Security is a big deal these days.
National security will be a major
concern as voters go to the voting booth. I think that any proper reading of
the world situation today is that the values we hold in common in America of
freedom, tolerance, pluralism, rational discussion of differing ideas, is under
attack from an ideology that wants to bring down what we know as Western
Civilization. Christianity has been an important part of building such values
over the centuries.
Personal security is also a big
deal these days. If you let yourself think about it, the information that we
post online could cause much damage if hacked by some criminal. Not only that, most
of us have so much to guard. We have homes, possessions, money, data, and our
identities. It seems as if troublemakers abound, ready to exploit any holes in
our defenses,, weakness in firewalls, lag in virus programs, failure to back up
documents, or laxness with personal information.
At the same time, some impressive
new tools are now available to help us fend off these attacks. Guarding our
homes, for example, is now easier than ever, especially if we are comfortable
with technology and are willing to spend top dollar for a state-of-the-art
security system. With such systems, we can arm our home-security alarm with our
smartphones even if we are not nearby at the time. We can receive email alerts
every time our front door opens, even if we are miles away. If we want to know
who opened it, we can summon a 30-second video clip from a camera that monitors
the door.
We can also install electronic
walls around our information, bank accounts and investments that allow us to
control who has access to them. We can have retinal scanners, thumb and
fingerprint readers, passcodes, barcodes, motion sensors and more. Yet, it
seems as if security is an ongoing struggle, and bad people keep figuring out
clever new ways to take advantage of us.
Have you ever thought of the
Christian faith as being under attack?
II Timothy 1:14 urges Timothy to
"guard the good treasure"
that has been entrusted to him. By "the good treasure," Paul
apparently means the Christian faith.
If the apostolic faith was under attack
in the first century, one can be quite certain it will be in this century. At least
since the end of WWII in America, the secular culture has increasingly
distanced itself from the obvious Christian influences on American history. At an
institutional level, in political, economic, entertainment, and media, people
have worked quite hard to separate the culture from Christian influence. Many within
the church have reciprocated by offering stinging critiques of American
civilization. In fact, the temptation within the church would be to avoid a
negative image. The temptation might be to adopt secular beliefs and values in
an effort to avoid a negative image.
However, what sort of actions
should the idea of guarding the faith bring to mind? Is the faith a sort of
Hope Diamond around which we should erect some kind of security wall? I recall
the scene in Mission: Impossible where Tom Cruse comes down from the ceiling of
a vault and almost trips the alarm, suspended inches from the floor that would
have tripped the alarm. Maybe a Pink Panther scene comes to mind as well. Should
we be monitoring potential threats to Christianity to prevent anything from
disappearing from it? I have read enough of Christian theology to know that we
can be grateful that some things have fallen away. The anti-Semitism of
Christian history is shameful. The right of women to preach is steadily gaining
recognition throughout Christianity. The church gave too much latitude in the
colonial period to Western leaders who wanted to colonize whole continents in
order to extract their wealth. While many Christians attacked slavery and
racism, far too many supported it and participated in it. Has God called
Christians to stack sandbags on our theological borders as a precaution against
the relentless and encroaching tides of secularism, moral relativism and
cultural decline?
Those questions are worth thinking
about, because there is plenty happening in our country these days that at
least some Christians interpret as attacks on our faith. As I offer this list, I
would remind you that nothing we experience in America is anything like the
extermination of Christians from the Middle East by Islamic militants.
+ Ten Commandment monuments being removed from government
properties;
+ Prayer prohibited at school board meetings; + The rise of outspoken atheism;
+ Christian business people being sued for refusing services to those whose lifestyles they disapprove of;
+ School sporting events scheduled on Sunday mornings;
+ Businesses wishing shoppers a generic "Happy
Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas";
+ Churches' tax-exempt status periodically under fire;
+ The influx of secularity into our worship practices and
social positions;
+ Certain movies and artwork that present a disrespectful or
fallen image of Jesus;
+ And, there are also groups calling themselves
"Christian" that advocate some distinctly un-Christian behavior and
cults that distort Christian doctrine.
