This pre-digested kind of religion doesn?t threaten the cultural status quo. On the contrary, it props it up by providing Americans with a way to feel ?spiritual? without changing the way they live or abiding by any religious commands.
Christianity, on the other hand, does threaten the status quo and does make demands. Allowing the Christian position a fair hearing can change the course of our society. Look what William Wilberforce, the Christian leader, and the American abolitionists did to the slave trade. And in fighting that villainy, Lord Melbourne rose on the floor of the House of Lords and famously said, ?Things have come to a pretty pass when religion is allowed to invade public life.?
As in Wilberforce?s day, there?s no shortage today of Lord Melbourne?s. And what they mean by ?religion,? of course, is Christianity. Thank God in Wilberforce?s day, it did not stop them, because Christians brought an end to the slave trade. And Christians must have the courage to stand for their views today, notwithstanding the double standard.
For further reading and information:
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Larry Keller, ?Ritual lets med students bid farewell to cadavers,? Palm Beach Post,
Terry Mattingly, ?Hey, ACLU folks, check out these rites,? Get Religion,
Roberto Rivera, ?Terminally Quaint: When Obscure Spirituality Demands Nothing,? BreakPoint Online,
Roberto Rivera, ?Audacity: The Paradox of Christianity,? BreakPoint Online,
Kevin Belmonte, Hero for Humanity: A Biography of William Wilberforce (NavPress, 2002).
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Chuck Colson
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Chuck Colson was the Chief Counsel for Richard Nixon and served time in prison for Watergate-related charges. In 1976, Colson founded Prison Fellowship Ministries, which, in collaboration with churches of all confessions and denominations, has become the world's largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners, crime victims, and their families.
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