The extremes are labeled “left” and “right,” but the dividing lines of separation meander all over the place enveloping all sorts of ideologies about economics, culture, religion, and society. Many people find themselves falling along different points of the left-right spectrum depending on the topic and who is defining the terms.

As the debates intensify, we feel pressure to pledge absolute loyalty to one of the two sides. Critical thinking loses out to tribalistic thinking.

Stress, anxiety, and confusion are high as we struggle to find our own “solid ground,” the place where we will pitch our ideological tent and defend our position.

Christians have been courted by thought leaders on both sides, explaining how their views most closely align with Christianity. The ability of these persuasions to uncover and inflame cultural and political divisions within the Church is a serious indictment of the Church. These appeals, mostly from outside the Church, usually contain some fatal flaw which stems from a misunderstanding of the Christian faith.

While I am no great thinker or gifted scholar (just another person with an opinion), I have spent my whole life immersed in 20^th & 21^st Century American Christianity. As an “insider,” for what it’s worth, I would like to share some thoughts specifically with my brothers and sisters who share my Christian faith…a faith based on God’s revelations about Himself in the words of the Bible.

Biblical Idolatry

A pattern I see throughout the Bible is the tendency of God’s chosen people to add idolatry to their worship of God.

Exodus 32 relates an incident which conveys a sometimes-overlooked aspect of this inclination. The narrative describes Aaron creating a golden calf to appease an impatient and restless people while Moses was away meeting with God. What I find interesting is that this idol was not intended to be a replacement god. It did not have the name of some other god from Egypt…but they claimed it to be the image of their God – the God who brought them out of Egypt.

Of course, the golden calf was not the image of their God (that is what humans are), rather it was a tangible, familiar, and controllable substitute. But their intentions did not lessen the severity of the error or of the consequences…because what they made was not true.

The implication being, even those of us who believe in the true God of the Bible become anxious and impatient and may caste Him in the image of our culture, looking for something agreeable to us which will meet our needs.

Later we see the Israelites struggling to possess their promised land. They did not completely clear the land and, as a result, started worshiping other gods alongside their worship of God. They did not throw God out right away, but it seemed harmless to include a few more culturally acceptable and less demanding gods. If idols helped them gain the very victories God promised, where was the harm? If the idols lessened some anxiety and, true or not, benefited people…why not?

This behavior is inevitable for humans looking for control. But according to the Old Testament narrative, over time, love and devotion for the idols grows and the true God is reimagined to resemble tame idols – and then rejected altogether. The result is spiritual decline, abuse, violence, and destruction.

In the Old Testament Biblical narrative, idols were mostly obvious. They were statues with temples and there was no ambiguity about whether the people were worshiping an idol or a false image of God.

However, transitioning into the New Testament church age, God’s “adult” people now incorporate Old Testament principles about who He is and who humans are in relation to God into our understanding of New Testament theology. And now it’s not always so obvious who or what we are worshipping.

Humans continue to desperately crave autonomy, and the essence of the struggle has not changed, which makes the Biblical narratives about idolatry relevant and instructive to modern day Christians. Theologians throughout history have made this same observation and offered various ideas for understanding what more abstract idols might look like. The framework I find most helpful is: an idol is anything created by God which we elevate to the place of God.

The thing in and of itself is irrelevant. It can be a good and useful tool such as money. It can be a beautiful gift such as love. It can be a force greater than ourselves like nature or a valuable attempt at mastery like science.

 It’s not the moral quality of the thing, it is our view of the thing which makes it an idol…our view of the thing as the source of everything we need -the guiding principle by which we evaluate all ideas, actions, and motives – our meaning for life – the thing we cannot survive without.

This can become trickier than it might seem on the surface, because humans obviously need things to survive physically, mentally, and emotionally on Earth. The very act of living life requires that we work to meet our needs. We can and should engage in our own self-care. But our wish to do this with complete autonomy conflicts with the reality of God….God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere present Creator who calls humans to join with Him in love, worship, and surrender.

