Are we about to enter a protracted period of falling temperatures?
October 21, 2008
October 15, 2008
Following Jesus out of the American civil religion
During this election season, missional pastors will spend much time debating in their own minds how to address the issue of faithfulness to Christ in a time that every third evangelical is doing all but endorsing a straight Republican ticket. Missional pastors, striving to look beyond John McCain or Barack Obama to larger kingdom issues, face potential hostility from members of the congregation who need to be affirmed in their conviction that the voting is always a clear cut issue, that there is always a candidate that more reflects righteousness–righteousness which is determined by a voter guide.
In addition, missional pastors face the challenge of what some have termed “the American civil religion.” Historian Henry Steele centers the bulls-eye with his definition:
A secular faith in American herself, in democracy, equality and freedom which were equated with America in the American mission and the American destiny.
The obfuscation of this civil religion with a thoroughly biblical faith has created a dangerous syncretism in which the “blessing of God on America” is often sought more than the blessing of God on His churches.
Erwin Lutzer, a transplanted Canadian who pastors the Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, has released a new book called, Is God on America’s Side? Under a sub-section entitled “The Church’s Diminished Influence,” he makes these observations [underline is original emphasis, bold mine]
I think there is reason to believe that we as members of the evangelical church are experiencing judgment. One sign of this is that the church has increased visibility but diminishing influence. The so-called Religious Right had great plans to reverse the moral trends of our nation. We are told that we have helped elect presidents and have impacted public policy and even the selection of judges. But by identifying these gains as those won by the “Religious Right,” namely, Christians who are in cahoots with a particular party, we have made this nation believe that the church is a political base rather than the dispenser of the gospel…We have cheapened Christ before a watching world.
[…]
The scenario of various religious leaders endorsing one political candidate or another is truly deserving of tears. Some Christian leaders have formed coalitions to “take America back.” The want to “put God back” into our political, legal, and educational institutions. If they have enough numbers and voting power, they think that the hands of the clock can be reversed…In identifying ourselves with a political party and battling for civil religion, we have lost our identification with Jesus Christ.
[…]
An example of civil religion is the recent so-called Christmas wars. If we insist that store clerks must say “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holiday,” what have we really gained? Are the people who are asked to acknowledge the Christmas holiday any closer to faith in Christ or are they simply irritated that they have to conform to our beliefs? And and if we win legislation mandating that the Ten Commandments be displayed in courthouses and classrooms, are we thereby bringing our culture closer to faith in Christ, or antagonizing everyone around us?
Certainly I believe we should keep the phrase “Under God” in the pledge of allegiance, but if it were removed, would the church be weaker? Christ and Caesar have always been in conflict, but I think it is time to affirm that Christ can do well with or without Caesar’s cooperation.
[…]
We want a civil religion because we fear that we might lose our creature comforts if our nation is in decline. I fear that one reason why we are so anxious that the economy remain strong is not so much because we want to use our funds to support the spread of the gospel, but because we all enjoy the American way of life. And we believe that a strong America always translates into a strong church. Perhaps yes, but then again, perhaps no.
[…]
To put this clearly: For some Christians, lower taxes, a strong national defense, and lobbying to “keep Christ in Christmas” are more pressing issues than whether their neighbors and friends will spent eternity with God or be lost forever…I’m convinced that many Christians who are angry today would be pacified if only we could return this country to the 1950’s when there were no drugs, pornography was sold on the black market, and movies, for the most part, portrayed family values. They would be satisfied with this change even if no one were converted to Christ in the process! They would be content if Christ were accepted as lawgiver to restore order to society, even if he were not accepted as Savior to rescue society.
October 7, 2008
First Reports in from AIG Bailout
And it is not pretty.
October 2, 2008
The Dark Bailout
It doesn’t get much better than this. [HT: Timothy Duren]
Comments Off on The Dark Bailout
October 1, 2008
We Are Not As Dumb As Washington Thinks We Are
Like we don’t get it.
Tonight Senator Kit Bond on Fox News “Nightly Scoreboard” gave as his examples of the “credit market being locked up” the fact that the states of Maine and Missouri could not sell bonds to build highways. Is he serious? We need for congress to pass a $700B package so that a couple of states can repave some roads and build a few more? These cannot wait a couple of years? Please.
Dave Ramsey, on the same show, said that there are three tiers of credit: The top tier is the major players, LIBOR and such, which have slowed considerably. The second tier is the average Joe with excellent credit, who wants a mortgage or a car. That money is available. I should know: I bought a used car in July with no problem and while in a bank yesterday the offer of a home equity loan at prime+0% was still in full swing. The last tier was the poor credit folks that were involved in the sub-prime crisis to begin with. That market, of course, is gone. The reality is that there is credit, not a “seize up” like is talked about by every talking head.
The government has already approved $29B for Bear Stearns, $85B for AIG, and $200B for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, none of which has solved the problem. Washington, which gets virtually nothing right, now wants to print up more cash to make the American citizen the biggest owner of bad mortgages in the world. In addition to the aforementioned $300+B, the Federal Reserve has released, just this week, more than $600B of cash into the system. The taking over of Fannie and Freddie added $5T to your balance sheet and mine, or subtracted from, as the case may be. We are smelling the Fed’s printing presses burn up printing all the money being injected into the system which, as smart people know, causes inflation. Inflation is a hidden tax that affects everyone by reducing the buying power of your dollar and the value of your dollars in your savings account and 401(k) or 403(b).
The fear of the market has already been exposed. Mad Money’s Jim Cramer believes that “no bailout” will bring the DOW down to 8,800 or so. My retirement has already taken a hit in the order of 20%. The market wants money and probably will not be satisfied with less that a few more hundred billion put into the system. I’m patient enough to wait (but I have learned a little about how to plan when I’m sixty). Of course, the market is due for a correction. The DOW components might get shuffled around a little, but there will be new stars that shine in the shakeout. If Warren Buffet can find deals, so can we. Or we can buy Berkshire Hathaway-B shares and make money with him ;^)
If credit tightens for Main Street, as Princeton’s Paul Krugman said on MSNBC, then that means credit card interest rates could go up and credit limits could go down. And this is bad how? The fact that Americans are too far in debt is standard fare for the business pages. A lid on credit is just what some Americans need. If, as Donald Trump has mused, the price of oil will fall up to 70% with a large stock market correction, then we will all have saved enough money on gas to offset some of the credit we were having to use. If, that is, we can get the oil companies to acknowledge that the price of oil has indeed fallen and quit making up excuses to keep prices high.
The bad bill that was surprisingly defeated in the house of representatives has taken on a new life and new form in the senate. As is usually the case, add-ons now include energy tax breaks, movie tax credits, wooden arrows for children and mining subsidies or credits. Some think those add-ons will not be approved, but that the original bill will be passed. We’ll see.
My point is this: Those of us who are paying attention know that doing nothing is probably going to bring some rough times. We believe that we are ready to endure it. We know that both Washington and Wall Street are thoroughly screwed up and delaying the needed fix is not the answer. There is nothing to gain by continuing to buoy bad business decisions. The reality is that not passing the bill is not the same as “doing nothing.” Not passing the bill is saying that the market can work it out, though some will fail. Socialism is not the way to go. We can exercise patience.
If Americans are anything, they are these two things: creative and resilient. We are resilient enough to endure and creative enough to overcome it.
