The Kids Would Prefer Gitmo

This week, Kathleen Sibelius was confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services. While serving as Governor of Kansas, Mrs. Sibelius strongly supported abortion rights and her campaign was funded by abortion providers. Earlier this year, she vetoed the 2009 Late Term and Partial Birth Abortion Regulation Act. The law would have reduced the number of abortions in Kansas and would have eliminated Partial Birth Abortions.

Her nomination to this cabinet position sailed right through with few protests and very little emotional hand wringing. I’ve got to confess, I'm confused. How can late term abortions get a pass from people who are outraged and offended by interrogation techniques used on terrorists?

As I understand it, partial birth abortion is a grotesque and appalling procedure. The doctor removes the infant’s torso from the birth canal leaving only the head inside. A pair of scissors are inserted into the base of the skull, opened and twisted to create a larger opening. Then a suction device is used to remove the infant’s brain. The dead body is then incinerated.

By contrast, the methods of torture which have created such a sensation at Guantanamo include sleep deprivation, loud noises, and being placed in a small space with an insect. As tough as water boarding sounds, it was always about the illusion of being drowned. Scissors and death were never a factor.

I’ve heard many Americans demand that “torture” or “aggressive interrogation” must be banned even if it does save lives. This argument insists that saving thousands of American lives could never outweigh the principle that America is too civilized to torture enemy combatants. Meanwhile, in order to allow one woman to return to work and escape the inconvenience of pregnancy, we permit an unborn infant to be torn apart with scissors and suction devices. Where's the humanity? Does our milk of human kindness nurture only those people who want to kill us?

Just imagine the lives that could be saved if only we could find a way to apply the Geneva Convention to unborn babies! There is no doubt that what happens at Gitmo is far more humane and civilized than what happens in your local abortion clinic. Call it Abu Ghraib for Tots- without the chance of survival. Where's the outrage indeed?

The Sleeping Giant Woke up and Got Saved

Newsweek's recent cover story, "The Rise and Fall of Christian America," produced quite a bit of handwringing among American Christians. "Can it really be true?" we wondered. "And if it is true, what will become of the rest of the world?"

The bad news is that the Christianity in the USA is truly a pale shadow of its former self. The good news is that Jesus Christ is doing a victory march around the rest of the world! Think about these statistics, for example:

• The Christian Church imay be the largest church in China or the world. It's true the Chinese government numbers the church at only 16 million, but that's just the "registered" Christians in state churches. It has been suggested that there are more than 6,000 illegal churches meeting in homes in Beijing alone. People in the know estimate there are between 35 million to 150 million Christians worshipping in house churches across the mainland!
• In Africa, Christian churches have become so prevalent and so powerful that it won't be long before they are sending missionaries back to Post-Christian America! In Kampala, Uganda, for instance, Kampala Pentecostal not only draws thousands to worship on Sundays, but cares for hundreds or AIDS/HIV orphans in several locations around the city. Churches like this are legion in Africa.
• Across Latin America and South America, revivals are sweeping whole cities. The Pentecostal fire that is burning in these nations is in sharp contrast to the traditional Catholicism which was dominant for so long.

Gone are the days when the USA was the global center for the Christian Faith. That position of influence is rapidly shifting to the African continent. While we were busy making peace with the culture, they were determined to preach the Word in season and out. A generation later, they are enjoying revival. And here in America, atheists now outnumber Episcopalians.

Frankly, the fact that we still think of ourselves as "American" Christians reveals how earth bound and parochial we are. When you and I come to accept the Scriptural truth that we are all citizens of Heaven; when that becomes our highest allegiance; we will realize we are part of the African Church and the Asian Church as well. We all belong to the True Church of Jesus Christ. We are all brothers, sisters and joint heirs!

And when we do finally realize our highest allegiance is to Christ, perhaps we can finally stop worshipping Success and Self. At a moment like that, we might begin to experience True Repentance. And who knows? God might smile and pour out revival on the paralyzed and unconscious part of his family living in America. Selah.

Define Love

Last Sunday's sermon came from the closing verses of Romans 12. Paul explains that we should love our enemies to the extent that we actually pray for God's blessings on those who persecute us. The idea is central to the Gospel because, as Paul explains elsewhere, Christ died for us while we were still his enemies. To my surprise, this core idea generated quite a bit of debate and discussion after worship.

