that there is NO ONE of any intelligence that has any doubts as to its truth.
So when a Bible believing Christian says that they do believe the Bible is literally true, they are automatically dumb and simplistic. According to the power brokers of culture, someone is disqualified for national prominence if they take the Bible seriously.
Even on the conservative side things have gotten to the point that a friend of mine told me during the Presidential primaries that he wouldn't vote for Huckabee because he is "too Christian" and the press would hound him with questions. Therefore he has no chance to win.
Now my point was not to say that everyone should have voted for Huckabee. But when a conservative Christian is seen as "disqualified" to be President by other Christians the reality of the marginalization of Christians on the national stage is complete.
So what are we to do about this? Should we abandon our belief in God's literal creation? To many who claim the name of Christ, that is exactly what they do. They filter their understanding of the Bible by what science tells us is true.
So does it really matter if we abandon the literal creation? Yes it does. Next post I will examine what importance to the whole Biblical message is the literal creation.
3 comments:
"...when a conservative Christian is seen as "disqualified" to be President by other Christians, the reality of the marginalization of Christians on the national stage is complete."
I agree. One expects the unregenerate world to respond toward Christians with hostility; after all, Jesus said it would be that way. But it's extremely sad when those who profess the name of Jesus as their Lord and Savior are unwilling to support and stand behind committed Christians simply because the unregenerate world doesn't like them. That attitude shows a greater love for man's approval rather than God's approval.
"...when a conservative Christian is seen as "disqualified" to be President by other Christians, the reality of the marginalization of Christians on the national stage is complete."
I would agree to a point. I heard a decent ammount of Christians that didn't see Huckabee as qualified, but not one of them for the reason that he was "too Christian."
Of course I would like to see qualified believers as the decision makers, but I don't think voting for someone soley on the basis of their faith is a good idea. Not to say that's why everyone who voted for him did so, or I personally think he's unqualified.
I agree that the Christian political candidate must be qualified to hold the particular office he/she is running for before anyone, including other Christians, gives them support. I assumed such when I wrote my previous response, but obviously did not specifically state such.
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