my soul and forget not all His benefits.
MLK on Truth: “We have accepted the attitude that right and wrong are merely relative… But I’m here to say to you this morning that some things are right and some things are wrong. Eternally so, absolutely so. It’s wrong to hate. It always has been wrong and it always will be wrong. It’s wrong in America, it’s wrong in Germany, it’s wrong in Russia, it’s wrong in China. It was wrong in 2000 B.C., and it’s wrong in 1954 A.D. It always has been wrong, and it always will be wrong. It’s wrong to throw our lives away in riotous living. No matter if everybody in Detroit is doing it, it’s wrong. It always will be wrong, and it always has been wrong. It’s wrong in every age and it’s wrong in every nation. Some things in this universe are absolute. The God of the universe has made it so. And so long as we adopt this relative attitude toward right and wrong, we’re revolting against the very laws of God Himself” (from the sermon “Rediscovering Lost Values” delivered February 28, 1954).
Without Comment: 1) In 2011, 70 percent of evangelicals said a public official’s character mattered. In 2016, just 28 percent said it did; 2) Women reported a 41% increase in “heavy drinking days” in 2020 over 2019; 3) According to Pew, Americans are more likely than those in other advanced economies to say the pandemic has strengthened their faith; 4) In a recent poll, 16 percent of Republicans view President Biden favorably – which is 6% higher than the number of Democrats who viewed Trump favorably at the start of his presidency; 5) George Orwell’s 1984 was the top-selling adult fiction book last week.
Surprised: When Christ Church opened a branch of The Justice Center – a ministry which provides free legal and financial counseling, along with prayer support for no-income, low-income, and even middle-income individuals in need – we expected that most of the help we offered would be in contract disputes. It is not. Most of the work relates to family matters (custody enforcement, child support and divorce).
Silencing Dissent: After The Daily Citizen (a small conservative magazine) tweeted that President Biden’s nominee for Assistant Secretary of Health is “a transgender woman – that is, a man who believes he is a woman” – Twitter locked their account for “hateful conduct and violence.” The magazine appealed, noting that it would never promote violence and that it was simply explaining that transgender women are – “those born male who believe they are a woman, regardless of whether they have had opposite-sex hormones or surgeries.” The social media platform has said its ban will not be overturned. Twitter is a private company, so this is not technically censorship. However, as Princeton professor Robert P. George notes, social media restrictions have “now gone way beyond the bounds of the reasonable. People need to be able to criticize and forcefully challenge ideas. What we do NOT need is the silencing of dissent.” Indeed.
Two Related Thoughts: 1) Comments about the need for a free press prompt me to highlight our need for Religious Freedom. Much depends on it. However, these days I feel the need to add: The First Amendment is not a cure all. Some reporting is bad, and so is some religion! 2) Ironically, the place with the least freedom of speech these days is the college campus.
The More Things Change: Justin Martyr – one of the early church’s first apologists – identified four challenges to discipleship: 1) sexual immorality; 2) wealth; 3) magic; and 4) ethnic hatred. Andy Crouch notes that if we change magic to technology, the list still works 2,000 years later.
Champions: As we head into the Super Bowl, let’s note there are three kinds of champions: 1) those who triumph after an epic contest and celebrate the win; 2) Those who sacrifice their lives for a victorious battle; and 3) Jesus, who is the only one to do both.
Mortality Salience: In the UK, those who’ve attended on-line church at least once last year is up from 5% to 25%. The Brits are crediting mortality salience with the spike. As a pastor I can tell you that mortality salience – which is the awareness that you “might die one day, so you start asking the big questions” – is in short supply on this side of the pond as well. It’s not just that few embrace Paul’s claim that, “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” It’s that many live in such denial of death that its approach shocks them. “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
Jake Revisited: I heard from a few of you about Jake – the bare-chested, fur-draped, and horn-wearing renegade made (in)famous on January 6th. One said he claimed to be a Christian. More suggested he appeared to be one of the more thoughtful residents of DC.
Closing Prayer: I pray, O God, to know you, to love you, that I may rejoice in you. And if I cannot attain to full joy in this life, may I at least advance from day to day, until that joy shall come to the full. Let the knowledge of you advance in me here, and there be made full. Let the love of you increase…Meanwhile, let my mind meditate upon it [truth]; let my tongue speak of it. Let my heart love it; let my mouth talk of it. Let my soul hunger for it; let my flesh thirst for it; let my whole being desire it, until I enter into your joy, O Lord, who are the Three and the One God, blessed for ever and ever. Amen. (Anselm, Proslogion26)