Those Christians are sure stirring up attention
From the post below, we go to this:
That squabbling you hear is the sound of a movement that is trying to determine what it is and where it is going. On the one side there is Richard Cizik, Vice President of Governmental Affairs at the National Evangelical Association. Cizik has energetically argued that Christians should broaden their issue set to include what is sometimes called “creation care.” Confronted with global warming, Cizik believes that evangelicals should help lead the movement to encourage Americans to be good stewards of God’s creation.
On the other side, there is James Dobson, Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer, and other evangelicals who are concerned that Christians are becoming distracted by a medley of issues, including environmentalism. According to these leaders, our focus should be the “great moral issues of our time”–abortion, gay marriage, and abstinence education.
Now here’s my favorite line in the whole piece:
A vigorous exchange of ideas is healthy for the church, so long as it is done charitably.
Do you know how difficult that is to achieve? The “vigorous exchange of ideas” is challenging enough, in a culture that has just about lost the art of civil discourse. Then there’s the ‘charitable’ part that needs work.
Christians, therefore, should work to encourage a healthy pluralism of concerns within the body of Christ.
Now this is a good conclusion. And it’s your answer next time somebody challenges you on why you’re so concerned about abortion when there are starving people in the world.Â
When each individual is obedient to God’s calling, the body as a whole is strengthened. Because abortion is a true crisis, it is no surprise that the Lord has raised up thousands of men and women to direct their full attention to this one issue. Some of these men and women address the issue from a political perspective; others start crisis pregnancy centers to limit abortion in their own community. At the very same time, the Lord has called thousands of other faithful Christians to combat other, sometimes related, issues. Some work to reduce the divorce rate, others promote laws that protect marriage. Some put their efforts into ending modern-day slavery, or bringing corporate wrongdoers to justice, or reforming the local school system’s curriculum. Some fight nursing home abuse, or immorality in the popular culture, or diseases in the third world.
When each Christian is doing what he or she is called to do, the entire body is healthier, and everyone has a better chance at being effective. It is foolish to amputate healthy limbs and remove working organs. Therefore, all evangelical leaders, regardless of their personal callings, should embrace the fact that there are many callings within the church, and that these diverse callings will often inspire political action. In the final analysis, this is a sign of vitality, and it should be encouraged.
Like the previous post says below, when that body moves, it carries a lot of weight.