Ann Coulter, appearing on Bill O’Reilly
to talk about the recent hubbub over the Indiana religious freedom law, was
supposedly arguing for Christian belief in some form or fashion, but once again
showed her utter contempt for theological accuracy. She simply can’t forgive those who have gone
to Africa to help with the Ebola crisis, remarking they should be in the United
States fighting the gay activists who are out in force regarding the recent
Indiana religious rights law rather than changing bedpans for Ebola
patients. Ann simply doesn’t know the
Bible at all.
In
describing true believers Jesus said “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I
was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was
naked and you clothed me, I was sick and
you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Matthew 25:35 – 36. Jesus goes on to say that when you do these
things for “the least of these” you are doing them for him. I don’t see the part that says, I was having
political problems and you came and protested for me. This is where both Ann and O’Reilly
grotesquely misunderstand Christian theology.
It isn’t about winning the culture war.
It isn’t about winning the war on Christmas. It isn’t about insisting on rights under the
Constitution. It isn’t about winning
political battles. It’s about spreading
the gospel message that God has intervened in the world through his son, Jesus,
who lived a sinless life, died on the cross, was buried and was resurrected on
the third day. Jesus did this, not for
himself, but for sinful humanity who needed a once and for all Passover lamb to
satisfy God’s justice against sin.
Whether
Christians “win” in Indiana is irrelevant.
Ann Coulter is so wrong on this issue it is stunning. God can and will overcome whatever problems
he feels require overcoming. He does not
need our help in doing so, but graciously allows us to be part of his
plan. That plan may, or may not, involve
gaining political victory in Indiana.
What it will certainly involve is finding ways to serve others in a
loving, thoughtful way. The problem both
Coulter and O’Reilly have is they think political ideology really matters on
ultimate issues. Oh, sure, it matters at
some level in the here and now and might affect our comfort, but politics
doesn’t have eternal answers, only temporary ones.
Yes,
many gay rights militants want to wipe out any Christian resistance to their
agenda, not because all gays want this but because these militants have an a priori commitment to a materialistic
world view that says there is no God.
Their only recourse is to raw power to get what they want because their
worldview compels this. If human beings
are the only source of morality, then morality means whatever those in power
say it means. Coulter and O’Reilly seem
to get this notion. Unfortunately, what
neither of them gets is that Christianity isn’t about obtaining power over
others. Christianity is about serving
others, in humility, sometimes at great cost (including possibly getting Ebola,
Ann), and sometimes at the loss of business.
While many protesters have improperly characterized the Indiana law as
doing something it was not intended to do (allow for wholesale discrimination
against gays), this doesn’t matter. God
is greater than the state of Indiana, greater than Ann Coulter, and, (gasp)
greater than Bill O’Reilly. God will
work through his people to do his will for those he is calling to his service
and his way, regardless of the state of political affairs in Indiana or
elsewhere.
Part
of the problem gay militants have with Christians is they think people like Coulter and
O’Reilly and Glenn Beck (who is Mormon, not Christian) represent all
Christians. No. As I have stated in numerous posts, I believe
homosexual behavior is sinful. I don’t
mince words on this point. Yet, that
doesn’t mean that I feel compelled to argue for the necessity of constant
political victory. Do I find much of
what I read from gay activists frustratingly intolerant and enormously
hypocritical? Yes. But then I remember that I can be
frustratingly intolerant and enormously hypocritical sometimes, myself. But I have seen under the sun that the race
is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor
riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the men of skill, but time and chance
happen to them all.[1] So I know that demanding my political rights isn't necessary because God will see to all I need in this life and in the next.
So
what should Christians do? When
Nebuchadnezzar demanded that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego worship the statue
of him, they politely declined. He threw
them into the fiery furnace. When Daniel
was undermined by his political enemies, he prayed like he always did, even
knowing it might cost him his life, and he was tossed into a den with lions. When Peter refused to stop preaching that
Jesus was the messiah, he was thrown into a jail cell. While it is true all of these men were
miraculously saved, it is also true none of them knew that would happen. So as Christians we should stand firmly,
politely, and quietly for our faith, knowing it might well cost us politically,
socially, financially. It might cost us
our lives. Perhaps some of us will be
miraculously saved, perhaps we won’t. It
doesn’t matter because our lives are in God's hands, not ours.
What
we cannot do, what we must not do, is sacrifice our faith on the altar of
political expediency because Ann Coulter thinks she can shame us into doing so.
