"From this hour I ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines, going where I list, my own master total and absolute, Listening to others, considering well what they say, Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating, Gently, but with undeniable will, divesting myself of the holds that would hold me."
Walt Whitman (1819-92)
"When I look back now over my life and call to mind what I might have had simply for taking and did not take, my heart is like to break."
Akhenaton (d. c.1354 BC)
And now, the current weather, from some random person we pulled off the street:
Friday, July 09, 2004
Not That There's Anything Wrong With It...
eter-nal
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin aeternalis, from Latin aeternus eternal, from aevum age, eternity -- more at AYE
1 a : having infinite duration : EVERLASTING b : of or relating to eternity c : characterized by abiding fellowship with God
2 a : continued without intermission : PERPETUAL b : seemingly endless
3 archaic : INFERNAL
4 : valid or existing at all times : TIMELESS
5 : What God is, but what we refuse to grant him.
A blog I was reading the other day posed the very interesting question of whether there ever could be a Christian country.
It goes without saying that the United States, although arguably the closest to a Christian country on Earth (aside from the Vatican, perhaps), is far from a Christian country.
How could I say such a thing, you might say? Why, this is the land of "In God We Trust" and "under God" isn't it?
No, it isn't. As a matter of fact, a case can be made that the very foundation of the United States as a nation, freedom, opposes Christianity on the deepest level. How can I say that? Let's look at it.
Freedom is usually interpreted as the ability to do what one wants, as long as it does not harm another. Yet, this places the individual in the driver's seat, as it were, and creates a life that is very self oriented.
On the other hand, Christianity is the act or giving ourselves to Christ, utterly and totally as best we are able. We place Him in the driver's seat, and willingly accept the joyous servanthood that this represents.
Sure, under the United States government, we have the ability to do that. But that's where the ties end, in my opinion.
Christianity is far more demanding that many people want to admit. For example, what is the normal response of the average westerner to homosexuality?
They might say "Well, not that there's anything wrong with it..." or something to that effect.
But, as a Christian, there is something wrong with it. Something gravely wrong with it.
You see, there are several Biblical passages that explicitly say that homosexual activity is not something that God blesses, and is in fact something that God hates.
(Note here that I am specifically saying the activity, not the people. The people can stop the activity and come under God's grace.)
So, with such clear guidelines, why is it that we so often want to sidestep and dance around the topic? Are we just being nonconfrontational? Or is it that we are not making a spiritual judgment here, but a civil one?
Because, under united States law, homosexuality is perfectly legal. There's nothing wrong with it.
Do you see now why I say that freedom is no Christian principle?
Let freedom ring, just not in my church steeple please.
Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting.
Alan Dean Foster, "To the Vanishing Point"
