Sunday Sermonette: Bookends
It’s easy to be an American. All you have to do is be born here. You need never learn American history, culture, our foundation documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, or how our system of government works. If you drew your first breath on American soil, congratulations, you’re one of us. Here, have a flag pin.
It’s easy to be a Christian. All you have to do is say you are, and you’re a member of the club. People say that Islam is the easiest religion to join - all you have to do is say there’s only one God and Mohammed is his prophet - but that’s heavy lifting compared to Christianity. If you say you’re a Christian, none can gainsay you. No need to know the Scriptures or the creeds of your church or any of the foundation documents on which your denomination’s doctrines rest. Here’s a black book you won’t read.
Ever since Nixon’s Southern Strategy, Christians, particularly evangelical Protestants, have been an important bloc in the Republican Party. The recent Republican primaries gave us a whole bunch of people who were, they said, answering God’s call to lead this great nation.
Ted Cruz’s father, a fiery preacher, declared that his only begotten son was God’s personal choice to save this country.
My son Ted and his family spent six months in prayer seeking God’s will for this decision. But the day the final green light came on, the whole family was together. It was a Sunday. We were all at his church, First Baptist Church in Houston, including his senior staff. After the church service, we all gathered at the pastor’s office. We were on our knees for two hours seeking God’s will. At the end of that time, a word came through his wife, Heidi. And the word came, just saying, “Seek God’s face, not God’s hand.” And I’ll tell you, it was as if there was a cloud of the holy spirit filling that place. Some of us were weeping, and Ted just looked up and said, “Lord, here am I, use me. I surrender to you, whatever you want.” And he felt that was a green light to move forward.
Marco Rubio also received the call:
I recognize the challenges of this campaign, and I recognize the demands of this office that I seek, but in this endeavor, as in all things, I find comfort in the ancient command: be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Scott Walker was called:
As you can imagine, the months leading up to my announcement that I would run for President of the United States were filled with a lot of prayer and soul searching.
Here’s why: I needed to be certain that running was God’s calling - not just man’s calling. I am certain: This is God’s plan for me and I am humbled to be a candidate for President of the United States.
Rick Santorum was called again:
The former Pennsylvania senator’s wife, Karen, told CBN News in 2011 that her husband’s candidacy was about “defending God’s truth in the world,” explaining that “it really boils down to God’s will. What is it that God wants? … We have prayed a lot about this decision, and we believe with all our hearts that this is what God wants.”
Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, and Rick Perry all sought the Call, but only hinted that they had been tapped by God. My favorite, though, was Ben Carson, who wasn’t just tapped. “I feel fingers,” he said. He declined to show on the doll where the fingers had touched him.
But in the end, it seems that God chose an ocherous short-fingered vulgarian.
Despite a long public record of being a libertine, public involvement in exhibiting scantily-clad women, gambling, greed, covetousness, lust, pride - in fact all of the Seven Deadly Sins with the possible exception of sloth - Donald Trump is now the Republican nominee and evangelical Protestants are falling in line to support him.
There have been gaffs, such as when he referred to Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians as “Corinthians Two”, as well as being unable to cite any Scripture at all. “The Bible means a lot to me, but I don’t want to get into specifics,” he told Bloomberg TV. Evangelicals have been quick to forgive. No less an authority than the Reverend Doctor James Dobson declared that Trump had accepted Christ as his personal savior and was now a “Baby Christian.” “He doesn’t know our language,” he said. Other Christians should be more forbearing and forgiving. “You’ve got to cut him some slack,” he said. “He didn’t grow up like we did.” Pennsylvania pastor Rev. Michael Anthony made a comparison with the Pharisee Saul on the road to Damascus. “He didn’t know the language either,” he said of the man who became the Apostle Paul. (Dobson later backtracked when questioned as to how exactly he knew that Trump now had a personal relationship with Jesus.)
There is one doctrine in evangelical Christianity that is absolute. Salvation is by faith in Christ alone. Good deeds will not avail you. Church attendance will not save you. Sola Fide. It’s one of the five Solas that differentiate Protestantism from Catholicism. Sola Scripture, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Christus, Sola Deo Gloria: Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, to God alone be glory.
Last Thursday, the Republican nominee spoke to a gathering of evangelicals in Kissimmee, Florida. “This will be an election that will go down in the history books for the evangelicals, for the Christians, for everybody of religion. This will be maybe the most important election the country has ever had,” Trump said.
“So go out and spread the word, and once I get in, I’ll do my thing that I do very well. And I figure it’s probably - maybe the only way I’m going to get into heaven, so I better do a good job.”
Leaving aside his incoherent description of governing as “my thing that I do,” he clearly has no clue of what Protestants believe.
