A response to a thought provoking blog

This post will make more sense if you first go to the original blog.

I gained insight from 'usual revolution's' decriptions of a trip to New Orleans.
I was especially troubled by the description of horror that should never be. This horror has reigned other places in our nation, too: the LA riots, and New York City (where young men accosted and stripped female tourists while the women strolled through Central Park) are two of the many examples.

Here is my opinion (for what it's worth).
A country that has allowed ‘survival of the fittest’ and situational ethics to be taught in its schools receives this in exchange. It is the consequence of a nation that has decided that scripture should not reign paramount. It is a matter of the heart in a city (and an entire society) that has embraced immorality. We have removed any mention of the one true God from our schools, government, and laws. The result was predicted years ago.

‘I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth.’
Martin Luther

It is also the consequence of the Church living in overwhelming materialism and accepting whatever we choose from the culture without examination through the lens of scripture. In so doing we have emphasized our personal life and blessings over the distressing needs of the people in our community.

It is partially the result of viewing life only as valuable when it is of use to us and not a burden. We have instructed our youth that the strongest should reign. 51% of the nation chose to elect a man who believes in survival of the fittest. (The least able to defend themselves are the unborn.) Argue what you will about other aspects of the election, but accepting a devaluation of life at any level is a philosophy that permeates a culture and resurfaces in deeds that demean mankind.

Should The Government have done more for the Gulf Coast? I suspect so, but no social program will fix the mess described. It is God alone, changing hearts, that is the only solution. And our forefathers would agree.


"...reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle..." George Washington


Now I wonder what the church can do for these people and in this situation. Truly there are more questions that arise than answers. Has anyone reached out to these hurting people? Is it possible for those who brought ravage and hurt to be helped along with those who were abused? Can the church respond to such pain, and horror without sounding trite? Would it have been possible for the church to have acted before this calamity? Where are the voices to proclaim God to a world that lives by the law of survival of the fittest?

And to raise another question:
As we move further from our Judeo-Christian heritage and our morality continues to decay, what will happen to our society if only the criminals have access to guns?

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” Thomas Jefferson (Quoting Cesare Beccaria)

Here are some other quotes to consider.

George Washington

“without the beneficial interposition of the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, we could not have reached the distinguished situation which we have attained with such unprecedented rapidity. To HIM, therefore, should we bow with gratitude and reverence, and endeavor to merit a continuance of HIS special favors". [1797 letter to John Adams]
“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible.”

Noah Webster
In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed...No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”[Source: 1828, in the preface to his American Dictionary of the English Language]

In a blog dedicated to resting in the peacefulness of God, this discussion seems incongruous. But if God is unchanging, and His Peace is real - then it remains real even in situations beyond our understanding.

May the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be with you this week. Peace.