So, we need to remember that it really makes more sense to worship the One who created and controls the sun, for example (an ancient idol-god), rather than the sun itself…or the One who created and controls all resources in the universe (i.e. money), rather than the resources themselves (a common and timeless idol-god).

When we fail to acknowledge God and worship Him for who He truly is, we are left to our own devices to meet our needs…and we must engage in a struggle with other human beings for power. Everyone is looking out for their own interests and the only way for anyone to enjoy the autonomy they seek is to possess the power to defend their autonomy against another whose interests are undermined by that autonomy.

Even though the struggles for power are the result of abandoning reality, the actual struggles are real… creating winners and losers, victims and oppressors, and even a man-made version of good and evil. This creates an alternate and completely human framework with which to view the world and the story it tells. Because the struggles are real and there is a version of goodness and morality within the framework, Christians can get pulled into adopting this same framework. 

One way this happens, ironically, is when Christians become so alarmed by the surrounding culture’s commitment to “idols” that they enter into the very human framework which gives those idols legitimacy in order to do battle with them.

My dad used to tell me that when you try to manipulate someone, you give them power to manipulate you.

I have found this to be true, and I think this is why. Manipulation is about our power and control. Faith and worship of God is about His power and control. When we react to the culture within the power and control framework, we effectively abandon our worship of the God of the Bible . . . denying He already has all the power and control.

American Idols

This has been a particularly thorny issue for the church in America. Even as good and beneficial Biblical ideals were woven into the founding of our country, the thread of autonomy worship was woven in right alongside them – granting power and favor to Christianity. And Christians, by and large, accepted this seemingly harmless add-on idol, basking in popularity and growing accustomed to cultural dominance, and incorporating it into an Americanized version of Christianity.

American Christians today have very real concerns about their country. The idol of autonomy worship has grown in power and influence and led to the rejection of objective moral truth. Society can no longer tolerate the worship of the God of the Bible alongside the god of personal autonomy. Systems and institutions are increasingly hostile to anyone claiming any morality which would take power from personal autonomy.

So, what is a Bible believing Christian to do?

As I see it, there are three options. One is to engage the culture on their level. We think the God of the Bible should maintain dominance, so we pursue political and cultural power, popularity, and control for our God (being our heritage and right, after all!), effectively reducing him to an impotent reflection of the idol of autonomy.

Another option is a more honest acknowledgement that the God of the Bible has now taken a back seat to autonomy…the inevitable path of Progressive Christianity and just a pit-stop on the way out the door of Christianity.

And the third option is to see our American Idols for what they are, stop trusting in them (tear them down), and seek to know, love, and trust in the true God of the Bible.

I am deeply troubled by the vast majority of American Christians choosing between the first two options. I fear the consequences will be dire when Evangelical Christians – having discarded the constraints of Christian principles along the path to brokering political power – are exposed as complicit in the apparatus which dismantles the very freedoms we are trying to preserve.

But I don’t urge a different path because of that fear, or because of the accusations of disillusioned young people fleeing the Church, or because of any other matter of pragmatism. I urge a different path because reality and truth matter…because God’s people should represent His righteousness and trust in His power – not align themselves with any human system in an attempt to accomplish His purposes.

The Way of the Cross

Certainly, we are called to act for the benefit of our communities, to participate in and influence our societies, and to stand and defend unpopular truths. But even as Daniel and company were entering civil service in a Godless country, they did not compromise their obedience to God. They refused to eat the king’s food, to worship idols, or give up their prayers.

I don’t know what the path of faith would look like exactly, or how it would play out in the culture. Christians could still become scapegoats and lose more freedoms. But I would rather that happen because of our faithfulness to the message of the Cross of Christ than to be either rescued or denigrated because of a political alliance. And who knows, maybe a Church wholly devoted and trusting in God might be more effective in slowing our country’s moral decay than a powerful and controlling Church.

I understand the struggle. In the face of helpless humans losing their lives every day, it makes sense that we feel compelled to take matters into our own hands. But abortion – and all exploitation really – is the logical consequence to the worship of autonomy (a modern version of the ancient child sacrifices). Does God call us to engage in a power struggle over this? I’m not talking about proclaiming truth…I’m talking about making a bid for political power to force an end to the practice.

