Monday, the New York Times ran an article titled “Her evangelical megachurch was her world. Then her daughter said she was molested by a minister.”
The story talks about the Village Church, a megachurch in Dallas, Texas and the home church of Matt Chandler, one of the most popular and dynamic pastors in the contemporary Evangelical movement.
The story chronicles a former church member named Christi Bragg whose daughter was sexually assaulted at a church sponsored retreat in 2012. The New York Times piece gives accounts of how the Village Church responded to the allegations.
The article gives the impression that the church did very little to help the family and glossed over a crime while only carrying about protecting their own interests as a church. (more…)
On Wednesday, Alabama passed the most restrictive abortion law in America. On the same day, Alabama also executed a man who was a participant in a grizzly quadruple murder in 1997.
It was interesting seeing how those two stories are being taken together in the media. The New York Times ran an article titled “a day after banning abortions, Alabama executes a murderer.” The LA times ran a headline that said, “Alabama’s antiabortion governor urges respect for life, will oversee 7th execution.”
I’ve hard this argument before levied against those who are pro life but also support the death penalty, as if it’s some sort of moral inconsistency. For the life of me, I don’t understand why this position should have to be defended.
It’s really quite simple. I believe a baby should be allowed to live. I believe a quadruple murderer should not.
I think that a person who supports abortion and opposes capital punishment is the one who needs to answer for that stance. Because it treats a murderer as being more deserving of life than a baby.
Some people oppose both abortion and capital punishment. I respect that view. There are a number of thoughtful arguments that can be made on that subject, and at least it has consistency to a moral principle.
I hold my view because I believe that life is precious. Every human is created in the image of God and is worthy of dignity. The most fundamental right that humanity has is the right to life (because all other rights presuppose a right to the life through with other rights are exercised.) And so I believe that a baby has the right to be born and to live.
If a person deprives someone else of their right to life, that is so wicked, so grotesque, so heinous of a thing to do that in the process of depriving someone of that right, the assailant has forfeited their right to life.
I don’t expect everyone to agree with my view, but that’s how I look at the issue.
As a Christian, the Old Testament certainly allows for capital punishment. Genesis 9:6 is a good example of this: “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.”
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe!
Josh Benner has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has served churches in Minnesota and Illinois. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in St. Louis.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons @Frank Licorice
Pastor and theologian Tim Keller had an op-ed in the New York Times last week entitled “How do Christians fit into the two-party system? They don’t.”
In the piece, Keller outlines the complexity of the situation for Americans in the political arena. Keller argues (and I agree) that neither political party perfectly encompasses Christian teaching. This can be a challenging view for people because the temptation can be to look at whatever their party is and think “THIS is where real Christians belong. Honestly, I don’t even know if a person can be a Christian and vote for the other side.”
The conservative platform certainly has elements which more closely align with Christianity including traditional marriage values and a pro-life stance.
It is problematic that the democratic party holds to unbiblical beliefs on these issues.
But they’re not entirely wrong and the republican platform is also not perfectly aligned with Biblical teaching. For instance, the Bible does have much to say about care for the poor, those who society looks down upon, and aliens. Now there is room for disagreement on the extent to which social welfare programs should go, but it’s a conversation where there is often greater empathy on the left side of the political aisle.
Both parties have major flaws. One of the unfortunate issues in our society is that we’re losing the ability to see anything good or any redeeming qualities in the political party we oppose.
That’s why I like Keller’s article (and he’s said similar things elsewhere). Because Christians are doing life in a fallen world and that fallenness most certainly carries over into political philosophies.
Some have opted to go a third route which is to remove oneself from the political process. But even being apolitical is to be political. Not taking a stance on major moral evils is taking a stance.
I’ve been saying for a long time that political values are a common idol in our society. Politics matter. But they’re not the end all, be all. And politics are not our hope for a better world. The gospel is.
Again, the point isn’t to totally withdraw from politics. But I think we need to keep our priorities straight. And for Christians, the objective is not to politically conquer our enemies but to love and serve, to spread the gospel and make disciples. And for those who politically disagree, I think we must be respectful and humble. Another key point that Keller makes is that if we get too concerned about prioritizing political beliefs and giving them gospel importance, we are then adding requirements to the gospel. And that’s wrong.
At the end of his piece, Keller says:
The Gospel gives us the resources to love people who reject both our beliefs and us personally. Christians should think of how God rescued them. He did it not by taking power but by coming to earth, losing glory and power, serving and dying on a cross. How did Jesus save? Not with a sword but with nails in his hands.
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe!
Josh Benner is the associate pastor at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in Fergus Falls, Minnesota and has a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He enjoys writing about faith and culture. He lives with his wife Kari in Minnesota.
