Wednesday, September 3, 2008

This house is falling... or is it? (Part 3of 3)

For this post to make much sense I suggest you read parts 1 and 2 first.




So let me see if I've got this right. According to the gist of my preceding two posts, if we are to follow popular opinion:
  • We (Christians) are bigots because we believe homosexuality to be a sin according to the Scriptures.
  • A black man elected to the office of President of the U.S.A. is the highest calling and duty of every black American, and indeed black person around the globe, irrespective of what compromise that might be to our faith.
  • Protesting the ordination of gay ministers and of non-believers in the Deity of Jesus is “problematic,” illegitimate and troublesome.
  • Adhering to the Scriptures as the true source of deliverance for humanity is “obscure,” arcane, outdated, and irrelevant

    And we wonder why our culture is regressing, while we become increasingly self-absorbed and arrogant? Meanwhile, as all of this is going on in our ‘developed’ nations, as we battle to figure out what true Christianity looks like in this generation, here’s what’s happening on the other side of the globe. A little known country named Rwanda is torn apart at the seams through genocide, as nearly one million ethnic Tutsi’s are slaughtered in the space of 91-days. Helpless young women, are raped, tortured and beheaded with near blunt axes. Eight of the more fortunate survivors, in an attempt to save their lives, are holed up in a 3’ X 5’ bathroom for 91-days (Immaculee Ilibagiza, Left To Tell).

    Here’s one more excerpt from an article in September 2008’s Charisma magazine that I think you might find interesting.

    “Two Christians in the Algerian town of Tissemsilt were sentenced to six months in jail and fined 100,000 dinars ($1,617) in July for preaching the gospel. Rachid Muhammad Essaghir, 37, and Djallal Dhamani, were handed suspended jail terms and fined for violating a February 2006 law that forbids “proselytism and the illegal practice of a non-Muslim religion.” The law prescribes up to five years in jail and fines of between $8000 and $16,000 for anyone who “incites, constrains or seduces a Muslim to join another religion.””

    I guess there is hope for Christianity after all. This House cannot fall because Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16: 18). So while others may be building puny, un-enduring empires, and squabbling over what the ‘politically correct’ terminology of the day is, Jesus is slowly but surely building His Church around the world, and those who are willing, are privileged to sacrifice their personal comfort and even their lives for the sake of the Gospel. There is an ominous reminder in Scripture, to those of us who would seek to protect our lives at all costs, even if it means the compromise of our faith.

    “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16: 24-25)

    My prayer for you and me today is that we be found willing if such a demand is ever placed on us.

4 comments:

Ash said...

i really wish i'd kept the link...nevertheless- i was watching a news-spot online the other day where a professor (i think)- and elderly black man basically stated that you know that we've gone far beyond king's dream when the black nominee for president is being accused of being elitist and out of touch w/ his own people or the common worker. the professor, at the end of the interview simply stated that while this is an amazing feat, obama would NOT be getting his vote....

thought that was interesting.

Me said...

Joseph...wow. great dissertation.
BLack Christians vote democrat, white Christians vote Republican. What a dichotomy.

Theresa said...

This has been a great series of posts.

I have been a reader of yours for awhile but usually just lurk. I had to respond to these though.

I enjoyed the facts without the pushing of an agenda.

Thank you!

Joseph said...

Thanks guys for joining the conversation.