Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
– W. B. Yeats
"White Crucifixion" by Marc Chagall
“Depressing”.
I have been seeing and hearing that word more frequently in reference to our current social-cultural-political condition. The other day was driving back to the church office after attempting to visit a woman whose husband had fallen asleep in the Lord the day before. Thinking about what is going on in the world but especially in our nation. And seriously wondering “is this what the beginning of the end looks like?”
How many could imagine 10 years ago that this is where we would be now?
Previous posts have expressed concern about expressing political opinions on this website. There is nothing inherently wrong with Christian citizens expressing their views on social-cultural-political issues. There are some who do it very well. From January 2009:
I am supposed to be a pastor. I do not equate the Christian faith with political conservatism or the Republican party. What of the things of God that transcend our current historical and political circumstances?
Which is a dangerous and possibly a deeply flawed question. Perhaps better to ask, What does God call us to do and who does God call us to be in and during such circumstances? (link added)
Yes I am an American citizen. Who is deeply troubled by what is happening around us. I am concerned on behalf of my family – in what kind of America will my children live? – on behalf of my fellow citizens and even on behalf of the people of the other nations of the world.
One might legitimately ask “what does this have to do with the Christian life? and the mission of the Christian church?” Let me put it to you this way dear readers. How much more difficult will it become during the next few decades to proclaim the teachings of the Christian faith? to practice the Christian life? to engage in Christian mission?
Let me be more specific.
Start with money and budgets.
Severe economic recession means less people work or people work less and/or people have less on which to live. Which also means they are less able to contribute to the ministry and mission of the Christian church. I am concerned about how the moratorium on offshore drilling will affect Louisiana as a whole and University Baptist Church in particular.
I hesitate to attempt to list some of what I see happening to our nation:
- Our nation is becoming increasingly divided and polarized along several different lines.
- Racial relations are arguably the worst they have been in 20-30 years.
- We have trillion-plus dollar deficits as far as the eye can see.
- We have an increasingly unsustainable national debt that will weigh down our economy for decades.
- We have the highest unemployment levels in decades.
- We have a national government that has effectively taken over huge portions of the American economy.
- Let us be specific. (1) Healthcare (2) Finance and banking (3) Energy. There may be others.
- We have a national government that in attempting to address a genuine problem makes it far worse.
- We have a national government that is attempting to take primary control of secondary education.
- We have a national government that makes it increasingly difficult for small businesses to succeed.
- We have a national government that to a large extent chooses winners and losers in the economy.
- We have a national government that increasingly rewards failure and punishes success.
- We have a national government that increasingly transfers wealth from those who invest and produce to those who do not.
- We have a national government that does not follow its own rules and procedures.
- We have a national government that tells the American people one thing but practices another.
- We have an administration that increasingly exercises power outside the limits set by the Constitution.
- We have an administration that attempts to marginalize political dissent.
- We have a national government that does not demonstrate basic reverence. That right there might be the most serious problem that gives rise to most of the others.
- We have an administration that alienates our friends and allies and attempts to placate nations traditionally hostile to the United States.
- We have an administration that appears unwilling to understand and confront terrorism motivated by radical Islam.
- We have an administration that uses genuine crises as bargaining chips for making changes in domestic policy.
- We have an administration that is openly hostile toward states that are attempting to protect the well being of their own people.
- We have a president who consistently misrepresents principled disagreements with his policies.
- We have a president who attacks those who disagree with him precisely when they for reasons of propriety are unable to respond.
- We have a Mainstream Media that subordinates journalism to political activism.
- We have a Mainstream Media that keeps some news from the American people and distorts what news it does report.
- What have an entertainment industry that is openly hostile toward most Americans and the values they hold.
- We have a large percentage of the African-American community suffering the destructive effects of policies promulgated by the very people they support with their votes.
And so on and so on and so on. (Ed – I will work on providing links for many of the points listed above.)
But there are two thoughts that occur to me.
First – why do I have to be the person who keeps up with and writes about these issues? I should trust others to do this. And trust that what they write will not go unread. As a Christian pastor I may read about care about and have strong opinions about these issues. But they are not my primary responsibility. Do I have a “right” to write about social-cultural-political issues? Yes. But I need to trust that other people will do that.
With one qualification. I will keep the links and newsfeeds. Even expand them. Precisely so that the important things other people write are more likely to be noticed read and cited.
Second – no matter how much “things fall apart” around us do we trust God? Do we trust that God will guide? protect? provide for us during such times? The vast majority of the people of God for the vast majority of human history have had to live in and through far worse. The argument can be made that it is during the worst times that the Christian church shines brightest.
So as difficult as it is – and I ask for your prayers and support and encouragement in this – I will attempt to shift the focus on this website back to what it was originally meant to be.
- Christian theology and practice. Which means many different kinds of things including sermons and Bible studies and reflections.
- Fun and personal stuff. Which means many different kinds of things including book and movie reviews as well as posts about music and literature which are areas of interest.
I was planning on neatly contradicting myself with a few “parting shots”. A few points I wanted to make before – by the grace of God – getting away from social-cultural-political commentary. About Journolist. About how “our” side is not allowed to make any mistakes at all while the “other” side never holds itself accountable for a plethora of failures. About Andrew Breitbart. About the whole Shirley Sherrod debacle. About who truly is primarily responsible for the sudden rapid disintegration of race relations. About President Obama as a Marxist-Leninist.
But I will trust God by trusting him to inspire others to address these points.
