Monthly Archives: October 2016

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An electrician friend of mine worked on union construction sites for over twenty years. The constant standing on concrete floors and climbing ladders took its physical toll on his body, especially his back. The back pain forced him to take pain pills so he could work each day. Over-the-counter drugs, such as ibuprofen, no longer deadened his pain, but instead, only Vicodin or other powerful prescription pain relievers helped him.

One Sunday morning, he attended church with his family. The worship singing lasted longer than usual and since he did not take Vicodin on weekends, hoping to protect his stomach and liver from side affects, his back began acting up. The pain became so excruciating that he sat down on his chair.

A person in the row behind him tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to look at a lady whom he had never met before.

“Jesus bore your sins on the cross. Can’t you at least honor Him by standing up a few minutes during worship service?” she said, glaring into his eyes.

He nodded his head and stood back up.

Why did my friend stand up?

The lady’s condemnation shamed him into doing it. He knew Romans 8:1 and believed the words to be true, but he could not overcome the power of the lady’s condemnation at that precise moment.

Let’s multiply this one uncomfortable situation by a thousand times. Then add in all of the words spoken by almost every Evangelical preacher, schoolteacher, historian, government leader, news media expert, military member, patriot, and all of our relatives about the importance of Christians participating in politics.

Now, how willing are we to swim upstream against all of these people’s political beliefs and traditions? Admittedly, it would be tough for us to do.

But let’s be honest, what we have been doing for the last forty years has not worked. So, are we going to continue walking down the same road with the same results? Or are we willing to change?

If we do change, will the people tapping on our shoulders still shame us?

(Continued in Part 8…if you are interested, the full series, which was written in 2014, may be seen here.) 

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“Few Christians have had as great an impact on their generation as Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer.” (The Francis Schaeffer Foundation)

To say Francis Schaeffer (1912 – 1984) has had a profound impact on American Christianity would be a massive understatement. Rev. Jerry Falwell, Rev. Pat Robertson, Dr. James Dobson, Dr. Tim LaHaye, Michelle Bachmann, Randall Terry, Ralph Reed, and thousands of other Christian leaders have been greatly influenced by the writings of Dr. Schaeffer.

Along with his wife Edith, the daughter of a missionary couple to China, Schaeffer pastored two churches in America and then moved to Switzerland to be a part of missionary group in 1948.

Dr. Schaeffer and Edith eventually founded L’Abri (French for shelter) in Switzerland in 1954, which helped fulfill the couple’s dream of working with young people. It was a unique combination retreat, commune, and seminary, without really being any of the three. It was at L’Abri that Schaeffer wrote his twenty-two books and followed his intellectual pursuits in art, music, science, and politics.

In the mid-1970’s, Dr. Schaeffer produced a film/video series and a book, entitled, How Should We Then Live: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture. He toured America and was enthusiastically received by Evangelical leaders. The video series encouraged Christians to become active in politics to stop abortion.

A second video series, Whatever Happened to the Human Race, and a book, The Christian Manifesto, cemented Dr. Francis Schaeffer as the guiding light for the entrance of Evangelicals into American politics. Schaeffer set the tone and agenda for today’s Christian Right.

Schaeffer’s books and videos are still used in Evangelical seminaries today.

Rev. Jerry Falwell embraced the writing and teachings of Dr. Francis Schaeffer. And because of that, Falwell arrived at the same wrong conclusions that Schaeffer did: that the entrance of Evangelical Christians into politics would remove abortion and other sinful practices from our nation.

Sadly, we’re still making the same mistakes today after almost forty years of going down the wrong road.

(Continued in Part 7…if you are interested, the full series, which was written in 2014, may be seen here.) 

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Does the word, Nehushtan, ring any bells with you?

Probably not, but it was the name of the brass idol King Hezekiah broke into pieces and destroyed after he ascended to the throne of Judah. Yet, Nehushtan was not created as an idol.

Seven hundred years earlier, while on their wilderness journey, Israel sinned by speaking against God, Moses, and also complaining about the food. God sent fiery serpents among the people to get their attention. Many died, causing the others to ask Moses to seek the Lord. Moses prayed and the following two verses were the results:

And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. (Numbers 21:8-9)

Okay, put on your thinking caps for a moment.

Were the Israelites healed because of the brass serpent’s healing powers or because they obeyed the words spoken by the omnipotent God?

Obviously, the answer was their obedience to God.

Now, let’s look at the Civil Rights Movement here in America.

Did the 1964 Civil Rights Act come about because of the many marches, bus rides, and speeches or because God’s hand was on the Civil Rights protestors?

The answer is simple: God’s hand produced the victory.

“The unwavering belief that we were doing God’s work became a daily source of faith and courage that undergirded our freedom movement.” (Coretta King)

When Rev. Jerry Falwell studied the success of the Civil Rights Movement, he overlooked the three hundred years of prayer, fasting, and crying out to God for deliverance by generations of black people. He did exactly what Israel did with the brass serpent, Nehushtan. Falwell looked at the end results and latched onto the vehicle of God’s deliverance for African-Americans, which was government.

Why did Falwell choose to emphasize the political arena rather than prayer and fasting?

Here’s my guess, which comes from thirty years of experience: he took the easier path. You see, it’s a lot easier to get people enthused about laying the blame on perceived enemies, like politicians, judges, the media, and so forth, than it is to get them to fast and pray, seeking God’s will and ways on handling issues.

(Continued in Part 6…if you are interested, the full series, which was written in 2014, may be seen here.) 

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The landmark Roe vs. Wade decision by the Supreme Court on January 22, 1973, blindsided Christianity. Confused Christians jumped into foxholes and hid from the wicked aftermath of the decision.

Rev. Jerry Falwell, the pastor of the largest independent Baptist church in America and the founder of Liberty University, realized Roe vs. Wade undermined the moral fabric of America. He had long held the belief that politics and Christianity should not be mixed and had often stated, “Preachers are not called to be politicians, but soul winners.”

But two things eventually changed his mind.

First, Falwell was influenced by the writings of Francis Schaeffer, who blamed society’s downfall on secular humanism. Schaeffer urged Christians, especially pastors, to become political activists, stating, “Christians had a moral duty to step into political arenas to change nations…”

Second, Falwell studied the success of the Civil Rights movement. He noted how America was forever changed because Martin Luther King, Jr. and the other leaders forced governments to grant equal rights to all Americans, not just whites.

So, in 1976, Rev. Falwell held “I Love America” rallies across America. Large crowds gathered to hear him preach against the Equal Rights Amendment, abortion, homosexuality, pornography, the family breakdown, and communism.

These rallies catapulted Falwell into the forefront of the Christian political movement.

In 1979, conservative leaders and Republican operatives convinced Rev. Falwell to co-found, along with Paul Weyrich, the Moral Majority. Weyrich was the founder of the Heritage Foundation and also coined the term − moral majority. It was Weyrich’s knowledge of grassroots politics, which helped set up Moral Majority chapters in states, especially the South.

Rev. Falwell barnstormed America during the 1980 presidential campaign giving speeches, holding seminars, and preaching sermons in every major city. President Ronald Reagan won the election and became America’s 40th president. Many credited Moral Majority and Falwell’s preaching for the victory.

The popularity of Moral Majority lessened in the late 1980’s and was disbanded in 1989.

I certainly believe Rev. Jerry Falwell was a godly man who had good intentions, but I believe America is still burdened by his and other leaders’ decisions during the 1970’s. We will look at what I consider to be their mistakes in future articles.

(Continued in Part 4…if you are interested, the full series, which was written in 2014, may be seen here.)