While serving in my second church a very controversial book was at the center of a heated debate over censorship. One group demanded the book be removed from the library because the content was explicit and access to the book was unrestricted. Another group demanded that any book the library deemed appropriate should be available to all. It was decided that the book would be kept, but access would be limited to adults.
As a new believer in Jesus Christ I listened to a conversation by a seasoned minister who thought rock and roll music was a major contributing factor to teen pregnancy. After her community had summer teen dances a number of young girls found themselves pregnant. They debated banning the dances and the music that was thought to be evil.
We are in the beginning stages of the recognition of laws and ethics based on severe judgement. Their are communities across the states that are recognizing certain points of Islamic law. Severe judgement allows for the severed hands of the thief, stoning of the adulterer(usually the woman), killing of a child that dishonors the family name. Orthodox Jews abandoned such judgement, leaving it in the hands of the judicial government that saw the wisdom of combining judgement with compassion and grace.
A movement towards radical judgementalism would seek to extinguish the flames of liberty and freedom. The freedom to think and express, even the most extreme, ideas, books, music, methods of communication, must be safeguarded at all costs. I might think some type of art is trash, some music or written work of no redeeming value, the communicator still must be allowed to communicate. Else some person, or power, tells me I can have no voice.
The personal boundaries of moral and ethical standards restrain liberty and freedom. Liberty and freedom are aspirations, desires, and dreams placed in the human spirit by the Giver of the Spirit. Man desires freedom because he is designed that was, it is part of his essence, his personhood. So, freedom and liberty are very restrictive in their purity. I can do what I desire, I desire to harm no person. I have all of the freedom I want, my spirit has placed limits on my wants. I want peace and contentment, some semblance of security for my wife and children, though, not at the expense of another, or the powers that rule. I want the opportunity for my wife and children to reach their dreams through their own effort and intelligence.
What happens in a society when their are no moral and ethical standards? I believe license and opportunity would lead to devastating immorality and gradual destruction. On the other hand, a people governed by any judgemental and restrictive power is just as doomed to collapse. A moral failure by a person could and would lead to a form of punishment that is barbaric at best and mercy and compassion killing in the severe.
A free and liberty loving people must understand their source of such. They must respect their own moral and ethical standards, and those of others, or lack of in others. The founders of this land listened for more than 150 years of the stories of religious intolerance and corruption at the hands of kings and popes. And they still knew and voiced their conviction that real freedom and liberty came from God.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Balanced, And Yet With Movement
The arch in St. Louis, the Sears Tower, the Mackinaw Bridge, all have in common the ability to move with the wind. To design a structure that can not yield in measured amounts to the forces of wind is to invite failure. Modern building engineering is so advanced that materials are used that can withstand earthquakes that laid waste communities, not even sixty or seventy years ago. Modern steel is designed to flex and sheeting materials have engineered abilities to bend and stretch. All of this is within limits, of course. Engineering disasters occur, such as the collapse of the Hyatt Regency sky walk and others. Thankfully they are rare exceptions and the cause is usually in man's ability to calculate correctly.
The monumental structure that I call America is much like the engineered buildings and complexes of today. I have already stated my absolute conviction that the bedrock upon which our republic has been built is nothing less than, The Triune God as revealed in Holy Scripture. The single most important force that keeps the sway of the republic within the bounds of safety is, the vote. The gift, responsibility, voice, and power of the vote is what keeps the sway of the structure from moving to far to the extreme, past the tipping point. The current two main party system has worked to keep the sway in check.
The structure of our republic has faced strong forces of change in the past. I believe the single most influential force of change has been an extremely gradual erosion of the moral and ethical fabric of American life. Some people call the gradual changes in morals and culture progress. Other people find the changes to be threatening and dangerous. However it is looked at the changes are dramatic when time is concentrated and the changes examined over, let's say, the last fifty to seventy five years. Almost seventy five years ago the moral voice of America called for the end of the alcohol trade. The U.S. Constitution was amended and the production and consumption of alcohol was banned. The ensuing years witnessed the explosion of organized crime and no viable increase in morals and ethics. In fact, some would argue the point that the opposite of what was desired took effect. Morals and ethics declined as crime increased.
