Quick note before we begin: The reason I haven’t started my promised countdown of the Top 25 Christian Films was in the discovery of how uncomfortable and unprepared I am to discuss such things. I’m no theologian and almost completely incapable of deep thinks when it comes to matter such as these. But I did want to respond to Bill Maher and therefore only ask that this post not be confused with an arrogant attempt to speak for anyone but myself.
Always fun to wake up on Saturday morning to discover the latest nonsense coming from our friend Bill Maher. Sharply written, well-delivered nonsense for sure, but nonsense nonetheless:
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Personally, I don’t know of any Christian “for” torture nor do I know of any Christians “for” waterboarding (they’re two different things). That doesn’t mean, however, that as a Christian I don’t understand that stopping the spread of evil and the slaughter of innocents doesn’t sometimes require the making of some very difficult moral choices — like those involving enhanced interrogations and outright war. Furthermore, Christ Himself certainly wasn’t “for” charging into religious temples, throwing everyone out, and then violently turning over the tables of money changers. But sometimes….
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves.
…action is required.
Every week I stand before God and pray for the forgiveness of my sins. Here’s how that prayer begins:
I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have sinned, in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
The words that always strike me hardest are: “in what I have failed to do.”
To hear Bill Maher tell it, Christians are supposed to commit the sin of omission, the sin of doing nothing other than feeling smug and sanctimonious about their kumbaya selves as evil rampages across the globe, innocents are slaughtered and threats gather like storm clouds. Well, that’s not being Christian. That’s enabling evil — and to do that job, God created Leftists.
Nowhere, though, is this “Real Time” rant sillier than when it’s suggested that we’re not Christians unless we follow Christ’s teachings — or, in this case, Maher’s interpretation of Christ’s teachings. Newsflash: if that’s the standard of being Christian then no one is. We all fall short, many of us on a daily basis. The bumper sticker’s cute, but is it really What Would Jesus Do? or is it What Would Jesus Want Us To Do?
Either way, the key word there is “do.”
As Christians we have the right to protect ourselves but more importantly we have a duty to protect others and to fight to defeat evil. God understands we live in the real world and we as Christians understand that our own unique moral burden is navigating the sometimes harrowing moral choices we face in trying to do the right thing.
But what we know we can’t do … is nothing.
If only it were that simple.
UPDATE: If you want to read someone who can write beautifully and thoughtfully about matters of faith with real insight nad knowledge, bookmark Marcia Morrissey and The Anchoress.
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