Category: Ethics

I don’t normally respond to social media post. But the following was posted in the Anglican Communion group on Facebook. It epitomizes the danger we’re in.

“Jesus didn’t eat with tax collectors and sinners because he wanted to appear inclusive, tolerant, and accepted [sic]. He ate with them to call them to repentance.”

Wrong, Jesus ate with them because he loved them. He didn’t “appear” inclusive, tolerant, and accepting, he WAS inclusive, tolerant, and accepting. He died for us and accepted us, now we have to die to self and accept him. The problem is on our side, not Christ’s. Repentance is about us accepting Christ, not Christ accepting us.

Eating with someone is fellowshipping with them. It is accepting them as they are. The Pharisees wouldn’t eat with the tax collectors and sinners, because they were not inclusive, tolerant, and accepting. The Pharisees wanted them to first become religious, then they would be included and accepted.

He First Love Us

“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32). Jesus draws people unto himself, he doesn’t drive them. Sheep are lead, cattle are driven. And Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

In fact, it’s hard to understand how anybody can read about the Lord being our Shepherd and the prodigal son and still think God is not inclusive, tolerant, and accepting.

He’s accepting to all those that will return to him. All you have to do is picture the prodigal son, the father ran to him with stretched arms. That’s the picture the New Testament paints of God, the Father.

Good Samaritan

Or think about the parable of the some Good Samaritan. Here we have somebody that’s moved with empathy to help somebody that they don’t know. He stops and helps that person, without a thought of reward or thoughts of whether or not that person is worthy of being helped.

But now Christianity had been so corrupted by Christian Nationalism, that these “Christians” will only help those that look like them – white American Evangelicals. Anybody else can just die.

They are basically saying, “We don’t care. We just want to make the United States a Christian Nation. But not just any kind of Christian Nation. We specifically want a Christian Nation that enforces one particular viewpoint, ours. In other words, we wanted to establish a church, and eliminate religious freedom for anybody else.”

This is the spirit of antichrist and is anti-democracy. It is also un-American, unloving, and downright evil. It is a false gospel that wants to demonize love, mercy, and compassion.

Cold Hearted Christians

“And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12).

Of course, if you know your Bible, you know that “love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10; cf Gal. 5:14). Which means that lawlessness is nreaking the law of love. So unloving behavior will increase resulting in “the love of many” growing “cold.”

There are a few Christians more cold-hearted than Christian Nationalists. They are not after the gospel, they’re after power. But not power for everybody. No, just power for themselves. That’s why they’re against inclusion, tolerance, and acceptance.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:43-45).

There’s no doubt that Donald Trump is evil, and that he’s an enemy of love, compassion and kindness. But we have to be careful that we don’t give into hatred. For God loves Donald Trump and so should we.

Dangers of Hatred

I have seen far too many people, even Christians, who have given into hatred for Donald Trump. This is dangerous, and it is open door for the devil. We don’t have to agree with Donald Trump or those that follow him, but we do have to love all people.

That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t fight against the evil that is creeping over this nation. It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t use all non-violent means to oppose the destruction of our democracy. We should and we must.

But it does mean that we shouldn’t let our hearts give in to hate. For hate is the path that leads to the dark side. Hatred opens up a place for the devil to get a foothold in our lives. We must resist the temptation to hate.

Pray for Donald Trump

My suggestion is that we should pray for Donald Trump and for his repentance. We should pray that the Republicans repent and come back to a loving and inclusive God. A God that so loved the world.

The alternative is a path of hatred. And hatred leads to unforgiveness, and unforgiveness leads to banishment from the presence of God. For “if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:15).

I Love Donald Trump

When I say that I love Donald Trump, I will probably be misunderstood. The love here I’m talking about is not a feeling, is it an act of the will. This love wills the highest good of the other person, irrespective of grateful response.

Love requires me to do unto others. Is that have them do unto me. And love for Donald Trump means willing the highest good of him, and the highest good for Donald Trump is for him to repent of his selfishness, turn to God in faith, and surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord and King.

I refuse to hate Donald Trump. I refused to degrade him, to cut him down, or to decorate him. Donald Trump was made in the image of God, just like all humans were. And he deserves to be treated with dignity, but also his actions need to be resisted with vigor. Hate the sin, but love The sinner.

“Wives, be subject to your husbands as to the Lord” (Eph. 5:22).

There are two major views about this injunction by Paul. Is this a universal principle or a cultural construct?

Complementarianism

The first is called complementarianism. It is the view that men and women have different but complementary roles and responsibilities in marriage, family, and religious life.

This view says that women are supposed to be homemakers, housewives, and be submissive and obedient to their father, and after their married, to their husbands. They are not allowed to teach, preach or have authority over men. This is usually called patriarchy.

Egalitarianism

The other view is egalitarianism. This is the view “that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities” (Oxford English Dictionary). For them, “there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28)

A good case can be made that this isca cultural construct and not a universal principle. For in the same context of wives submission is the injunction, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ” (Eph. 6:5).

Now clearly slavery was a cultural construct. And in the same passage where Paul said there is “no longer male and female”, he slso says there is “no longer slave or free” (Gal. 3:28). If the first was a cultural construct, then clearly the second is too.

Personal Experience

I can tell you from personal experience, complementarianism will ruin your marriage. No woman wants to be treated as a second class citizen. And to do so is to deny that they are truly equal

A better way is given in the verse just before this where it says, “being subject to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Eph. 5:21). Mutual respect and cooperation is a better model for a marriage.

D.E.I. stand for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Are these Christian values? Let’s first define our terms.

Definitions

Diversity is “the practice or quality of including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc.” (Oxford English Dictionary).

Equity is “the quality of being fair and impartial” (Oxford English Dictionary).

Inclusion is “the practice or policy of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized, such as those who have physical or intellectual disabilities and members of other minority groups” (Oxford English Dictionary).

Christian Values

“For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself'” (Gal. 5:14).

“Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10).

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion have always been Christian values. If you are against D.E.I., you are not modeling Christian values. Your morals have been corrected by racism, xenophobia, and bigotry.

“When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 19:33-34).

It is wrong to be against D.E.I. if you are against it, you need to repent and get yourself right with God. You need to know that God is a God of love, not of hate and oppression. Love the immigrant as yourself!

By Rev. Dr. Chuck Currie, reprinted by permission.

If you’ve ever wondered how you might have responded to the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany, our times will provide your answer.

Democracy is under attack in the United States, and so are human rights.

To make matters worse, this attack is fueled in large part by white Christian nationalism, a false gospel rooted in white supremacy.

If you are a Christian, this is a test. Jesus, during his time, asked: do you stand with God or Caesar? Today, we must ask: do we stand with God or Donald Trump?

The MAGA movement uses xenophobia, homophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, misogyny, and racism to divide us. It is a movement incompatible with the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus sought to end systems of oppression, taught us that the greatest commandment was to love God and our neighbors, and said we must welcome strangers.

People of faith need to get out of the pews and into the streets to support nonviolent resistance movements. We cannot ignore the evil occurring in our midst.

References

Original Facebook post