The past fifty years have witnessed an almost cataclysmic change in foundational morals and ethics. The judicial decision to treat the constitution as a living organism that must change with society is bringing forth disaster. The government sanctions placing a value on the living by sanctioning the destruction of the very life it is sworn to protect. We listen to educators who proclaim a, Post Modern, Post Christian, world. And that we are the better for it. Human sexuality has been reduced to, animals doing what animals do, as often and with as many partners as can be found. Today we give license to sexual relations that are even extremely rare in the animal world. When deviant sexuality is talked about even the church is changing her tune.
My warning is this: The monument that is America can only sway within limits and stay safe. If the monument sways too far to either side it will move past the ability to regain center and will collapse. If the moral center is abandoned by either, gradualism or an illegitimate vote and voice the sway may not be mitigated. The Supreme Court of the State of Pennsylvania, case of Updegraph v. The Commonwealth, 11 Serg. & R. 393-394, 398-399, 402-407, "...Religion and morality are the foundations of all governments. Without these restraints no free government could long exist... No free government now exists in the world unless where Christianity is acknowledged, and is the religion of the country.... It's foundations are broad and strong, and deep. it is the purest system of morality, the firmest auxiliary, and only stable support of all human laws." (italics mine)
The next post will speak of the extreme danger that an unyielding and constrictive fundamental politic would have on the monument, America.
The monumental structure that I call America is much like the engineered buildings and complexes of today. I have already stated my absolute conviction that the bedrock upon which our republic has been built is nothing less than, The Triune God as revealed in Holy Scripture. The single most important force that keeps the sway of the republic within the bounds of safety is, the vote. The gift, responsibility, voice, and power of the vote is what keeps the sway of the structure from moving to far to the extreme, past the tipping point. The current two main party system has worked to keep the sway in check.
The structure of our republic has faced strong forces of change in the past. I believe the single most influential force of change has been an extremely gradual erosion of the moral and ethical fabric of American life. Some people call the gradual changes in morals and culture progress. Other people find the changes to be threatening and dangerous. However it is looked at the changes are dramatic when time is concentrated and the changes examined over, let's say, the last fifty to seventy five years. Almost seventy five years ago the moral voice of America called for the end of the alcohol trade. The U.S. Constitution was amended and the production and consumption of alcohol was banned. The ensuing years witnessed the explosion of organized crime and no viable increase in morals and ethics. In fact, some would argue the point that the opposite of what was desired took effect. Morals and ethics declined as crime increased.
The past fifty years have witnessed an almost cataclysmic change in foundational morals and ethics. The judicial decision to treat the constitution as a living organism that must change with society is bringing forth disaster. The government sanctions placing a value on the living by sanctioning the destruction of the very life it is sworn to protect. We listen to educators who proclaim a, Post Modern, Post Christian, world. And that we are the better for it. Human sexuality has been reduced to, animals doing what animals do, as often and with as many partners as can be found. Today we give license to sexual relations that are even extremely rare in the animal world. When deviant sexuality is talked about even the church is changing her tune.
My warning is this: The monument that is America can only sway within limits and stay safe. If the monument sways too far to either side it will move past the ability to regain center and will collapse. If the moral center is abandoned by either, gradualism or an illegitimate vote and voice the sway may not be mitigated. The Supreme Court of the State of Pennsylvania, case of Updegraph v. The Commonwealth, 11 Serg. & R. 393-394, 398-399, 402-407, "...Religion and morality are the foundations of all governments. Without these restraints no free government could long exist... No free government now exists in the world unless where Christianity is acknowledged, and is the religion of the country.... It's foundations are broad and strong, and deep. it is the purest system of morality, the firmest auxiliary, and only stable support of all human laws." (italics mine)
The next post will speak of the extreme danger that an unyielding and constrictive fundamental politic would have on the monument, America.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Foundation for Peace and Liberty
From the brick mason to the engineer the importance of bedrock and foundation is beyond question. A structure built upon solid bedrock will never suffer failure due to compaction or movement, unless of course it is built upon unknown faults. Footings and foundations set upon bedrock are indeed the safest of all possible structural beginnings. Next to that, an engineer must "design bedrock", that is, he must design a foundation that will stand as firm as bedrock. These foundations can require up to thousands of tons of concrete and miles of steel reinforcing bars. Only when that foundation is certified can the structure begin.
