Baby Food In, Baby Food Out
An article today in The Daily Review discusses the upcoming vote in California's legislature on a bill supporting homosexual marriage, which was recently passed in California's Senate. Both the article's author and the people who are quoted repeatedly mention Jesus and the Bible. Alberto Torrico is described as an Assemblyman who is a "born-again Christian", and the article refers to how inconsistent and uncommitted he's been on the issue. The article also quotes somebody making a reference to the Biblical prohibition against judging.
Where do these journalists and politicians go to church? What are their pastors teaching them? Have these journalists and politicians who comment on these issues read much of the Bible? Have they made much of an effort to think through what the Bible teaches about marriage and homosexuality?
If I was a pastor of a church attended by one of these legislators, I would be ashamed. But they have another opportunity to clarify this issue, before the legislature votes to send the bill to the governor. During tomorrow morning's church services, why don't these pastors stand before their congregations and state in a clear and detailed manner what the Bible teaches about marriage and homosexuality? If the legislators (and journalists, etc.) attending their churches think that citing a passage like Matthew 7:1 or Matthew 22:21 is a sufficient justification for supporting the legalizing of homosexual marriage, then correct their misunderstanding. Or if they're citing such Biblical passages in order to give an appearance of being faithful to Biblical teaching, even though they know that they're not being faithful, then they need to be disciplined.
We know who these people are. The legislators who are voting on this issue are known public figures. These people are willingly telling the world that they profess to be Christians, and they're citing the Bible to support their bad judgments. They ought to be corrected, and it ought to be done publicly.
One of the problems is that so many churches are giving out little more than baby food. If you keep teaching your people to think like babies, you can expect them to act like babies. If you think that the businessmen, scientists, teachers, electricians, and legislators in your congregation can't understand detailed discussions of issues such as marriage and homosexuality, then how do you think these people make a living? By drawing pictures with crayons and watching cartoons on television? No, they make a living by negotiating complex business contracts, operating machinery with hundreds of functions, teaching complicated issues to their students in the classroom, etc. If high school students can follow what their physics or algebra teacher is telling them, why can't they follow a detailed discussion of what the Bible teaches about homosexuality? If a housewife can make financial arrangements for her household, learn how to prepare meals, etc., why can't she follow detailed instruction regarding what the Bible teaches about marriage? In other words, if people can live with so much detail, complexity, and controversy in other areas of life, why do pastors and other people teaching in the context of the church so often act as if their audience can't handle anything more than intellectual baby food? The homosexual movement (and other opponents of Biblical teaching) aren't relying on baby food in their attempts to change society. If they're shrewd as serpents in doing evil, why are we shrewd as doves in doing good?
Where do these journalists and politicians go to church? What are their pastors teaching them? Have these journalists and politicians who comment on these issues read much of the Bible? Have they made much of an effort to think through what the Bible teaches about marriage and homosexuality?
If I was a pastor of a church attended by one of these legislators, I would be ashamed. But they have another opportunity to clarify this issue, before the legislature votes to send the bill to the governor. During tomorrow morning's church services, why don't these pastors stand before their congregations and state in a clear and detailed manner what the Bible teaches about marriage and homosexuality? If the legislators (and journalists, etc.) attending their churches think that citing a passage like Matthew 7:1 or Matthew 22:21 is a sufficient justification for supporting the legalizing of homosexual marriage, then correct their misunderstanding. Or if they're citing such Biblical passages in order to give an appearance of being faithful to Biblical teaching, even though they know that they're not being faithful, then they need to be disciplined.
We know who these people are. The legislators who are voting on this issue are known public figures. These people are willingly telling the world that they profess to be Christians, and they're citing the Bible to support their bad judgments. They ought to be corrected, and it ought to be done publicly.
One of the problems is that so many churches are giving out little more than baby food. If you keep teaching your people to think like babies, you can expect them to act like babies. If you think that the businessmen, scientists, teachers, electricians, and legislators in your congregation can't understand detailed discussions of issues such as marriage and homosexuality, then how do you think these people make a living? By drawing pictures with crayons and watching cartoons on television? No, they make a living by negotiating complex business contracts, operating machinery with hundreds of functions, teaching complicated issues to their students in the classroom, etc. If high school students can follow what their physics or algebra teacher is telling them, why can't they follow a detailed discussion of what the Bible teaches about homosexuality? If a housewife can make financial arrangements for her household, learn how to prepare meals, etc., why can't she follow detailed instruction regarding what the Bible teaches about marriage? In other words, if people can live with so much detail, complexity, and controversy in other areas of life, why do pastors and other people teaching in the context of the church so often act as if their audience can't handle anything more than intellectual baby food? The homosexual movement (and other opponents of Biblical teaching) aren't relying on baby food in their attempts to change society. If they're shrewd as serpents in doing evil, why are we shrewd as doves in doing good?
posted by Jason Engwer at 9:43 AM
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