Forget the Nation, What Say You?

Human societies, like human beings, live by faith and die when faith dies.
Whittaker Chambers

“But what about you? He asked. Who do you say I am?”
-The Gospel of Mark, Chapter 8:29


So it is official, folks. We are NOT a Christian nation. That sounds like check mark number two completed on the “fundamentally change America ‘to do’ list”. It would be easy for me to ridicule the president’s Carter-ish last couple of weeks, but for #%its and giggles, let’s assume he’s correct on this one. So what?! In the scheme of things, does it matter to God?

Maybe not. The story of Jesus Christ has thrived for over two thousand years under a myriad of rulers and systems of government. That the U.S.A may, or may not, have been founded by Christians likely did not go unnoticed by the Almighty. As a nation we are limping to reach a quarter of a century. I suppose, should “a nation” let his contract lapse, he will be somewhat disappointed. But what I’ve read about the dude gives me the impression he’s a detail guy. Jesus had this uncanny nature and seemingly bad habit of picking people out of crowds and using modes of communication that somewhat defied conventional wisdom of the time. Grouping humans is a human trait, not a Godly one.

I get the feeling he really doesn’t NEED a Constitutional Democratic Republic as much as we do. One could actually argue this whole “freedom” thing has made us just a little lazy and ineffective. C’mon, we know where I’m going. Take a step back. Survey the landscape. Take into account all that is happening. Now, read Mark 8:29 again and consider its context and setting. I did this in church this morning, glancing back and forth in my note guide from the bulletin handout. It hit me pretty hard. “Being” Christian has been really easy for us, and those days are going away very quickly. Imagine how hard “witnessing” will be when threats are real, rather than the manifest nervousness of worrying someone might see me publicly praying in a restaurant before dinner? Secular historians know and admit of his existence and his death. The challenges mounted to debunk a resurrected Christ are weak. We too are weak, though. Have we been sufficiently tested? Take for example the challenge often made that “I think this Jesus was a good guy and a great moral teacher but…I don't buy he's God”. How does one respond?

“A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell.

You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
-CS Lewis, Mere Christianity

Recently I read that Ronald Reagan was drawn to and fascinated by the stories of atheist and agnostic, conservative intellectuals who converted to Christianity. Some of the names include Malcolm Muggeridge, Wilhelm Roepke, and Frank Meyer. Reagan also studied Alexander Solzhenitsyn. A late, great friend of this blog, Dr. Ben Michael Carter, followed their discovery path as well. You see, in the end the human spirit can only obtain temporary fulfillment by seeking to control one's surroundings. Faith is more than emotion, more than intellectual pursuit, and more than physical works. Such an enlightened devotion is a threat to the collectivist state.

Our nation is moving quickly toward an environment in which spiritual conviction is met with great disdain by the establishment. What today is only uncomfortable in confrontation will unfortunately become heated. As individuals we owe it to ourselves to be prepared.

Was he a liar, insane, or right?


Bob
treo_bob@yahoo.com


For in this century, within the next decades, will be decided for generations whether all mankind is to become Communist, whether the whole world is to become free, or whether, in the struggle, civilization as we know it is to be completely destroyed or completely changed.
Whittaker Chambers

For Reading: The Intellectual Origins of Reagan's Faith (by Paul Kengor, Ph.D. 4/30/2004)