Thursday, April 2, 2015

Indiana Coulter and the Temple of Politics



          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.


[1] Ecclesiastes 9:11.

No comments:

Post a Comment