political correctness

I wish they all could be California girls…

Frank

No, not really. Especially if they’re anything like Miss California, Carrie Prejean. Is anyone tired of this yet? She was asked a question on gay marriage from an openly gay host whose only claim to fame is running an online tabloid and having a name similar to Paris Hilton. She was open about her faith in interviews leading up to the pageant and California is home to the controversial Proposition 8, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. What did she expect to happen?

So she lost. So she said it was because of her answer opposing gay marriage. So what.

So Miss Prejean did what Evangelical Christians have learned to do, not from the example of Jesus Christ, but from their political brand of American Christianity (TM)- she played the “persecution” card. Now she’s a celebrity to the Religious Right (scroll down down at the 558 mark and listen to the podcast if you want to hear this “great” interview) and a spokesperson for the National Organization of Marriage (I’d never heard of it before she came along, and I’m against gay-marriage).

Yes, the Perez Hilton went over the line by taking her response personal instead of crediting her for her honesty and not being tempted by peer pressure to be politically correct. He then left the line far behind in his rear view mirror when he went public calling her a “b—h” and “c–t” just because she thinks differently than he does. But that does not come close to equalling Christian persecution.

I’ve written several times before criticising the “persecution complex” of American Christianity (TM), and I’ll repeat myself by saying her crying about losing a beauty pageant is an insult to the thousands of Christians across the globe whose lives are threatened because of their faith.

Did I mention this was a beauty pageant? An celebration of vanity if there ever was one. And last I checked, vanity is a sin. It doesn’t help her cause that she got breast implants before the competition and that they were paid for by her California sponsor.

I’m sorry, but I have little sympathy for this woman. Was she treated unfairly? Yes, of course. Was it because of her faith? Not sure if it was as much a matter of faith than of politics. Is she being persecuted? Yes to a degree, but only because she’s elevated herself to the level of national celebrity. I’ll certainly pray for her and wish nothing but the best, but I won’t claim her as speaking for me, my politics, nor my faith.

Instead I turn to Jesus, who never backed down from persecution. “At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ “(Luke 13:31-32) But his goal wasn’t political or to change the social norms (though admittedly he did speak out against some of them, emphasis on some) but instead to offer redemption to the world through shedding his blood.

For Martin Luther King Day

Frank

Not long ago I was getting an oil change and car wash and passing time in their convenience store. Among the greeting cards and postcards were some short books on Martin Luther King, Mother Theressa, and Nelson Mandela. They were compilations of inspirational quotes, meant to be easy encouragement on a low budget. Thumbing through both the King’s and Mother Theressa’s, I found few quotes relating to their religion. Sure there were the feel good quotes about God and love, but nothing reflecting the sharp edge of Rev. King or the desolate conditions surrounding Mother Theressa. I found that odd, but it called another observation to mind. I grew up reading in the history books about Reverend Martin Luther King. But in the headlines tomorrow, you’ll read about Doctor Martin Luther King. Very rarely do I see “Rev” next to his name anymore. Maybe there’s an etiquette behind it; doctors in any field don’t like it when you call them “mister”. Or maybe it’s further evidence of the secularization of our society. You’ll likely read or hear many quotes celebrating Martin Luther King Day. You’ll probably hear snippets of his “I had a dream” speech. But will you hear him invoke the name of God? Credit God’s glory? Express God’s will?

I’ll close with a quote, taken from part of his letter from a Birmingham jail dated April, 1963. I hope in this era of the Separation of Church and State, that his words light a lamp in your heart and soul that will not be covered by a basket. That his words call us back to arms in the ongoing culture war. But most of all that his words cause us to pause, look around, and ask ourselves, “where is the Reverend King of this era?”

A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or
the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law.

Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was seen sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar because a higher moral law was involved. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks, before submitting to certain unjust laws of the Roman empire.

I’m grateful to God that, through the Negro church, the dimension of nonviolence entered our struggle.

Was not Jesus an extremist for love — “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.” Was not Amos an extremist for justice — “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ — “I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” Was not Martin Luther an extremist — “Here I stand; I can do none other so help me God.” Was not John Bunyan an extremist — “I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.” Was not Abraham Lincoln an extremist — “This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.” Was not Thomas Jefferson an extremist — “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” So the question is not whether we will be extremist but what kind of extremist will we be. Will we be extremists for hate or will we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice–or will we be extremists for the cause of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary’s hill, three men were crucified. We must not forget that all three were crucified for the same crime–the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thusly fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment.

There was a time when the church was very powerful. It was during that period when the early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town the power structure got disturbed and immediately sought to convict them for being “disturbers of the peace” and “outside agitators.” But they went on with the conviction that they were “a colony of heaven,” and had to obey God rather than man. They were small in number but big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be “astronomically intimidated.” They brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contest.

We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.