A lesson on the culture war from “War Horse”

Posted on August 14, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Stuck in trench warfare

In the movie War Horse, there is a scene where the horse is trapped in barbed wire between the opposing trenches. A young British soldier calls a truce and walks to the horse to cut him loose from the wire. A young German comes out to assist him. Each finds humanity in the other and the viewer gets the sense that neither of them is eager to resume the bloodshed and would prefer to go home.

As I read the dialog regarding issues associated with the “culture war,” I cannot help thinking of that scene. We are like armies in our trenches and most of our respective arguments fall in futility on the ground between us. Those who support traditional marriage are labeled as “homophobic” or worse, regardless of whether they have expressed any hatred or fear of homosexuals. On the other side, homosexuals are accused of seeking the moral ruin of America, a charge that is neither accurate or fair.

Breaking out of the trench

I would remind followers of Jesus Christ that the one we follow told us that our defining characteristic is to be love. Jesus did not say we would be defined by our finely wrought theology. Nor did he indicate that we should be defined by our organizational prowess. It is love that is to distinguish us from the surrounding culture.

Yes, we can disagree with the culture around us, but we are to do it with love and grace. The lesson we should learn from the Moral Majority is that it is possible win the battle but loose the war. To get the upper hand in legislation does nothing to change the hearts of men and women. To win a battle in the legislature is of temporary help only.

We are called to make disciples. We do this by preaching the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. Part of sharing the Gospel is being honest about what God says about our sinful nature, no matter how we choose to express our sin. We are all in need of what Jesus Christ offers. Our preaching will only be received if it is given with love and grace.

Our only hope is to get out of our trenches like the two young soldiers and begin to get to know about the other side. We will never bring reconciliation by lobbing accusations and arguments toward the other trench. If we are to win the war, it will have to be with many meetings in the disputed area between the trenches.

Only God can change hearts and for him to use us we need to reject the safety of the trench (or church pew) and make contact with our perceived antagonists. I am sure that we will be changed for the better in the process and we just might find a way to bring relief to those who are seeking it in the wrong places.

Reaction to David A. Schwartz: Acceptable Discrimination?

Posted on August 11, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 2 Comments

The Premise of Discrimination

This post is a reaction to a Huffington Post article by David A Schwartz entitled “Acceptable Discrimination?“.

In this post, Mr. Schwartz makes the argument that those who support traditional marriage are of the same mindset as those who opposed interracial marriage. The assumption is that homosexuality, like skin color is determined at birth.

If this assumption is true, then discrimination on the basis of either skin color or sexual orientation is wrong. If one agrees with Mr. Schwartz’ premise that homosexuality is hard wired from birth, then it is understandable that one would think that support of traditional marriage is a form of discrimination.

The Reaction to the Premise

As Christians we have good reason to think that this assumption is false, but we need to understand that this is the underlying premise before we can have meaningful dialog with those who support homosexual marriage. Because of the volume of the declarations of those who insist that homosexuality is in the DNA, many have accepted this premise to be true without seeking to validate the claim or to examine its implications.

For those who do not accept the Bible as authoritative, or for those who are willing to explain away the clear teaching of Scripture on sexuality, it does little good to cite chapter and verse indicating that God condemns homosexuality.

This does not mean that we have to accept the premise or cease to speak the truth of Scripture, but it does mean that we need to be wise in doing so. Too often we use the Bible as a club to beat people into moral submission.

Perhaps rather than engaging the radical homosexual activists in dialog, with the vitriol that often goes both ways, a better way might be found. Those who actively pursue that lifestyle are unlikely to be persuaded that it is not part of God’s plan for humanity.

The Better Response

It seems to me that Jesus did not go around badgering people into accepting the fact that they needed a Savior. Instead, Jesus found those who already knew they were a mess and offered himself as the solution.

If we, the Church, turned down the volume on our condemnation and instead found a way to love those who have made what we understand to be poor choices, then we might be more effective in ministering to those caught up in same sex attraction.

We do not have to agree with Mr. Schwartz’ premise to acknowledge it and dialog with people who operate under that premise. If we believe that sin has both temporal and eternal consequences, perhaps the only thing we can do is to be available to help pick up the pieces when a life crashes.

Jesus gave us an example of this in the story of the loving father in Luke 15:11-32. The father loved the son enough to wait patiently for the son to make all his mistakes and come home. Rather than a lecture, the father gave the son a hug.

Perhaps we, as the church, need to dispense fewer lectures and more hugs.

Why call your religion Christian if you don’t want to obey Christ?

Posted on July 31, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 9 Comments

If you are going to go against the plain reading of Scripture and two thousand years of tradition on the core issues of Christianity, then why bother to claim your religion as Christian?

I understand that those who identify more closely with current cultural norms have conflict with traditional Christianity. The most obvious example of this is the current protest against the definition of marriage as a one-man-one-woman relationship. Yet this is the traditional view of Christianity and the stated position of the Church’s founder, Jesus Christ.

Now, if you do not want to submit to the teaching of the church, no-one is forcing you to attend or otherwise associate with any Christian church or organization. You are free to choose whatever expression of religious devotion that appeals to you. But, if you choose to embrace Christianity, please know that Christians are called to be obedient to Jesus Christ and we do not have the freedom to pick and choose which Scriptural commands we will obey.