I say, “no.” That is not the course I see in Scripture.

I say we need to tear down the god demanding the sacrifice, the god of personal autonomy . . . and to do that we will have to start with the Church. That would be the first step to following the Biblical instruction for Christians – to influence culture as a testament to the reality of God, trusting His plan and purpose. If we did that, we might also notice the many other victims caught in human power systems…the ones we’ve abandoned in our other power struggle with leftist ideology. But we are the ones with the answers for those victims as well…it’s not a “left” or “right” answer. It’s a God answer.

Brothers and sisters, political power struggles do not fit into Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God. We need to stop pulling out our “back-up god” to do our primary God’s work.

I know my small voice is but a whisper in a whirlwind of Christian leaders urging their followers down the path of compromise; abandoning our standards of truth and morality to engage in a political fight. These are big names with huge followings. But I must respectfully dissent.

I understand their concerns, their rationale, and their arguments. But the flaw in their thinking is that we can (and should) accomplish a greater good by allowing ourselves to be pawns in a political power grab. This desire for the greater good allows them to be manipulated and blinds them to the implications of their own deeply held convictions, as well as to the bigger picture of a president who has spent four years pushing their fear buttons, exploiting and deepening divisions in our country, and undermining the three-branch system of checks and balances of power – the very system which protects our freedoms.

My trust is not in the American system of government. Nevertheless, I see wisdom in the balance of power and will not be helping to take it apart. I don’t believe the ends justify the means, and I don’t believe God is honored or glorified by his people trusting in the word and protections of a narcissistic bully and pathological liar, handing over the keys of the country in exchange for a short-lived victory.

My concern is for the integrity of Christianity and our witness to the truth of who God is. We should never expect that witness to become culturally popular, because the message of the cross is a stumbling block to the religious and foolishness to the irreligious (I Cor 1:23). But Scripture continually commands God’s people to speak what is true about Him.

On a purely practical level, even if President Trump keeps the Christians around when he’s done with them, which I doubt, we won’t really be enjoying the enduring power and favor we seek because when anyone’s freedoms are undermined, everyone’s freedoms are undermined. The compromises required of Christians to maintain favor will never end.

Please…my dear Christian friends…don’t let your good intentions be exploited by an immoral politician.

The post American Idol appeared first on Adventures in Loving.

And I get why these words have fallen out of favor.  I have been attending churches for roughly 50 years now.  I have no illusions about the kinds of people who go to church and lead in church – and about the love shortage in many churches.

The indictments are true…Christians often shoot their wounded.  And Christians can be downright ugly to sinners.  I have seen it.  I have even experienced it.

A backlash outside the church, along with sad stories of misdirected enthusiasm within the church, have spawned what I would call a No Judgment movement.  Mostly non-Christians have taken to instructing churches to follow Jesus’ teachings more closely, and many within the church have jumped on the bandwagon with the popular slogan, “no judgment – only love”.

Jesus clearly instructed his followers not to judge.

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7: 1-2

. . . and later Jesus said, “I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world” John 12:47

And the warnings continue throughout the New Testament:

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. Romans 14:13

Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. James 4:11

My Family’s Judgment

Judgment has played a significant role in the life of our family.  The five of us have been slapped with the “disapproved” stamp more often than I can tell.

My husband has probably suffered the most judgment; as an addict, as a person with mental illness, as a disabled person – a man who is not working to support his family, and as the other parent of aforementioned wild-child . . . and all those judgments, in one form or another, fell on our children as well.

Our girls’ selection of friends was severely limited.  Our girls made friends, but after meeting Caleb the children suddenly became completely unavailable for any social interaction whatsoever.  One little girl told our daughter, “My dad says I can’t play with you because your dad is crazy.”

My Family at Church

Of all the judgment heaped on our family, I would say a fair amount originated from church-folk…but they by no means held a corner on the market.  I think we expected more from our church family, so we felt that rejection more keenly.

