The Blessing of a Godly Minority...Continued from page 3
Bill Bouknight
Many Americans have an unfortunate reflex?they want the government to solve almost every social need. Yes, there is a legitimate role for a compassionate government. Providing a wise and well-funded Social Security program is a bigger task than the faith community can handle. But caring for the poor and the sick is a central mission for the church. We can do it more efficiently than the government, and we can name the name of Jesus as we do it.
Just think of the impact of Methodist and Baptist hospitals in our region. The work that Christ Church is doing to assist the Binghampton Community could be reproduced in countless other low-income neighborhoods. The New Hope Christian School system in Memphis is a non-governmental beacon of hope for the poor. The Church Health Center and the Christ Community Clinic show the enormous impact that the church and the private sector can have.
If church people tithe their incomes, the financial resources will be available. If church people learn to view the city with the eyes of Jesus, the motivation and vision will be available. When you and I meet God face to face and render accountability, He will surely ask us what we did for the least, the lost, the lonely, and the hurting.
A third task for the faith community is to...
The former president of Notre Dame, Father Theodore M. Hesburgh, said that America has slipped into a mode of vulgarity that is sliding toward depravity. As an example, he pointed to the “Jerry Springer Show” in which young men and women are scripted to attack one another physically over the most salacious and infantile sexual perversions.
The prophet Jeremiah said of the people of Judah, “They did not know how to blush” (Jer. 6:15, NRSV). Could the same be said for America?
For the first time in American history, a significant number of citizens want to redefine the institution of marriage. That is a sad commentary on the nation. Tragically, the biblical standard for sexuality (fidelity in marriage and celibacy in singleness) is ignored or ridiculed by the majority in America.
There are numerous other fronts on which America is under moral indictment. Greed is widely regarded as a virtue in America rather than the sin that it really is.
Much of our entertainment is obscene or profane or both. One of the greatest golfers ever produced by this nation, a man who could be a fantastic role model for children, reacts to poor shots by shouting God’s name profanely; and the TV network broadcasts that profanity around the world.
If a student in a public high school wants to write a term paper on Buddhism or deviant sexuality or witchcraft, his right to do so is carefully protected. But if he wants to do a term paper on Jesus, he is likely to encounter opposition. Some Americans have the mistaken idea that this is an explicitly atheist country in which they can be shielded from any expression of religion. But the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free expression of religion, not just in the privacy of one’s home but also in the public sector.