by Teri Ong
Eric Brandt, self-described “ world-traveled Colorado native, a free thinker and a philosopher,” wrote an opinion column for the Thursday, August 13th Greeley Tribune, suggesting that Christians in our society are “forcing the hand” of politicians on certain policies most people would recognize as requiring moral decisions. He wrote, “I scarcely know a fundamental Christian who isn’t, in practice, intolerant.” The very next paragraph in his opinion piece states,”The Taliban is alive and well in the United States… They don’t call themselves the Taliban in America; they call themselves ‘right-wing Christians.’”
That sounded a little intolerant of Christians to me, but maybe I am just sensitive, since I consider myself to be one.
Brandt listed off of number of atrocities committed by those who claimed to be Christians. I admit that many wicked things have been and continue to be done in the name of religion, including in the name of Christianity. Those of us who believe in Satanic evil have no trouble seeing evil done in the name of religion, particularly the Christian religion, as Satanic disinformation of the first rank. When it comes to any type of religion, or philosophy, for that matter, many people talk a good game, but fail to live it out in practice. Brandt, ironically, never mentioned any of the multitudinous atrocities committed in the name of “social democracy” or any other euphemism for atheistic totalitarianism. (Think, Stalin, Lenin, Mao, Pol Pot, Kim Jung Il, etc.)
We should evaluate plants based on the fruit they bear, not on the sign someone posted, perhaps mistakenly. I remember seeing a movie once where some old men planted a garden from seed packets they bought from a catalog. They planted peas, beans, lettuce, etc., based on the information on the package. But when the plants came up, they were all corn. What they got was a crop of corn– it did not matter what the packages said on the outside.
Christian is as Christian does. Jesus Christ said that the whole law of God hangs on two things, loving God with all your heart, and loving your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:30-31) He taught what we call the “Golden Rule”: “Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.” (Matthew 7:12) If anyone is curious about what it looks like when someone is being Christian (not just using the name), Jesus explains it thoroughly in his greatest sermon, recorded in Matthew chapters 5 -7.
Jesus says nothing in his sermon about enacting legislation or converting people by force. True Christians win converts by love– not by violence. True Christianity has been a source of great good around the world. Churches, historically, have created, funded, and staffed more hospitals, schools, orphanages, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, safe houses, addiction recovery programs, etc., than any other social institution, including the U.S. government. Church volunteers did more to rebuild the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina than any other entity– and at no cost to disinterested tax payers!
In our own community, churches help feed the needy through food cupboard programs and by helping the Weld Food Bank. Churches run all sorts of youth programs giving kids after-school opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have. Churches run daycare services for working parents. Churches help with neighborhood clean-ups, provide locations for community services such as flu clinics and health screenings, and open their doors to many local groups and activities, often for free. Not to mention that our churches are the main source of moral training– the real thing that keeps the world safe for democracy.
I admit that Christians might seem a little strident sometimes when we are practicing the Golden Rule. Protecting the weak and helpless sometimes means taking on those with power, like when we take up the cause of unborn babies. But I certainly don’t want to have my skull crushed and my brains sucked out, nor do I want to be dismembered alive, so I can’t imagine that a weak, helpless baby should have to undergo that kind of treatment. I am bound to do to the unborn as I would want them to do to me.
I am very sorry for those of you who don’t know any true Christians. I can give you some locations here in town where you would have a good probability of meeting some. True Christians will not try to force your hand in any way; but if you need something, they will offer you a helping hand.