I have seen people slip into the back row of a church, sit arms crossed glaring at everyone, then declare the church “unfriendly” because no-one talked to them.  I have also seen people go into a church, be treated the same as any other public place, but insist everyone was judging them.

I am not talking about this kind of unreasonable expectation.

Growing up as a pastor’s daughter, I was sort-of automatically accepted at church.  As a young adult before marriage, churches I visited or attended were glad to have me.  I know what warmly welcomed and immediately included looks like.  So, I am not just imagining things or being overly sensitive when I say our family has been made aware many times that we are not the type of family churches are looking for.  We don’t fit the profile.

We were always perfectly welcome to be there, but most were relieved to see us just move along.  Leaders often tried to get us “plugged in”, and we found a few accepting acquaintances along the way, but were generally excluded from social activities outside of Sunday services.

I just do not fit any normal church-related social groups.  And beyond my husband’s physical and mental illnesses, his interests don’t really align with the soccer-dad types who tend to make up the male churchgoing population.  My daughter calls them “casual dads”.

Our oldest was far too energetic and outspoken for most church kids.  If any showed interest in friendship, their parents either didn’t approve or viewed her as a “project”.  After years of not fitting in with mainstream church-going youth, she chose to reject them and made friends with troubled kids of absentee or uninvolved parents.

Our younger two daughters may have had a chance at fitting in, but were tainted by their family, and our marginalization caused crushing anxiety.

I call what we experienced “judgment”, because I think it stems from an attitude of superiority – not wanting to associate with anyone strange or defective.  And I think it is the most common type of judgment that we all find objectionable, but not necessarily what Jesus had in mind when talking about judgment – more on that later.

What we have experienced could also be called “prejudice”, and is not a modern invention.  James wrote to the first century church:

My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.  For if someone comes into your assembly wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes, do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”? If so, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives? Jas 2:1-4

Churches, Stop Judging! (Right?)

After hearing our sad tale, you may wonder why we still bother with church!

The thing is, I am a follower of Christ – the lover of my soul.  I am not a follower of Christians – not even the really great ones.

Modern American churches have lots of work to do getting rid of judgmental prejudices!

Even so, I just can’t join the no-judge mantra.

For one thing, we experienced the same disapproval from neighbors, schools, and even some family members – none of whom claimed to be Christians.  Is there a public outcry for schools to stop being so judgmental?

Stories like ours may give weight to the non-judgment camp, but the demand for Christians to sit down and shut up about moral beliefs misses the heart of the problem.

The often-quoted Matthew 7 passage (above) goes on to show Jesus was actually addressing the problem of hypocrisy.

Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own?  You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matt 7:4-5

(c) Can Stock Photo / Deklofenak

He doesn’t say leave your brother’s speck alone.  He says don’t be a hypocrite about it.

The collection of “don’t judge” verses let the church know its primary function is not about judgment. Judgment is coming, but it is not our job – and when we overstep our bounds, it can be destructive for everyone involved.

Problems arise when Christians get too wrapped up in the practice of religion and lose sight of the love of Christ for a lost world.  That is the real issue.  Jesus had only harsh words for the religious of his day, but love for those on the fringe.  We need to remember the mission of the Church is to have unity in Christ so we can bring His message of salvation to the world.

But the other side of the coin remains.

Though Jesus loved and accepted the outcasts of his day, he did not accept their sins as o.k.   He never said, “this prostitute is joining us and we are not going to judge what she does for a living.”  Time and again he said, “Your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more.”  Sounds like a judgment (they had been sinning) and a requirement to live differently.  He definitely had expectations of His followers.

Jesus example was to love and offer salvation so that sinners could escape judgment.  “No judgment – only love” skips the offer of salvation part – going straight to release from judgement.  The opposite extreme skips the love part – going straight to condemnation – equally false.

A number of scripture passages (the remainder of Matthew 7 being one) call on Christians to correct fellow believers with love and kindness.

If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. Matt 18:15 

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Galatians 6:1

The key is love, or this becomes simply an exercise in shutting out the ones who don’t look and act like us.

And though this type of loving correction is only for those who claim to be believers . . .

