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Home  News News Liberal Dunce in Evangelical Clothing
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Liberal Dunce in Evangelical Clothing |
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Written by bigpig
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Friday, 05 July 2002 |
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Page 1 of 2 FMeekins sent us this: "Matthew 10:16 warns the believer to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. Yet it seems many Christians do everything within their power to throw common sense to the wind, foremost among them being Christian author Tony Campolo."
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FMeekins sent us this:
Matthew 10:16 warns the believer to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. Yet it seems many Christians do everything within their power to throw common sense to the wind, foremost among them being Christian author Tony Campolo.
At a Baptist conference in North Carolina covered by the Evangelical Press, Campolo elaborated upon his position regarding the war on terrorism. Americans should thank God each night that this minister is not charged with formulating strategic policy at the Pentagon.
The Evangelical Press quotes Campolo as telling the conference, "I'm not sure we want to hear about this Jesus who says, 'Those who live by the sword die by the sword' as we engage in military buildup. I'm not sure we want to hear of a Jesus who says, 'Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.'."
Such a statement is an insult to every member of the American armed forces and those of us involved in other vocations such as media who contemplate the protection of this great country. Even more importantly, such a statement misconstrues the meaning and intent of Scripture.
Even though it might not come straight from the Bible, a little piece of wisdom just slightly less profound urges that, if a nation wants peace, it must prepare for war. Though many Christians fall for every missionary sob story making the rounds on the deputation circuit regarding the childlike innocence of wide-eyed foreigners, the world is a dangerous place.
Those out to destroy the United States aren't known to abide by Sunday school courtesies such as "please" and "thank you". It's kind of hard to hand them a tract as they fly jetliners into skyscrapers. The only way to prevent them from picking on you is to convey the message that the pain they will endure for doing so will be as great and perhaps even more so than whatever they can inflict upon you.
Perhaps Rev Campolo should study his Bible a bit more carefully. The issue is not so much the sword or the use of force per say but rather the context in which it is employed.
Liberals, even if they don't believe another lick of Scripture, love to pound the adage "Those who live by the sword die by the sword" in the face of those advocating a sufficient national defense. Yet it is doubtful the alleged scholars have studied this Biblical injunction beyond its use in sloganeering.
Jesus actually says in Matthew 26:25, "Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword (NIV)." The Lord said this in response to Simeon Peter cutting off the ear of the high priest's servant when Jesus was arrested.
Elsewhere, however, the use of the sword is not so frowned upon. Romans 13:4 says, "For he [the ruler] is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer (NIV)."
Modernists are no doubt dancing with glee, thinking they have stumbled upon one of those fabled Biblical contradictions they are always talking about but always seeming to evade their grasp. But what we have here is not a contradiction but rather a need for context.
The factor separating the Bible's condemnation of violence and the acceptance of the need for the strategic application of force centers around the issues of legitimacy and authority. Christ chastised Peter because the headstrong Apostle no doubt struck out in a fit of blind rage. There seems to be nothing in Scripture indicating that the poor sap whose ear met the business end of Peter's blade really did anything to warrant such a response.
God established government, on the other hand, with the primary function of protecting innocent human life from those who would destroy it. This purpose originates in Genesis 9:6 where the mandate for capital punishment was first introduced.
Instead of consenting to the solemn need to take action to stop these fanatics seeking to rain untold destruction and bloodshed upon the civilized nations of the world, Campolo gallops down a cliched mendacity not even remotely connected to the crisis directly confronting the United States. Campolo said, "There's a swamp out there called poverty and injustice." Campolo can engage in such proto-Marxist posturing until his heart's content, but his grand dreams of wealth redistribution won't stop one act of terrorism.
One does not have to be an intelligence analysts ensconced at the CIA or the FBI to realize that Osama Bin Ladin is a multimillionaire. Lead hijacker Muhammad Atta pursued graduate studies in urban planning at a prestigious European university. Another of his colleagues was enrolled at the Goethe German Language Institute in Egypt and later migrated to Germany to live in the posh comforts of the supposedly decadent West.
These scoundrels are hardly hobos simply struggling for a better existence. Likewise, reporters interviewed a number of Afghans who had never even heard of Osama Bin Ladin before September 11th and who could barely scrounge together the basic necessities of life, much less find the leisure hours necessary to become first rate revolutionaries. Much like Rev Campolo, these agitators simply use the downtrodden as a platform from which to launch their forays in opposition to our capitalistic constitutional republic.
Yet one ought not be too hard on Dr. Campolo. For while he might be well-educated as a college professor, he has displayed a shocking degree of naivety over the years as to how human nature really works. This is the very same author who, after all, wrote a while back in 20 Hot Potatoes Christians Are Afraid To Touch that homosexuals should be encouraged to shack up provided they remain chaste. Bit like urging an alcoholic to work in a liquor store if you ask me.
Campolo asserted that the U.S. has set back missions a thousand years, claiming, "If we're going to win that Muslim world to Christ, we cannot make stupid statements about their religion and we cannot ... engage in a holy war against them."
What does he care? A few years ago, Dr. Campolo got into it with Jerry Falwell on "Crossfire" arguing that one might very well get into heaven without belief in the redemptive message of Christ as found in the Gospel. Why backpedal from such theological universalism now, unless of course the higher principle happens to be adopt whatever position allows you to bash the United States and the average American believer.
Galatians 3:28 says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ." Christ died to save any Middle Easterner seeking forgiveness in Him just as He did any American realizing they are lost in their sin without Him. However, there will be little for American Christians to contribute to the important task of world missions if the United States is reduced to little more than a smoldering crater glowing in the dark.
Copyright 2002 by Frederick B. Meekins
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