I'm not an admirer of Michael Farris, HSLDA or Patrick Henry
College but this short article is worth a few minutes of your time. It contains
a very candid and compelling admission. While I reject much of what Farris
stands and fights for I appreciate his honesty on this point and his admission
that the Christian Right has lost its way.
Even if I disagree with the premise of the Christian Right as
represented by Falwell's Moral Majority, the modern movement has by all
accounts and estimations lost its way. Even when speaking of the Christian
Right in general terms it must be stated that it no longer seeks the same
goals. Despite claims to the contrary their actions and means of strategy declare
plainly that power alone is the goal. The means of acquiring it is no longer
moored to even a pretense of Reformation or Fundamentalist Christianity.
I would go further than Farris and argue that he has
correctly identified a phenomenon which has repeated itself throughout the
history of the Church. Once the followers of Christ seek power, it entraps them
and in the end they become slaves and servants to masters that would do little
more than manipulate and use them.
As it says in Proverbs 19:
Better is the poor who walks
in his integrity
Than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
Than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
The idea is expressed more fully in
Proverbs 28:
Better is the poor who walks
in his integrity
Than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
Than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
Understand that riches and power go
together as does poverty and a lack thereof. It is better to maintain integrity
and be relegated as a consequence to a state of weakness and want than to grasp
for power and in doing so fall into perversity not only in speech but in your
ways.
The Christian Right has tasted riches
and power but they've lost their integrity. Refusing the way of the cross they
were seduced by the enticements and aspirations of Babel. Soon they will have
nothing.
It's almost like he was quoting you when he said:
ReplyDelete"Today, a candidate whose worldview is greed and whose god is his appetites (Philippians 3) is being tacitly endorsed by this throng."
While he's still ensconced in his Christian Right niche, an epiphany such as this - momentary as it may seem - could serve as a catalyst for a positive shift in his outlook on this subject.
Well, one can only hope, anyway.