Religious leaders and 'the times' versus God
Americans of every race, origin, and culture once observed the universal wisdom that informed them that the lack of morality causes serious trouble, suffering, and worse. Has the knowledge vanished completely from our midst – that to begin with, there must be a moral foundation to human society? Is it not plain enough to all that since the virtual abandonment of morality in our country, things have gotten worse?
What happened to the many whose calling it is to enlighten us with the wisdom enshrined in the Golden Rule and threaded into every humane culture since B.C.? In these times, a good many of our religious leaders appear to be blind to their own mission. In following the times instead of leading them, they fail in to guide people through the twists and turns of life. I have seen pastors fall apart trying to explain the Ten Commandments, as though facing a trick question on a final exam. The sermons, the homilies in the mainstream churches over the past five decades have generated fog, not light, raising the suspicion that the preachers avoid or outright reject the Word of God because it is considered subversive!
Incredibly, today's mainstream clergy spread the terrible error that being politically correct overrides being morally correct. It is the other way around! Plain to all who are awake and honest, this carelessness of thought and exit from conscience crushes what is sacred and inviolable to human life.
Wake from the slumber!
What times are these that we are all supposed to embrace or face some form of legal retaliation? A full answer would try any reader's patience. I'll be brief: these are times improved by at least one generation of 20th-century hotshots who were smarter than everyone who came before them, back over the centuries. They are times when to follow God is wrong because His Word requires that you actually take responsibility for your actions. The unexpurgated Christian Gospel, for instance, is too full of politically incorrect absolutes and mandates. What kind of God is it Who won't let you lie, cheat, steal, hate people, treat those who disagree with you like trash? What kind of God is it Who insists that sex is designed for bringing children into the world, an act of joy between a man and a woman whose love for each other is proof that they are ready and willing to be loving parents? Such a God is unfit for "the times"! And speaking the truth in these times is dubbed "hate speech."
Typical church leaders today follow the politics of the day, in de facto defiance of the tenets of their professed religions. For example, a Christian minister who is supposed to be a spokesperson for Christ and convey the teachings and guidance of Christ turns his back on the founder of his church each time he ignores or counters or alters Christ's teachings. To compound the mischief, such a minister (consciously or not) pretends to be delivering the Truth and ministering to God's will! I call this treason.
The subversion of what is eternally true and sacred to human life is the enemy of any successful society, a reality that has made some of us sound the alarm for decades in the hope of alerting people of goodwill to the destructive power of people in high places who have little respect for the sanctity of life and have no use for God, family, or country. A World War II veteran (my brother) concluded a public prayer he delivered at a National Prayer Breakfast by asking God to "send us men and women with hearts ablaze with Thy love – patient, courageous, strong, and true. These are the patriots our nation needs – those brave enough to do Thy will."
Americans of every race, background, and political belief need more than ever to stand up and denounce the words and actions of the many in positions of leadership and influence who knowingly or unknowingly undermine our country and the liberty and justice for which it stands.