Mr. Smith ... the nation is built on a soup of Deism, Enlightment philosophy and a smattering of Protestant thought ....
I agree the gospel of Jesus Christ is what saves .... there is great truth in the fact the Church has seen its heights under persecution ....
you don't wish for it ... or glorify it ... the persecution that is ... but it is a reality and there is a promise for when we must endure it ...
however ... I also think in securing such things as equal protection under the law, we ultimately secure our freedom of worship.
I think there is an ulterior motive that is beneficial in allowing broad freedom ... I think the Jewish community understands this best.
Perhaps a calculated risk yet the other end of the spectrum is we round up those we feel are inferior ... or de-legitimize their right to protection under the law
Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. The text of the quotation is usually presented roughly as follows:
Quote:
They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
I think we can include the homosexuals, and physically and mentally challenged .... Hitler targeted as well in this list ...
Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. The text of the quotation is usually presented roughly as follows:
I think we can include the homosexuals, and physically and mentally challenged .... Hitler targeted as well in this list ...
You think people are coming for the homosexuals, physically and mentally challenged in this nation? How so? Surely not in the way Hitler came for some of my relatives?
I certainly don't mean to get stuck in the mud of name-calling and accusations, but I wanted to demonstrate to him how off-base he was and how far away he was from the core issue. I leaned on our friendship to try to reveal it, knowing he would back off. From there I would try to reinsert him into the discussion from a proper viewpoint, and try to break down all his religious talk. But alas, he didn't apologize and didn't back off.
Oh well, I tried.
It seems we have several conspiracy theorists who believe gays will take over the world if they're allowed to serve in the military.
True enough, I'm not crazy about the way Hollywood shoves homosexuality in our faces at times. But if we (The Church) want to change the world, we still do it with the gospel and not with laws, petitions, and ballot boxes. The cross is still as powerful as it was at its beginning moments but we rob it of its effectiveness when we return back to "The Law." And Paul said if we build again the things we destroyed, we make ourselves transgressors.
I fear that many in the standardized American Christian culture are relying much more on the law than the power of the gospel and are edging towards the transgression of trusting their rules more than the sacrifice of Christ.
(Too much to read, for now. If ever. 
)
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