Wednesday, October 08, 2003
RANT ABOUT ATROCITY – MAN’S INHUMANITY TO MAN
I feel a rant coming on! I want this to be more than just a rant against something. But I’m afraid that’s what it’s going to be. I feel so strongly passionate about this I’m afraid I won’t be very organized.
I have a Christian Brother in another country that I have come to love more than I probably would love a “flesh-and-blood” brother. (I never had one so I don’t really know.) A recent email from him has served to crystallize thoughts I have had for quite some time.
My friend has been reading articles on how his country took land and rights from the First Nations people. It is no different in America. Our history is as sordid, if not more so, than the history of my friend’s country. What we did to our First Nations people is absolutely unconscionable. We brutally inflicted starvation without compassion and meted out violence without provocation. Then we wondered why the First Nations people reacted so violently. Duh! Who was violent first? Who was uncompassionate first! Who brought atrocity upon atrocity upon these first nations people?
We brutally forced them into smaller and smaller land areas. Land areas for the most part that were the least desirable. Finally we “corralled” them like animals on “Reservations”, thinking that was all that was necessary. Usually these “Reservations” were not in the most desirable locations nor were they the most desirable or productive property.
Then add to this what was done for so many years to the Black community in America. And none of this has really ceased – either to the First Nations people or the Black community.
And we like to proclaim that we are a “Christian Nation”! Ha! I have been reading again the history of Israel and Judah. They WERE God’s chosen. Yet their behavior was so erratic. Like a yo-yo they alternated between obedience and disobedience; between faithfulness and unfaithfulness. God’s punishment was delivered over and over.
Why do we, or any other nation, think we should escape God’s wrath and punishment? We Americans seem so pious; so self-righteous. I’m talking about the Christian community in American, not our hell-bent brother in the world! Why, in God’s name, do we think we should escape punishment? Why should God treat us any differently than He did his disobedient children, Israel and Judah? Just this morning I was reading the prophet Jeremiah. I was struck by chapter 12, verse 17: “But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it,” declares the Lord.
I’ve gotten myself in a bit of trouble at church a few times recently by suggesting that America is not a “Christian Nation”! But I stand by my statements. Consider these facts from the George Barna Research Group:
· Nearly half of adults questioned said they formed moral choices based on what gave them pleasure or made them feel good. Only one in four said they relied on religious principles or Bible content for decisions.
· On abortion, homosexuality, and sexual fidelity, six out of ten said co-habitation (that’s “shacking up” without benefit of the marriage commitment) is acceptable.
· The Bible says divorce is allowed (not required) only after adultery or desertion, but nearly two-thirds of adults said divorce is not a sin in any instance.
· Half of all adults said watching a movie with explicit sexual behavior is morally acceptable.
Barna’s researchers concluded that: “the emerging generation of parents is the least likely of any demographic subgroup in the nation to possess and transit Biblical moral values…. Within the next quarter century we will likely see a state of radical moral amnesia in America.”
“Christian Nation!” Ha! I stand by my statement. Regardless of what we may put on our coins or our currency, we are NOT a Christian nation. I personally think it is high time we were at least honest and admitted it.
True, we have been greatly blessed by God. (Why, I’m not sure!) I do have a sense of patriotism. I am thankful I live in this country. I enjoy the blessings and the “creature comfort” that comes from living here. And I am thankful for that.
But I do not consider this an “entitlement” from God. It is simply another demonstration of His Grace. Rather than being smug and self-confident, I (and all citizens) should be grateful. But we’re not! In a little more than a month we will celebrate “Thanksgiving Day”. But we will simply be thankful for a day or two off work. We will miss the point of the day.
I have to quit. You are probably tired of this and I’m getting too worked up. Because I don’t know what I’m going to do about it!
Jim
posted by jim 11:23 AM 0 comments
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