America hurtles toward spiritual, political and financial disaster and the Church sleeps.
Politicians, Democrats and Republicans, trample on our liberties and Christians slumber. Barack Obama, and George W. Bush before him, create Orwell’s Big Brother, the largest surveillance mechanism in human history, and pastors nap. Dianne Feinstein and her gang of Constitution haters seek to expunge our right to self-defense and followers of Jesus Christ rest peacefully. The miscreants in Washington, D.C., eviscerate the Fourth Amendment and believers don’t even roll over. But, when a bearded man who likes to hunt ducks gets suspended from his reality TV show for telling a magazine reporter what the Bible says about homosexuality being a sin, Christians rumble out of bed with their Good Books blazing.
Don’t get me wrong. It was encouraging to see the Body of Christ rally in support of Phil Robertson and against A&E. Absolutely. It was thrilling to see believers win a showdown with the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain. No doubt. Those two companies caved when the Church threatened to boycott them because of their political correctness. Christians did what Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have been doing for decades. They intimidated two private companies by threatening their god, profits. Still, believers are fiddling while America burns.
First of all, it appears the American Church (Christians in various denominations) is unaware of the source of all this. The dung emanates from the cesspool that is found inside the Beltway. The policies, laws and public statements from the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court drive the bus in America. Then, add to that the politically correct propaganda which is being taught in many of our public schools and universities. The result? Constant pressure on private companies (especially big companies) to stay on the good side of Washington.
As you should know by now, the IRS can make life a living Hades for anyone, including big companies. It wasn’t so long ago that the federal government almost closed down Cracker Barrel for what it perceived to be acts of discrimination. Take away the intimidation of Washington, D.C., and the majority of these politically correct issues would likely disappear.
To be sure, to their credit, there are a number of homosexuals who have spoken publicly against the railroading of Phil Robertson. They see it as an encroachment on his right to speak freely in the marketplace of ideas. Many of them joined in the chorus of those who were insulted by A&E’s decision to suspend the Duck Commander.
Many of those who disagree with Robertson have read his comments in GQ magazine and they see that he DID NOT single out homosexuality any more than any other act of immorality. The reporter asked him, “What, in your mind, is sinful?” The former high school and college football star simply answered the question by noting a variety of acts which are singled out in the Bible as sinful. Some of them, he said, he had committed himself earlier in his life. He also said no sin was greater than any other sin. He then went on to say that Christ came to redeem men from all of their sins, whatever they might be. This has been the message of the Gospel for over 2,000 years.
Second, in addition to their ignorance about the true source of politically correct pressure in this country, the vast majority of pastors and churches only get vocal about two issues, abortion and homosexuality, and these days, many of them won’t even speak out against those evils. Where are they when the Second Amendment, the right to keep and bear arms, is threatened? Where are they when the right to privacy is threatened? Where are they on the right to be secure in their own homes? Where are they on the Biblical Natural law principles of self-determination, limited, jurisdictional government and personal liberty? All of these issues are moral issues, yet, for the most part, none of these issues draw a peep of protest from most of the pastors, churches and Christian organizations in America.
Christians by the millions declared verbal and written war against A&E and Cracker Barrel for the politically “correct” suspension of one man who quoted the Bible. But where are all those believers when the left-leaning policies in Washington, D.C., turn into the force of law? Where are they when un-Biblical and unconstitutional mandates threaten our liberties and our very way of life? Where are they when the bad guys inside the Beltway abuse their power and violate the liberties of every man, woman and child in America? Where are they? They are sound asleep.
If pastors, churches and Christian organizations would get loud and proud when the politicos seek to turn our country into a giant police state, we would have our privacy back in a New York second. If pastors, churches and Christian organizations would rail against D.C. when the ruling class attacks our right to self-defense, gun control legislation would never again see the light of day in Congress. If pastors, churches and Christian organizations would be vocal and vehement in their opposition to a president who rules by executive fiat and in violation of the U.S. Constitution, the House of Representatives might have the courage to begin impeachment proceedings. But, where are they? They are counting sheep.
The bottom line? America sits in a pile of dung because of the sluggish indifference of America’s pastors, churches and Christian organizations, and the Duck Dynasty flap proves it. The massive outcry of millions of pastors and Christians around the country influenced A&E to rehire Phil Robertson. This same outcry influenced Cracker Barrel to return Duck Dynasty products to their stores. If these Christians and their pastors would target the destruction of our natural, God-given liberties with the same ferocity, the course of this country could be turned around almost overnight. But, now that the Duck Commander is back on the show and Duck Dynasty merchandise is back on the shelves, I fear most Christians will roll over and go back to sleep.
Ed Baswell pastors The Clarion Church and is the host of Crossfire Radio, weekdays from 7-9 am, on The Promise, 90.7 FM. The show is streamed live worldwide at promisetalkradio.org and at ktbs.com. It can be seen each day on the KTBS 24-hour, digital news channel.