It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those on the outside. I Cor 5:12-13a

. . . we are commanded to preach the Gospel to unbelievers, which by its very nature is a judgment of their need for Christ’s salvation.

 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 2 Timothy 4:2

Hope for Churches?

Our church-wandering family has finally found a home – a body of believers who follow the Bible, who don’t lower their standards but also welcome and love all the misfits and damaged people who show up.  It isn’t perfect.  Expecting churches to be perfect is like expecting families to be perfect.  It will never happen and that’s o.k.

But when we see each other through the eyes of Christ, we know every single soul – in a church pew, on a street-corner, in a mansion, in a hospital, or in a prison cell – no matter where we encounter our fellow human, that person is dearly loved by God just as we are.  That understanding starts to melt away the prejudices and unloving judgments.

The post Christians and the Practice of Judging appeared first on Adventures in Loving.

If you know much about me, you know I loathe debating social issues.  I don’t mind listening to debates, but usually refuse to get involved.  The standard viewpoints are so extreme – and emotional.

My own views never fall squarely within either camp so, rather than make everyone mad, I keep my opinions mostly to myself.

As my daughters have grown into young women, they challenged this practice, and I have come to suspect my reticence may lack balance – and I place a lot of importance on balance.

We all have a picture of what balance looks like.  Some see a gymnast on a beam – not wanting to fall in either direction.  Others would view that same person as wishy-washy – a fence sitter – not wanting to make a commitment in any direction.  Some may see a straight-line continuum, with extreme “right” and extreme “left” views on the ends and more moderate views at various points in-between.  Others see a see-saw or a scale, requiring balance to keep things even and steady.

I find none of these helpful.  I think balance looks more like a pendulum; absolute truth at the top center fixed point – the farther away from that fixed point the more incorrect the opinion – the swinging discs at one extreme to the other representing completely opposite but equally false ideas.  We achieve balance by staying as close as possible to that top, fixed point.

I have attempted a diagram here to show what I mean, but, let’s be honest, fitting life’s complexity into a simple drawing is beyond my abilities.

Any tool we use to understand concepts breaks down and fails to illustrate every contingency.  Even Jesus’ pictures are not all-encompassing, because he employed the varied relationships of father->child, husband->wife, shepherd->sheep, master->servant, and many others to describe his relationship with his church.  If we choose just one picture and expect it to define our entire relationship with Christ we lose out on some other aspect of the relationship.

It reminds me of a jewel with so many beautiful facets as we turn and look at it from different angles and in different lights.  Each facet is part of the whole, but not one can completely define the whole.

Although . . . God never uses this analogy about himself . . . so maybe I’m way off base!

Our minds, even though created in the image of God, are not capable of the same degree of complexity.  We think in terms of “either-or”, not “both-and”.  We imagine God must suspend Justice to display Mercy, for instance, but not so.  God is 100% merciful at all times and 100% just at all times.  The fact that we can’t understand it does not make it less true.

So, what is a Christ-follower to do?  As we navigate life, is mercy the plumb line we use?  Or should we use justice?  Should we be people known for compassion, or for righteousness?  Should we be defenders of the truth, or defenders of people?

The short answer is “all of the above” and “none of the above”.  Love is our calling.  Love brings balance to these “opposites”.

Some see love itself as being on one of these either-or continua.  The false choice between love and “dead orthodoxy” is touted as the decision churches must make.  But the opposite of love is pride and selfishness – not orthodoxy, dead or otherwise.  The church should be defined by love demonstrating compassion and mercy to others, holding to truth, practicing righteousness, and defending justice (among other things.)  Love does not dismiss truth or turn away from justice.  Neither does it proclaim truth and demand righteousness as a point of pride.

So . . . does any of this apply to social issues?

I believe my marching orders, as given by God, are to preach the gospel to non-believers and be a witness of who God is and what He has done; and toward believers to strengthen and encourage them in faith.

I have not located any mandate to create a Christian society.

I believe the early American cultural view of the church as a positive social influence paved the way for the church’s acceptance of a phony mission; substituting God’s purpose for His people (love, holiness, worship, and witness) with a cheap assignment as hall monitor to a nation.  The result has been harmful to the nation as well as the church.

