On Apr 12, 2008, Harry A Rockefeller said:
I think most Southern Baptists pastors and their congregations alike don't know how to discuss this topic. The Bible commands us to speak the truth in love, thinking of others even above ourselves.
Since I'm a pew sitter, I could blame pastors for being cowardly or uneducated in this area, but this goes against what Scripture tells me to say. But, I'll go out on a limb.
Maybe ethics taught by T.B. Maston has a huge hole when it comes to political (civil) ethics and our pastors really are not convinced about the relevance of the Bible in this area?
Maybe the religious/political liberty message has really caught so great a hold on our pastors that all kinds of sins, God never intended, have become "permissible" due to liberty and religious freedom thought not grounded in Scripture?
Maybe my pastor, Bob Green, would give a different story. He tried giving a sermon series on contrasting worldviews but it wasn't received well by his congregation. Maybe he thinks that we in the pews just don't want to submit our political decisions to the scrutiny of the Word?
Maybe Brad Henry's pastor might comment on this editorial?
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On Apr 16, 2008, Ron Jackson said:
There may be some cowardly preachers but I think it is something else. It is now being taught by the 'successful religionists' that the churches appeal must be as broad as possible. We must not say anything that would offend anybody. That allows the church entrance to all manner of people. See Joel Osteen's philosophy of ministry. The church member is taught that Jesus offended no one but hung out with the outcasts. We should not even be too dogmatic about Jesus being the only way, it might hurt someone's feelings. I do not expect these ministers to speak out on moral or social issues or tell anyone, "Go and sin no more."
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On Apr 17, 2008, Gary Capshaw said:
Or maybe it's because enough of us recognize that our primary calling is the Great Commission. We are instructed to bring the Gospel to a lost and dying world, in as an act of love.
I see no political component to that Commandment. What ails this country cannot, and will not, be solved by involving the Church in politics or the issues of the day. It will only be solved by the presence of the Holy Spirit in each individuals heart and that should be our concentration.
Cowardly preachers? I think not. I'd prefer to call them Heroic preachers who answer the call of Christ by preaching the Gospel and ignoring the misguided, bleating sheep who want to be led into the political arena.
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