On Tolerance and Compromise
It takes a lot to disgust me, but I'm disgusted. I'm disgusted by the fact that we Christians, who are the keepers of Truth and who have been ordained by Christ to proclaim and reclaim His Kingdom on earth, are just sitting back with our mouths shut--and our pens in their holders--while those who purvey the lies of Satan are shouting their falsehoods all around us and destroying our country in the process.
Where is our courage?
Why are we not writing articles, essays, stories, poems, and letters to the editor on subjects like the race issue, the economy, and the war in Iraq? Sad to say, I think we are not doing so in the name of tolerance. After all, we don't want to rock the boat, do we?
But in not rocking the boat, we are "tolerating" actions and agendas that are bringing our nation to ruin and, worst of all, are sending countless people straight to hell.
A few months ago, at my daughter's suggestion, I took a Christian Worldview test through the Nehemiah Institute. The test evaluates whether one's thinking lines up with the Bible. I scored a 97% on the test, missing a question about women pastors. You may wish to take the test yourself to determine if you truly think Biblically. Here is the link:
To my amazement, I learned that most Christians do not pass this test, including Christian teachers at Christian schools. This fact tells me that most people who call themselves Christians do not hold beliefs that line up with the Bible. On the contrary, their thinking lines up more with the world. Astounding!
At the same time, it is no surprise. Our public education system (and in many ways even our Christian education system) does not teach a Biblical worldview.
Why am I saying all this? Because we writers who call ourselves followers of Christ have been placed on this earth at this particular time to help build God's Kingdom. This means we must educate ourselves on what is happening in our world and respond, through our writing, to those occurrences and situations that violate and contradict God's Word. If we don't speak up, who will?
You might be asking, "Why?" Why risk incurring public wrath, or even the wrath of our family and friends? Because souls are at stake. As I write, millions are falling into hell, forever lost. If you were one of those souls, wouldn't you want someone to tell you the truth?
Granted many will scorn the truth when we present it. But there will be those few--even that one--whose heart will respond to the truth. Isn't the risk worth that one soul? What if that one soul were your soul?
It's time to stop comromising the truth and its proclamation in the name of tolerance. It's time to pick up your pen and to start challenging the lies of the enemy. It's time to act like the Christians we say we are.
So I encourage you to take up the Sword of Truth for our Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ! Start right where you are. Speak up. Write up. But always with love.
And that's my "musing that matters" for today. What's yours? :)
Blessings,
MaryAnn
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Copyright 2008 by MaryAnn Diorio, Ph.D. All rights reserved. This blog entry may NOT be reproduced, reprinted, or published in any form whatsoever without the written permission of Dr. MaryAnn Diorio. You may, however, forward it to others, but please do so IN ITS ENTIRETY. Thank you for your cooperatio
Comments
I hear ya, Mary Ann, and I agree to a point. We should make our Biblical worldview known. But how we do it is up to God. We must spend time in prayer and study to discern how God would have us handle this.
For me, it comes down to getting to know my neighbors, ministering to their needs, praying for them and recognizing the opportunities to talk about Jesus.
For my husband, who is a public school teacher, it's different.
We need to look around. Where had God planted us? Who is near us? What specific thing can we do to make a difference, or to show the love of Christ to a dying world ... whether that world is your family, neighbors, co-workers or the reading population of a local newspaper.
We need to be engaging and gentle, full of love and compassion. But firm in the truth.
MaryAnn, you've hit a topic close to my heart. THANK YOU for this post! I started an e-zine, a web site, and a blog which I hoped would encourage Christians to speak out in our nation to make a difference for Christ and equip them with the information on issues, addresses, tips, and how-to articles that they would need to write letters to politicians, people in powerful positions, and letters to editors of newspapers. Unfortunatly, my next monthly e-zine will probably be the final issue due to so few subscribers. I'll continue with the blog and site. If anyone is interested, the site is at http://www.ButtsAboutIt.com and you can sign up for the zine there. The blog is http://www.ButtsAboutIt.blogspot.com. I write these zines, site, and blog because I do NOT want to step into eternity and think, "Good grief, why didn't I speak up and say something? Was I THAT busy? What was I afraid of?" I want to step into eternity knowing I did everything I could...that I tried my best. The results are up to God.
March 25 in The Press of Atlantic City the headlines read "Bush: Iraq worth blood/Service members, who have died did not do so in vain." I wrote a letter. It was published on Monday March 31. I had visions of the FBI coming for me.The letter:
I VOTED FOR BUSH AND CAN'T STAND HIM
I am 76 years old,, and I have never disliked a president of the United States more than I do George W. Bush - and I voted for him. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Four thousand young people dead. When we leave Iraq, the tribes, insurgents , terrorists, etc. will war with each other, destroy their country and elect another dictator.
A March 25 headline in The Press read, "Bush:Iraq worth blood?Service members who have died did not do so in vain." What was worth it? What have we gained?
Bush walks with arrogance and speaks to us condescendingly and with a smirk and a sneer. He is shameless. He prefers to brazen it out father than admit defeat. Bush's page in the history book will be short.jim connelly,avalon, n.j.
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I,for one, will join the challenge, MaryAnn. We only fool ourselves with being complacent.
Thanks for the strong rallying cry today.