One of my friends asked, "But how am I supposed to love Al Qaeda?" Another was more precise: "What is intended by the word 'love?' Does God want me to love my enemy the way I love my brother or my wife?" I didn't even have to speculate. The Bible clearly answers that question.

Christ summarized the Ten Commandments of the an Old Covenant into two principles for the New Testament: love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Notice that I am not commanded to love any other human being the way I love my wife or my brother. My love for God must be whole hearted, but I am only required to love my neighbor the way I love myself.

Think about it: I never find myself overcome with affection and emotion when I stand before a mirror to brush my hair or knot my tie. I have never tried to hug myself in appreciation, exulting, "I love me!" That's not the way most of us love ourselves.

• I have feelings of warmth and appreciation for my family, my friends, and some relatives.
• I experience positive emotions when I am around people who treated me with kindness.
• But I'm not that excited about me. Nevertheless, I feed myself, clothe myself and forgive myself even when I have done seriously regrettable things. I pray for myself even when I am not happy with myself- especially when I'm not happy with myself.

That's the way God directs me to love my enemies and people who try to persecute me. I don't have to enjoy them, have affection for them, or tell them they look fabulous. Rather, I must show them kindness, treat them with courtesy, help them if I can, and pray for God to help them. I don't try to harm them anymore than I would try and harm myself. I tolerate myself and make sure my needs are met.

I don't seek revenge because I trust my Heavenly Father to be a righteous judge. He will ultimately balance the scales. He will surely pursue justice. His righteousness and faithfulness allow me enough space to do something supernatural- pray for people who would like to destroy me. Nobody ever said it would be easy.

Finally, An Honest TV Commercial

Only in TV Land can a plastic bottle of Axe bodywash transform a nerdy adolescent into a chick magnet. There among the klieg lights, computer generated effects and make-up artists, anything can happen. Sugary cereals build muscle for Olympic athletes, and driving a Buick makes an insurance salesman feel like Tiger Woods. Warning kids: Don't try these tricks at home!

No thinking person actually believes the hype in those costly thirty-second messages, but that's not even important. Televised images cut directly to your subconscious where associations are made and deals are settled without your conscious involvement. That's what makes the medium so powerful. And that's what makes those Hulu commercials so sinister.

You know about Hulu- the website that broadcasts network TV shows after they air in prime time. Edgy commercials feature Alec Baldwin boasting that the rumors are true: TV really does rot your brain! It's a plot concocted by aliens who have infiltrated the planet. Their plan is to take over the planet, one gelatinized brain at a time. Everyone laughs and the regularly scheduled program returns.

It's probably not a plot cooked up by body snatching aliens, but the funny message is accurate. Watching television is corrosive- and not only to our brains, but our character. Think about it:

• Abe Lincoln forged his character splitting logs, and trained his mind by reading books by the light of a fireplace. Do you really think watching the Simpsons and Dancing with the Stars would accomplish the same results in an Abe Lincoln today?
• The typical American can identify Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Simon Cowell. That same average citizen cannot name the Vice President, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, or his own congressman. Which kind of knowledge is more important?
• Fifty years ago, high school students studied maps and passed geography exams. Today's kids never look at a map because they can watch reality TV contestants race around exotic locales. They remember the contestants but recall nothing about the cities, the countries, the locations.
• A generation ago, families ate meals together and neighbors got together for social events and friendship building. Today we simply collapse into recliners aimed at giant TV screens, and never see our neighbors. Teen-agers actually get together with their friends to watch DVDs on TV screens.

A large share of Americans confess they get most of their news from monologues by Jay Leno and David Letterman. Never mind that comedians aren't trying to be fair or accurate. Their goal is to cop an attitude and get a laugh. But tens of thousands of Americans are making decisions about politics and policies based on hip attitudes and punch lines.

Television sells image, hedonism, materialism, and immediate gratification. And there's a reason those Super Bowl commercials are so expensive: most of them work. Americans used to value self-control. Today we live for self-indulgence. Granted, the problem is bigger than just TV. Life in America has become an outrageous three ring circus of debauchery. But TV is the ringmaster who tells us what to watch.

We all know we need to do something about this. Unfortunately, this drug piped directly into our homes is also addictive. "I'll think about this later," we resolve, "After Letterman!"