Christianity has operated within the boundaries established by Scripture since its foundation. We may argue over some of the lesser points, but there is a core of belief that all Christian groups share. That core of belief is what C. S. Lewis referred to as Mere Christianity.

To operate outside these core beliefs, the belief system then ceases to be Christian. One of these core beliefs is that marriage is the foundation upon which society is built. Marriage is an institution established by God and designed by God to join one man to one woman. If you doubt this, please check the first two chapters of Genesis.

You will also notice in Genesis 1 and 2 that marriage was established before man sinned. Marriage was God’s plan from the beginning. The fact that we have tarnished the institution through divorce and infidelity does not reduce the importance that God places upon marriage. Nor does our inability to do marriage well provide just cause for the redefinition of it.

Jesus told us in John 14:15, “if you love me, keep my commandments.” While none of us keeps them perfectly, we should at least have the stated desire to keep them and should be working to grow in obedience to them. If you do not want to submit to the demands of Scripture, then why claim to be Christian? Feel free to call your end product whatever you want, but it will not be Christianity.

Perhaps I do not understand the intensity of the difficulty that same sex attraction must present. It is never easy to be told that what you want is contrary to what God wants for you. I do not pretend that dealing with this is easy. I am sure that it is not.

But, we are called to fight against our rebellious tendencies and submit to God, even in the areas in which it seems impossible to do so. Sexuality is at the core of our being and difficulties with sexuality are hard to overcome. Yet, difficulty does not relieve us of the responsibility to pursue the right path.

So, Episcopalians and other groups that have already compromised or are soon to do so, understand that by fighting against traditional marriage, you are fighting against the very Christ you claim to serve. It is at that point that what you pursue ceases to be Christianity and we would all be better served if you just called it something else.

God is not fooled, we are not fooled and a world that has a desperate need for the love of Jesus is not fooled. The manipulation you do to Scripture can best be compared to a bad comb-over. Only the bald guy is fooled into thinking that it looks good.

Toward a response to the moral chaos that surrounds us

Posted on July 28, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 10 Comments

The church is surrounded by moral chaos and we rightly feel the need to respond. It is this writer’s opinion that some of our response is not helpful. Calls for boycott and angry rhetoric about the moral decline seem to escalate the problem rather than help it. Too often we become two groups of people screaming at each other over a great divide.

Transformation of culture is not our job

In my reading of the New Testament, I see no commands to transform our culture. I believe that a transformed culture is a consequence of the church fulfilling her mission and not a primary goal.

The cultural context in which the Apostle Paul wrote his epistles had many similarities to today. Homosexuality, the breakdown of the family, materialism and philosophical confusion were prevalent.

In this context, Paul writes about personal transformation (Romans 12:1-2), but I cannot find any examples of where Paul encourages the church to participate in boycotts or any other behavior intended to force Christian morality on the society at large.

The church is called to make disciples. The miracle associated with disciple making is that God transforms the hearts of those who receive the Gospel. Those with transformed hearts then behave differently in society. It is this transformation of individual hearts and behavior that transforms culture.

We are called to teach the entirely of the Bible and allow God to operate through his word. But I do not see where we are to force others into accepting our beliefs.

Preaching to the deaf

Some will intentionally distort what we say. One example is the recent brouhaha over Dan Cathy’s remarks on traditional marriage. He said nothing against homosexuals or homosexual marriage, but did make statements in favor of traditional marriage. Those who were looking for an offense found it because an exclusive claim for marriage violates their sense of fairness.

Why is this the case? Isaiah 8:13-14 gives us a clue when Isaiah writes:

It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy.
And He shall be your fear,
And He shall be your dread,
Then He shall become a sanctuary

Similarly, John Newton penned these words in his song Amazing Grace:

T’was Grace that taught…
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear…
the hour I first believed.

The point is that until the Grace of God is operative in the people we are speaking with, they cannot understand much of what we say with regard to morality and social issues. It is grace that teaches hearts to respect a higher authority.

If you do not believe that God or anyone else has the authority to sanction a particular form of marriage, then “fairness” would seem to be in favor of not excluding homosexuals from the institution of marriage. It is not until someone has the recognition of authority that our statements about traditional marriage make any sense.

They cannot hear us because they are spiritually deaf.

Toward a proper response

Jesus left us with two Great Commands and one mission. The commands are to love God and love our neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). The mission is to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). The Great Commands and our mission should determine how we go about interacting with our culture.

There will be discussion and perhaps even argument, but in that discussion we need to keep in mind that we are called to a higher standard. We should reason with Christianity’s critics with the fruit of the Spirit in action. As a reminder, here is the list from Galatians 5:22-23:

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control

Paul tells us that against these traits there is no law. In other words, reasonable people will not take offense if we operate with these traits in action.

When we speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) then we put ourselves in the position to be used by God to transform lives.

We must remember that God does the transformation and he does it at the level of the individual.

What do you think? When is the Church justified in taking social action such as a boycott or protest?