Adaptation vs. Assimilation

At one time in American history, the lines between the church and society were so blurred as to often make them indistinguishable.  For example, De Toqueville's analysis of America in the early 1800's is stunning in that respect:  "On my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this new state of things.  In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions.  But in America I found they were intimately united and that they reigned in common over the same country."  (DeToqueville, p. 308)  What this really means is that virtue and morality were the underpinnings of this country - specifically Christian virtue and morality.  Those that came here did not bring their baggage and old world values with them.  They came looking for a better life, and they assimilated into this way of life here, with a clear cut concept of right and wrong, and knowing this was what was expected of them here in America.  In other words:  those who came to America not only knew that they were expected to change and adapt to this country's virtue and morality, they welcomed it.

The same is true of the church.  Fundamental doctrines such as "Law and Gospel" have been misunderstood for centuries.  The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit of Christ gives life.  Saved by faith?  Yes.  Saved FOR works?  Of course.  So every effort is to be made to conform to the law, not that it might save us, but that it protects and preserves the common good of the neighbor, and thus it honors the God to whom all creation owes its existence.  Yet throughout history, the pendulum has swung between extreme legalism (the pietists and others of the past) to antinomianism (a.k.a. "without law" - the liberal progressive bunch that seeks to "unsin" so many things contrary to God's law today).  We are living very much in the age of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "cheap grace:"  The grace and forgiveness we bestow upon ourselves, without seeking that from God.

This is probably nothing earth-shattering, but American society and the church are on parallel paths today.  No longer do immigrants adapt to the culture of America.  It has changed so fundamentally and profoundly from within that there is no standard of morality and virtue any longer.  Instead, we have assimilated all manner of bad and just plain evil behaviors into our societal norm that the spirits of religion and freedom are no longer marching in sync.  They have gone the way of every other country on the face of the earth.  Many of those countries are closer to collapse than we are.  Greece would be a fine example of this. Recent rulings by the Supreme Court here, along with evidence of massive fraud, scandal, lies amongst our political leaders, coupled with corruption and perverse practices even among such controversial things as abortion have demonstrated that the foundations of virtue and morality once held in high esteem in this country and what once made this nation great, are a thing of the past.

The question - and challenge -before us is simple and it is this:  Are we going to recapture any semblance of moral underpinnings here in this country, or are we going to simply continue down the slippery slope of "anything goes?"  Some of us are vowing to recapture that essence and attempt to adapt ourselves and our lives to it once again, even if others won't follow.  Will you in your personal life and in your public life adapt to a norm, or will you assimilate all of your bad habits into that norm?  That is the choice facing us today.  I pray we can collectively make the right choice before its too late.

Learning From History

"Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."  It has been said by countless generations before us, and as recently as Winston Churchill during World War 2.  The history contained in the Old Testament demonstrates that very reality:  that when we fail to learn from history and do not change our destructive habits, they are bound to repeat and bring about destruction and ruin once again.

Now, not only do we not learn from history, we want to whitewash, sanitize, and otherwise eliminate it.  ISIS, in its current march across the middle east, is destroying anything of historical or cultural significance that doesn't fit with its' insane world view.

The saddest reality of all?  We are no better than them.  Look at the attempts to remove the Dixie Flag from government property, the removal of historical role playing games from sites such as Amazon because of the "Dixie" flag, and the cancellation of the syndicated show "the Dukes of Hazzard," all because of the same display of said flag.  Even the controversy itself shows extreme ignorance of history.  It is referred to as the "Confederate Flag."  This is simply not true.  It was NEVER the flag of the Confederate States of America.  Yes, as was pointed out to me, it was used in part of one version of the 'Confederate Flag,' but it was never itself the Confederate flag.  Several state flags today also incorporate that image in their flags.  Where is the outrage and the call to ban them?  Hawaii has a British flag incorporated in it - why are we not outraged that our Revolutionary oppressors are memorialized there?  Instead, we ban a TV show that never offered any sort of racist or racial remarks, and even now call for the removal of statues that honor any historical figure associated with the south.  This is political correctness gone completely out of control, and demonstrates clearly and firmly that we are not only not learning from history at all, but that we are about to repeat it once again.

The simple reality is that the "rebel" or "Dixie" flag is, in fact, a symbol out of the era when several states formed a new union all over the battle of states' rights.  Yes, the hot topic was slavery, but the war itself was fought over the right of states to govern themselves without excessive government interference.  The flag itself was never, however, a symbol of slavery, racism, or any sort of anti-abolitionist movement.  It came to stand for southern pride (i.e. the "Dixie" flag).  And yet in the fervor to ban it, I have yet to hear anyone actually correctly identify the flag as what it actually was, NOT what people want it to be today.  It was never the confederate flag.

Our history must be remembered.  Especially, we must remember one of our darkest hours (the Civil War era) so that we never repeat it.  I'm not advocating that the Dixie Flag be kept on state grounds, but this banishment has been taken way too far already.  When one does even a cursory reading of why the Roman Empire collapsed, for example, one can see that America is already well on its way.  Why?  In part because it cannot remember or retain what made it great in the first place.  Want to know what is expressed in the founding fathers' vision, throughout their own statements, and even seen in an outside observer in the 19th century?  Here is what 19th century French observer Alexis De Tocqueville had to say:  "Religion in America takes no direct part in the government of society, but it must be regarded as the first of their political institutions; for if it does not impart a taste for freedom, it facilitates the use of it.  Indeed, it is in this same point of view that the inhabitants of the United States themselves look upon religious belief....  such are the opinions of the Americans; and if any hold that the religious spirit which I admire is the very thing most amiss in America...  I can only reply that those who hold this language have never been in America and that they have never seen a religious or a free nation."  (DeTocqueville, Democracy in America, 1835, this ed. 1994, pp 305-7)

In other words:  It was religion that made America great.  Specifically, it was the Christian principles on which this nation was founded.  Anyone who would argue or belabor this point is also one who, simply put, does not know history.  In fact, that may very well be at the cause of today's national crisis.  Our Judeo-Christian roots and heritage are being whitewashed and otherwise destroyed, and as such, the nation is being slowly destroyed as it fades into oblivion and the annals of history.  Why?  because we fail to learn from our own moral past, and the corruption and immorality that pervades society is slowly eating us from within.

Remember the words of the Apostle Paul:  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. ...You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.  (Galatians 5:1, 13)  Until the hearts and minds of America remembers its history and roots, and returns to them, the Republic is dead.  Long live the Republic.