It would seem to help alleviate the fear much more by shedding light on this fact, rather than continuing to tell people that the bill has bad consequences for the unborn. The bill does nothing to change the availability of elective abortion. Unless you believe an unborn life should be protected but a living woman’s life is worthless?

Telling people not to be afraid of the monster in the dark room doesn’t help as much as turning on the lights and letting them see for themselves that there is no monster.

I have to ask, what is the motivation of someone who wants the frightened people to continue believing in a monster that doesn’t exist?

I feel that Christians need to return to the core of what Christ has commanded us to do. Instead of squabbling over who shouldn’t do what, we should take a good look at ourselves and see if we are truly doing what He has said is the greatest of all: love.

Some Christians do not have the most important element, yet they point fingers and condemn those who do.

Look up Julian the Apostate on Wikipedia. Scroll down to the part about “Charity”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_the_Apostate

Who should care for the poor? You say “surely we would all want” our government “to help the most vulnerable.”

Our churches, yes. Our government? Why do you assume Christians should want that? $20 to World Vision will probably be used much more efficiently to combat poverty, while also proclaiming the Gospel, than if it goes to Uncle Sam in higher taxes.

I just wish Christians gave more to Christian charity. If the Church did her job, we wouldn’t need socialism. And God would get the glory.

I can never speak for Jesus, but I cannot help but think that our Lord would be in total opposition to this bill. Jesus didn’t spend his time with the rich, helping them to get richer, but rather with the poor. He defied all logic and norms to egrant us with everlasting life. Jesus says there are only two laws: 1. Love thy neighbor and 2. Love God. He later says he came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (Peter later says that the law is love).

The new healthcare bill shows nothing but compassion, and contrary to republican propaganda (comparable only to that of dictatorial regimes…trust me, I’ve been to Cuba and seen their eerily similar propaganda) this bill will not bankrupt America or destroy the lives of doctors. What this bill will do is lower the deficit and ultimately lead a reform that sees everyone in the nation covered by health insurance. Jesus did not discriminate when he healed the sick and poor. He did not avoid the helping dregs of society (as seen in his pardoning of the adulteress), and neither should we.

When you say: “Notice how you are championing and applauding the outsourcing of charity to the government?” I would say that you have an interesting view of who is responsible for ‘charity’. After all the word means ‘love’ , and I don’t think Christians can or should try to keep a monopoly on it (although we ought to be leading the way!). I believe that the role of government ought to be to uphold justice, maintain the peace and care for the needy - and that is what I pray for regularly. Do you suggest it is wrong for the US government to pursue any policy which involves ‘love’? I personally think that what they have done to care for the needy (both onffshore and onshore) is a very good thing - may they do it more! Taken to the extreme, your idea would mean Christians ought to oppose the government doing anything that was initiated by Christians. An example might be universal education.

In the English and Australian tradition we have often seen good ideas begun by Christians taken up by government (like universal education, anti-child labour laws, the abolition of the slave trade, universal access to health care). We usually see this as a good thing (despite the occasional frustrations of chaplains). On the other hand, the thing that never can or will be taken over by the government is promotion and proclamation of the gospel of Jesus. We tend to focus our energies on that great work.

Yeah, the truth hurts, don’t it L’s.

Oh, and it’s not just the good guys who were doing the yelling. Those who supported the bill made sure to paint everyone against it as a fear mongering, hate mongering racist. Pot/kettle

Notice how you are championing and applauding the outsourcing of charity to the government? Do you see how you are injecting your own brand of politics, even as you castigate those who don’t share your convictions?

Charity is the mandate of the Church, not the government. I happen to know a chaplain in Australia and he has described to me how the authority of the state limits his ability to share the Gospel, even with those who are on a deathbed! He says it is getting worse every day. This is exactly what happens when we give the State overarching authority in matters of charity. Even if I agreed with you that government can do health care better than the private sector and churches could, we have to examine some of the corrupting effects that happen when we link arms with government authorities, especially those who are hostile to the Gospel.

Of course the “good men doing nothing” quote is attributed to Edmund Burke. Granted, from an eternal perspective, God has overcome evil by “dying for all” (2 Cor. 5:15) and by “becoming sin for us” (2 Cor. 5:21). I agree with you that evil cannot triumph in the ultimate sense. I am happy in Christ and rejoice in my salvation. Thank you for wishing me both joy and peace. I wish the same for you.

My understanding of this eternal triumph, however, does not mean that I am to look the other way when I encounter temporal human injustice. We are, after all, called to be salt and light in a world that needs to hear Godly wisdom. At times, that may require a rebuke. Believing the recently passed bill will jeopardize the lives of the unborn and the health of my family, not to mention our heritage of limited government and a freedom loving citizenry, this is a really big deal.

