Recently, we observed Rick Warren appear to backup on his stance on homosexual marriage. I asked in another forum, “Can a Christian go 12 Rounds for what they believe in, or do they show good for 3 and then can’t Answer the Bell?”
Whether you agree with a person or not, you have to admire anyone who is willing to stand up for what they believe in against all odds. When they have the courage, belief and convictions to stand and stand steadfastly no matter what.
The homosexual community has taken that stand. That stand is changing, not only, the perceptions of what Christians call sin but what is held as morally correct in our nation and the world. The influence over media, politics, business, government and yes the church is profound.
What has happened to the Christian. It would appear that we are afraid to speak out openly for what we believe is the truth. More and more, the rights of the Christian are eroding away. Look around us. How can we miss what once wasn’t and is now very obvious.
Our churches can not speak out because they have tied themselves to the governments will. The fact that churches have applied for 501(c)3 status, has essentially silenced direct influence in many areas of our lives. The church no longer has the degree of influence it once had due to it’s financial entanglement with the federal government.
Are we taking refuge in the church for God’s sake or fear’s sake?
You can not say you are a Christian at work because you may offend someone.
You can not have your closed bible in plain view on your desk because you might offend someone.
You can not wear a t-shirt that displays your belief in Christ because you may offend someone.
You can not speak boldly against sin in church because it could one day violate someone’s civil liberties.
Do Christians even pray over their food in public with a bold acclamation?
You can not pray comfortably at a sporting event without wondering if you are offending someone.
So as a Christian am I not offended when:
Men are kissing men and women are in longing embraces with other women on prime time TV?
On, almost, every prime time TV show there is a depiction of homosexuality, adultery, lying, cursing, gluttony, violence and fornication; just to name a few?
Maybe we don’t speak out because in the privacy of our homes we are voyeuristically enjoying looking through the window of the world?
We will answer to the Lord, not for losing a stance, but for not taking one! We are going to have to defend what we believe in. If if means a position that does not seem logical or intelligent to the learned or average man, then so be it. If we have to appear as lunatics to those who would paint us with the broad brush of intolerance, so be it. For it is not just a stand against homosexuality, it is a stand against sin. It is that simple, it is not complicated. Issues are often complicated by man to mask the true intention of those that support another ideal. Such is true with sin.
So the question, “Can a Christian Go 12 rounds for what they believe in?”
There have been proposals in this post Obama era that Blacks no longer refer to themselves as “African Americans” but in the spirit of unity and national solidarity, refer to themselves as simply “Americans”. The elimination of Black History Month, the closing of Black Institutes of higher learning (HBCUs), Black museums and anything perceived as once necessary but now no longer required.
January 20, 2009 is one of the greatest days in the history of our present century. The election and inauguration of President Barack Obama has caused reverberations that have spanned the globe. People everywhere who see themselves as disenfranchised and absent from the political process now see hope. For if America can turn the corner of true equality it is possible for other countries to turn the same corner. America has, once again, assumed the position as the standard bearer for the world. Many of the actions of this country were causing questions as to the idea of democracy and its true implementation in our society.
President Obama brings, once again, at standard of intelligentsia to the most powerful office in the land. He has become and instant role model for people throughout the entire world. His rise to becoming the Leader of The Free World includes experiences that most politicians are lacking. He will not need the focus groups and think tanks to empathize with those who are less fortunate and those who are affluent. His life experiences up to this point include the bases of the socioeconomic strata.
Only time will tell if the expectations of a nation and, for that matter, the world come to fruition. I do believe President Obama posses the capabilities to move the country forward creating the potential and possibility for a greater tomorrow.
Where is the Christian is the debate concerning Rick Warren and the Inauguration? The GLBT community is united in their stance against Pastor Warren. Their position seems to state, “You are with me all the way or you are against me, there is No in between!!”
Their community has the media on their side, sympathetic to their cause. Where is the Christian in all of this? Are we so afraid of being called intolerant that we will lay down for anything? We will be held responsible for our inaction and God will require their blood at our hands on the day of judgment because we did not Stand Boldly for the truth of God.
The question is not, “To Marry or Not To Marry”; the question is, “To Sin or Not To Sin!!!” We are either going to stand for what we profess to believe in or wither away like some archaic idea who’s time has long since passed.
If we would stand up in one voice, we could make a stand for truth. It is not our duty to win an argument or a debate, it is our duty to speak the truth. Once the truth is spoken the responsibility for receiving that truth is not ours but the person or persons to which it is directed.
On September 22, 1862 The Emancipation Proclamation put the freeing of the slaves into motion. There, however, was a challenge with the entire process. On December 18, 1865 the Thirteenth Amendment abolished the institution of slavery in America and the salve now an American was left with the question, “Now What and What Next?”. Booker T. Washington accounts his mother as saying that she prayed for freedom but did not think she would live to see it. So suddenly the New Americans found themselves free with no place to go and no plan to get there.
On November 4, 2008, with the election of President Elect Barack Obama, we experienced another Emancipation. We are no more physically free today than we were pre November 4, 2008 at approximately 10pm, however, there has been a loosening of the reins on our mental and spiritual possibilities. We, again, can be seen for our mental prowess and not just our physical or entertaining capabilities. We have been freed to another level and yet, like the Emancipation of the 1800’s, have no idea as to what we are going to do with this new found intellectual and spiritual freedom. Post November 4 brings us into what can be called an Obama Renaissance. Now the Black intellectual has the potential for as much prominence as was available during period of the Harlem Renaissance.
It appears to have happened instantly, but took at least 47 years. Our children have a new figure to aspire to be like. Some discount the idea of role models, I say that we all have models that we pattern ourselves after. Some models teach us what to do and some are examples of what not to do. What happens on any national stage affects the minds of those most impressionable, to say it does not is naive and potentially detrimental. Out children see a new possibility that not even the generation of civil rights pioneers thought would come so quickly.
Whether we agree or not, Obama will set a standard for the world to see and judge. It is not fair to him as a person and Blacks as a people, but it happens to be the reality of his rise to the highest office in the land.
The question remains, how will we take advantage of this great opportunity. During the period of reconstruction blacks made great strides socially, economically, and politically but within a few years advancements were eroded away by those who were adverse change. We ended up the recipients of Jim-Crow and Segregation. Many will take issue with what I am about to purpose, but if we are not careful in 50 years we may be asking ourselves many of the same questions that the New Americans were asking after Reconstruction; mainly
WHAT HAPPENED?
