Sometimes a single issue reveals a deeper problem.
Such is the current issue regarding Chick Fil A. In a recent interview with Baptist Press, The president of Chick Fil A (Dan Cathy) was asked about his personal convictions supporting traditional marriage. Since Cathy is a committed Christian, one could (hopefully!) predict what he would say. Cathy supported the Biblical model of marriage as being one man and one woman. Later Cathy in a radio interview expressed his concern that we could suffer the wrath of God for ignoring the teachings of God in the Scriptures about issues such as gay marriage.
Like Cathy, I also fear the judgment of God on our nation for a multitude of regularly practiced sins like abortion, pornography, violence, neglect of the poor, materialism, and sexual immorality, including homosexuality. I have prayed for our nation to repent of all of these sins for many years now. I have prayed especially for we who are the Disciples of Jesus, the Church, to repent of these sins. If the darkness in us is darkness, how great is the darkness!
But contrary to many Facebook posts, blogs, articles, and Starbucks conversations, I do not believe this is essentially about Chick Fil-A or even gay marriage. I believe it is a Biblical authority issue. And I believe turning away from Biblical authority in the Christian community would be the worst thing that could happen to American Christianity.
I have a worldview that is based on Scripture. I did not choose Christianity because my mother was Christian; but rather because as a rebellious teen in the sixties, I rebelled by going completely in the opposite direction as my mother. As a young twenty something, I had spiritual questions so I investigated other religions and worldviews. But after study and prayer and seeing Jesus in my wife, Joyce, I concluded that Jesus was indeed who He said He was, and that He accomplished what he set out to do- redeem humanity. With every religion, philosophy and worldview available to me, I made a leap of faith that Jesus is God and that the Bible was and is God’s word. This meant the Bible taught the way God intended humanity to live. This meant the culture did not sit in judgment of the Bible; but, rather, the Scriptures sit in judgment of the culture.
I am in my fourth decade as a pastor teaching and encouraging Christians and anyone else who will listen to trust the teaching of the Bible as Truth given by The Creator God. He is the God who loves us and knows best how we should live. I sincerely believe the Christian way of life is God’s intended normative way of life for all humanity. I believe that Jesus is not only our Savior and Lord, but the ultimate example of how to live and His teachings are truth. I believe God has gone to extreme lengths to preserve the teachings of the Bible so we can have what he calls “the abundant life.” Because I believe He loves me and has given me the Bible, I teach it to all who will listen; and I pray that all who read and hear will choose to live by His word. That’s what pastor’s do.
This Chick Fil-A issue and the subsequent blogs, posts, articles, and arguments, have caused me to pray more fervently for the Church. The reason? Because some who call Jesus Lord have begun to encourage others in those posts, blogs, articles, and Starbucks conversations, to abandon the authority of Scripture if you don’t like it or what it teaches. Just like Thomas Jefferson we cut everything out of our Bibles that we disagree with considering ourselves to be enlightened. Texts that have been considered trusted, orthodox Scripture for centuries preserved by God, have now become questioned, ignored, or “tweaked” to conform to one’s own opinion thus creating an idol of the Self or the Culture. The reduction of Scripture to simply another book rather than the authoritative Word of God is a destructive path to follow for us and future generations. I grieve as well as pray for those who have been deceived to follow or encourage others to follow this path where the Bible becomes just another book and the Self become one's god.I pray this is will not be a time in Christianity where good but misinformed people will “call wrong right, and right wrong”. (Isaiah 5:20)
I do not expect those who do not follow the Jesus of the Bible to agree with me. That is their right as is mine to live and blog what I believe. But I would expect those of us who humbly wear the name “Disciple of Jesus” to uphold the Scriptures that God has preserved and martyrs died to protect. As Luther said “Here I stand.”
Curt’s opinion.