Other than many verses calling Christians to preach the gospel and be witnesses, I think the passage of Scripture that most clearly addresses the Christian’s relationship to social issues is Mathew 5:13-16

You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.

No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

So, how would Christian salt lose its flavor?  I think reading all of chapter 5 (and on through chapter 7) makes it clear that Christians are to live by completely different standards than the world.  I think we lose flavor when we stop living the strange life and start mimicking the world.  There is no indication that the salt should try to make its environment as salty as possible to facilitate staying flavorful.

The same goes for the light illustration.  We simply are a light on a hilltop as we “let your good deeds shine out”.  Not hiding good deeds is very different from a lamp on the offensive.

So, I focus on my witness, and stay out of the political fray.  I vote according to my conscience and discuss my opinions when asked, but I will never join any crusade to impose Christian principles on American society (or society in general).

But, my daughters object, how can the church stay silent in the face of injustice – when people are abused?

Hmmm . . . has my approach been too “all or nothing”?

A utopian society may not be my mission, but as I live in society – according to the bizarre principles of Mathew 5 – 7 – I should point out truth when encountering harmful distortions.  Jesus certainly did.  And I should give aid to victims – supported, I believe, by many verses requiring Christians to help the poor, outcast, and aliens, and take care of widows and orphans.

The entire book of Daniel is a portrait of life in exile, along with these:

Jeremiah 29:7 And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”

Esther 10:3 Mordecai the Jew became the prime minister, with authority next to that of King Xerxes himself. He was very great among the Jews, who held him in high esteem, because he continued to work for the good of his people and to speak up for the welfare of all their descendants.

My views on my primary aim are unchanged – but I suppose there is a place for working toward the “peace and prosperity of the city” and speaking up for the welfare of the oppressed.  Maybe I can influence the world even while living as a stranger.

Going back to my “balance pendulum”, each of the extreme false views may (and probably do) have elements of truth, but a lie with pieces of truth is still a lie.  Just ask Eve about that.

Satan delights in keeping our focus on those discs (or crystals as in my picture) – and all points between the two sides.  As long as everyone is fighting and arguing over two erroneous ideas, no-one steps back to see the third option – which is God’s point of view.

A great example of breaking free from this mesmerizing pendulum is John Piper’s book, “Bloodlines” –  about race in America.

He lays out one side of the issue in detail and then the other side of the issue in detail, then throws them both out as unable to solve the problem.  I won’t try to summarize the book here, and this is a gross over-simplification, but he basically puts forth God as the real solution, describes what that looks like, and calls on Christians to lead the way.

(Excellent book, by the way . . . definitely recommend it.)

I certainly don’t claim to be a happy resident of “God’s Center of Truth” – I am too fallible for that – but I know it is there.  I know God reveals himself through the Scriptures, through Christ, and through the Holy Spirit.  As I consider my attitudes and actions on any given topic, these are my guideposts . . . maybe why I don’t fit in any camp.  Christians think I’m too permissive, non-Christians think I’m too Christian-y, liberals think I’m too conservative and conservatives think I’m too liberal.  feminists think I am a sell-out and misogynists think I’m a feminist.

Don’t get me started on labels!

(license)

I gave an example above (race in America) – an issue clearly born of spiritual ills with a scriptural prescription.  However, many situations affect us – such as forms of government and political ideology – which cannot be addressed this same way because there is no “true” political ideology (at least on this earth.)  Focusing on the choice between two equally faulty political systems distracts from and, in my opinion, destroys our usefulness to the kingdom of God.  With Christians embroiled in that fight, Satan wins no matter what.

Going forward, I may take a moment to urge a more balanced relationship with the culture we live in.  Some topics may touch on political controversies.  The probability of offending some is high (not intentionally of course.)

Ultimately, I consider myself a visitor to my culture, traveling through on a different path.  Maybe some will benefit as I describe this alternate path.

My hope is to encourage others to check the Scriptures, their motives, and the call of God in their life . . . not blindly agree or disagree with my musings.

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