No, it’s not as big as the gospel. It’s not heaven and hell. And it’s not eternal in its significance. But it is worthy of my attention, my dissent, my voice and, as long as we remain a democracy, my vote. In short, while I agree with Dr. Moore that we should not be fearful about this, I do think it’s okay for people to be bummed and even enraged. Even Jesus was a man of sorrows, overturned tables and called people “snakes” and “thieves.” He felt this way not out of fear but conviction.

I’m also not seeing fear. Rather, I’m seeing a people who are slow to wake up to an Earthly reality and slowly considering how to properly respond. I am sure that I am not alone in being reminded of my own pride, vanity and self-righteousness when I see and hear leaders like our President and the Speaker of the House gloat over what they think they’ve accomplished. The arrogance of Obama and Pelosi appears so ugly yet so personal because I’ve seen it before. I’ve seen in our pulpits and our pews where we have elevated the art of elevating ourselves by trumped up comparisons to others. I’ve seen in our own Southern Baptist Zion where, in the not too distant past, we were describing ourselves as the world’s last great hope. But most devastatingly, I’ve seen it in my own heart.

So the first action is for me to repent…but the second action is for me to act and act with the coolness of one who while knowing how the story ends, has the heightened sense of what is at stake at the current point in the story.

So, we do not fear. We do not rage against the day. But by all means that are properly available to us, we do not stand by.

So, thank you.
Your message of calm was, is, and will be needed.
God bless you and keep you peaceful in the Lord Christ.

Joe Blackmon referred me to this blog so you have him to thank.
I liked what President Obama said: “We are a country who will not scale back on its aspirations”; nor give into cynicism.
Lincolnesque, I thought, a reach for the higher angels of our nature.
As for the politics of Abortion I do wish you and Dr. Mohler would take a good honest look at professor Gorney’s exhaustive look at the politics of it all.
In 08 she took a strong look at how it played out in the Dakotas and found that contrary to Focus on the Family and others, when evangelicals looked the issue strong in the face, they are not where you and Richard Land and others say they are.
As a matter of integrity, give her an honest Look.

@Derek What exactly is your main issue with the Democratic party? Who says they are evil? You? Why are you the judge of that. Like I told Clark God isn’t a member of any political party so there is no reason for Christians to think He is and to persuade other Christians to be of that party. It is only ignorance that makes you believe Democrats are evil. You’d be surprised to find how many are actually Christians.

@Greg I will just tell you exactly what I told the others. GOD IS NOT A MEMBER OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY NOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. He is not a member of any party. He just wants us all to live for Him. Being against a policy is perfectly fine but you have to remember not every person of a party believes what everyone else does. To generalize and call people evil is wrong, it is also judgmental and we know as Christians we are to hate the sin not the sinner.

Pastor Ryker

Unfortunately, the uninsurable, poorest and sickest among us will be affected the most negatively. America provides better health care for its poorest citizens than any nation has in the history of the planet. Uninsured patients receive tens or thousands of dollars in free health care every day in our great nation.

True compassion is not merely the intention or pretense of caring for the poor. Many of us look at the history of socialized medicine and of large, centralized bureaucracies and frankly, the track record is devastating. It breeds apathy and lack of accountability (ever visit a DMV?), not charity or effectiveness or efficiency. We believe that will translate to a sicker, sadder nation. So much of the angst out there is rooted in compassion for our children and their children, who will be the first generations in America to receive a declining health care system.

All of that said, I agree completely with Dr. Moore that fear and anxiety do not honor God. We must trust Him at all times, in all circumstances. We must act with dignity, grace and integrity, not rage and pessimism.

The only thing needed for evil to triumph is for God to do nothing. God has done something (2 Cor 5). Evil can not triumph. Let us rejoice!

Peace be with you.

If it is argued that eternal punishment in Hell is the just reward for sin, then we ought to conclude that Jesus went to Hell for all eternity for our sins. The Bible never says that.

As for Romans 1, notice what the wrath of God is: being turned over to a depraved state. God’s wrath is the ratification of our evil choice to worship anything other than Him. That is the essence of Hell.

As for the Gethsemane issue, I’m not dogmatic about my view, and it took me a while to be convinced of the one I offered above. Nevertheless, it’s the view that makes the most sense to me.

Luke 3:19 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,
Luke 3:20 Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.

The greatest prophet, John the Baptist, had the ministry of preparing the way for Christ. But, he did not consider it against his God-ordained purpose to comment on the political evil of his day. A “political stance” against murder and sexual perversion is legitimate.