I think he may be right in one respect, though. This election may very well go down in the history books for evangelicals. We can trace the beginning of their political power to Nixon. This election may mark the end of it.
It’s easy to be a Christian. All you have to do is say you are, and you’re a member of the club. People say that Islam is the easiest religion to join - all you have to do is say there’s only one God and Mohammed is his prophet - but that’s heavy lifting compared to Christianity. If you say you’re a Christian, none can gainsay you. No need to know the Scriptures or the creeds of your church or any of the foundation documents on which your denomination’s doctrines rest. Here’s a black book you won’t read.
Ever since Nixon’s Southern Strategy, Christians, particularly evangelical Protestants, have been an important bloc in the Republican Party. The recent Republican primaries gave us a whole bunch of people who were, they said, answering God’s call to lead this great nation.
Ted Cruz’s father, a fiery preacher, declared that his only begotten son was God’s personal choice to save this country.
My son Ted and his family spent six months in prayer seeking God’s will for this decision. But the day the final green light came on, the whole family was together. It was a Sunday. We were all at his church, First Baptist Church in Houston, including his senior staff. After the church service, we all gathered at the pastor’s office. We were on our knees for two hours seeking God’s will. At the end of that time, a word came through his wife, Heidi. And the word came, just saying, “Seek God’s face, not God’s hand.” And I’ll tell you, it was as if there was a cloud of the holy spirit filling that place. Some of us were weeping, and Ted just looked up and said, “Lord, here am I, use me. I surrender to you, whatever you want.” And he felt that was a green light to move forward.
Marco Rubio also received the call:
I recognize the challenges of this campaign, and I recognize the demands of this office that I seek, but in this endeavor, as in all things, I find comfort in the ancient command: be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Scott Walker was called:
As you can imagine, the months leading up to my announcement that I would run for President of the United States were filled with a lot of prayer and soul searching.
Here’s why: I needed to be certain that running was God’s calling - not just man’s calling. I am certain: This is God’s plan for me and I am humbled to be a candidate for President of the United States.
Rick Santorum was called again:
The former Pennsylvania senator’s wife, Karen, told CBN News in 2011 that her husband’s candidacy was about “defending God’s truth in the world,” explaining that “it really boils down to God’s will. What is it that God wants? … We have prayed a lot about this decision, and we believe with all our hearts that this is what God wants.”
Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee, and Rick Perry all sought the Call, but only hinted that they had been tapped by God. My favorite, though, was Ben Carson, who wasn’t just tapped. “I feel fingers,” he said. He declined to show on the doll where the fingers had touched him.
But in the end, it seems that God chose an ocherous short-fingered vulgarian.
Despite a long public record of being a libertine, public involvement in exhibiting scantily-clad women, gambling, greed, covetousness, lust, pride - in fact all of the Seven Deadly Sins with the possible exception of sloth - Donald Trump is now the Republican nominee and evangelical Protestants are falling in line to support him.
There have been gaffs, such as when he referred to Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians as “Corinthians Two”, as well as being unable to cite any Scripture at all. “The Bible means a lot to me, but I don’t want to get into specifics,” he told Bloomberg TV. Evangelicals have been quick to forgive. No less an authority than the Reverend Doctor James Dobson declared that Trump had accepted Christ as his personal savior and was now a “Baby Christian.” “He doesn’t know our language,” he said. Other Christians should be more forbearing and forgiving. “You’ve got to cut him some slack,” he said. “He didn’t grow up like we did.” Pennsylvania pastor Rev. Michael Anthony made a comparison with the Pharisee Saul on the road to Damascus. “He didn’t know the language either,” he said of the man who became the Apostle Paul. (Dobson later backtracked when questioned as to how exactly he knew that Trump now had a personal relationship with Jesus.)
There is one doctrine in evangelical Christianity that is absolute. Salvation is by faith in Christ alone. Good deeds will not avail you. Church attendance will not save you. Sola Fide. It’s one of the five Solas that differentiate Protestantism from Catholicism. Sola Scripture, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Christus, Sola Deo Gloria: Scripture alone, grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, to God alone be glory.
Last Thursday, the Republican nominee spoke to a gathering of evangelicals in Kissimmee, Florida. “This will be an election that will go down in the history books for the evangelicals, for the Christians, for everybody of religion. This will be maybe the most important election the country has ever had,” Trump said.
“So go out and spread the word, and once I get in, I’ll do my thing that I do very well. And I figure it’s probably - maybe the only way I’m going to get into heaven, so I better do a good job.”
Leaving aside his incoherent description of governing as “my thing that I do,” he clearly has no clue of what Protestants believe.
I think he may be right in one respect, though. This election may very well go down in the history books for evangelicals. We can trace the beginning of their political power to Nixon. This election may mark the end of it.