Living Word Lutheran Church
PO Box 242, New London, MN 56273
Phone: 320-796-0742
E-mail:
pastor@livingwordlutheran.net
Website: www.livingwordlutheran.net
|
Living Word Lutheran Church |
|
[Home] [About] [Calendar] [Events]
|
"Why does the Church (i.e. Christian organizations in the US that agree Jesus is Lord and the Bible is the Word of God) ignore critical issues that directly affect God’s people?" One example given is the recent widespread usage of full-body scanners in airports. I have to agree that the use of these scanners poses a problem for Christians who are instructed in the Bible to be modest. But I’m not sure I have a definite answer for why this issue (and many others) has been largely ignored by the Church. Quite likely there are several factors that come into play. It is certainly true that the Christian Church as a whole (as well as individual parts of it) chooses to focus on certain violations of God’s will while at the same time choosing to ignore others. For example, many Christian churches and organizations (including the LC-MS) have been very vocal in opposition to abortion and also to homosexual marriages. These same organizations have remained silent on issues like the body scanners that affect even greater numbers of people than abortion or homosexuality. I expect that a part of the answer lies in the fact that every organization - the Church included - has limited resources and needs to make choices about where to focus those resources. It’s likely that the old adage "You have to pick your battles," applies here. Obviously, promotion of abortion and homosexuality are things that have a huge affect on society as a whole and are definitely battles worth picking. But so - it would seem - are other battles that haven’t been picked. There are countless immoral and unethical things in our society that are also either legal or culturally acceptable. It truly would be an overwhelming and costly task to keep everyone updated about each instance where culture and governments encourage (or even mandate) things that are contrary to God’s will. In fact, several years back the LC-MS had a "Government correspondent" in Washington D.C. who had the task of keeping the church informed about bills and laws that affected us. As resources dwindled that position was eliminated. Another part of the answer may have to do with people’s passion for certain issues. For example, abortion and homosexuality get a lot of "airplay" in churches because those are issues that many people are quite passionate about. I don’t observe the same widespread levels of passion for the body-scanner issue. It seems to be one of those things that the majority of people "don’t like," but are also willing to "put up with." Given all that, I would like to suggest a couple of things: 1) If there is an issue you feel passionate about, pray about how God would use you to be involved. Research the issue and look for opportunities where God can use that passion. 2) Check out a couple of places I’ve found that do attempt to make Christians aware of at least some of the issues contrary to God’s will. One is "The Baloney Shop" at the Lutheran Hour Ministries Men’s Network website: http://www.lhmmen.com/newsletter/article.asp?id=18847 In our Tuesday evening Men’s study we have looked at quite a few "Baloney Shop" episodes where things that are promoted in the media are simply found to be a "bunch of baloney." The other is Focus on the Family. I receive regular emails from their organization. These emails are designed to keep Christians informed about laws and cultural trends that Christians need to know about. I’ve included below one such article that debunks the myth that religion must be kept separate from public life - and encourages us to be bold in expressing our faith.
Thanks for
asking,
Send your questions to pastor@livingwordlutheran.net |
|
This site is
designed and maintained by
Kandi Technologies. The entire site
and all contents: ©2005 - 2012 Living Word Lutheran Church, All Rights Reserved |