The bedrock of the American system of government is without a doubt, Triune God. Documents from, The Mayflower Compact to The Constitution of The United States give explicit acknowledgement to God's providence and care. There are at least thirty five direct references to the Holy Spirit in early historical writings and official documents. Moreover, there are more than one hundred and sixteen direct references to Jesus Christ in the writings and official documents of the early colonialist and founders. An interesting note, the name, God, in referring to, In God we Trust, is used nine times, Under God, used twenty four times, God as having involvement in our country, used forty three times, and God, The Name of God, used thirty eight times. Historical and official writings during the first years of this land refer to Jesus Christ more than any other person in the Trinity.
Upon this bedrock of Divine Life the earliest settlers created the culture of absolute trust and faith in God. In fact, it was an absolute dependence upon God and His care. When the environment within the colonies became one of oppression and tyranny the colonialist knew that the land they loved was given to them by God and their early forefathers. The freedom within their spirit was being threatened by an oppressive crown and a deaf, distant government.
When the smoke of many battles cleared and the dead were laid to rest the thirteen colonies became the, United States of America. They formed, as was noted, the Greatest Experiment in Self-Government, ever devised. Beginning with the Federalist Papers and finding culmination in one of the greatest documents written, The United States Constitution, the foundation for freedom and liberty were set upon the bedrock of Divine Life.
The lives of the newly self-governed quickly began recording a new history. The lives of individuals and communities began recording for future generations the truth of a free people. Men and women were given the opportunity to explore their dreams and determine their own destiny and future. That is not to say that everything was perfect and that the new freedom structure, America, was not without calamities and trials. Each generation built upon the previous and a monument and memorial to liberty and freedom reached into the sky. The height and beauty was so awesome and powerful that liberty seeking people braved the storm and sword to come to the land.
In the next posting I will write about the need to keep a balance upon the foundation and bedrock.
The bedrock of the American system of government is without a doubt, Triune God. Documents from, The Mayflower Compact to The Constitution of The United States give explicit acknowledgement to God's providence and care. There are at least thirty five direct references to the Holy Spirit in early historical writings and official documents. Moreover, there are more than one hundred and sixteen direct references to Jesus Christ in the writings and official documents of the early colonialist and founders. An interesting note, the name, God, in referring to, In God we Trust, is used nine times, Under God, used twenty four times, God as having involvement in our country, used forty three times, and God, The Name of God, used thirty eight times. Historical and official writings during the first years of this land refer to Jesus Christ more than any other person in the Trinity.
Upon this bedrock of Divine Life the earliest settlers created the culture of absolute trust and faith in God. In fact, it was an absolute dependence upon God and His care. When the environment within the colonies became one of oppression and tyranny the colonialist knew that the land they loved was given to them by God and their early forefathers. The freedom within their spirit was being threatened by an oppressive crown and a deaf, distant government.
When the smoke of many battles cleared and the dead were laid to rest the thirteen colonies became the, United States of America. They formed, as was noted, the Greatest Experiment in Self-Government, ever devised. Beginning with the Federalist Papers and finding culmination in one of the greatest documents written, The United States Constitution, the foundation for freedom and liberty were set upon the bedrock of Divine Life.
The lives of the newly self-governed quickly began recording a new history. The lives of individuals and communities began recording for future generations the truth of a free people. Men and women were given the opportunity to explore their dreams and determine their own destiny and future. That is not to say that everything was perfect and that the new freedom structure, America, was not without calamities and trials. Each generation built upon the previous and a monument and memorial to liberty and freedom reached into the sky. The height and beauty was so awesome and powerful that liberty seeking people braved the storm and sword to come to the land.
In the next posting I will write about the need to keep a balance upon the foundation and bedrock.
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