Ron grew up as one of just a few black children in a mostly white community in Northeastern Ohio. He grew up in the days of segregation. Where, if you were black, you couldn’t go into the local drug store and sit at the soda fountain to get a milkshake.
Or to drink from the same public water fountain as whites. And, of course, a whole lot of other nonsense.
I was too young to see Ron navigate through the Civil Rights Era in our home town, since I was about 10 years younger than him. But we eventually got to know each other a year or so after I became a Christian.
We became very close over years. He was a great friend and brother in the Lord. We went most everywhere together. He was one of the best friends I’ve ever had in my life.
And he had a whole bucket full of “black sayings” that he would pull out and use depending on the situations we were in.
A Critter in a Bag
When sometimes would find ourselves in a situation where someone was trying to control us; like some pastor or other church leader. Ron would say they they were trying to put us in “a trick bag.”
Which was what a trapper would use to put a opossum, a racoon, or some other critter; putting them in a canvas bag. Basically trapping them. To eventually put them in a cage or worse.
Well, it seems like that is what’s happening to Christians and Conservatives right now.
The powers that be are trying to hedge us in. To reel us in and herd us in. Like cattle.
And, the church seems to be OK with that!
Even church leadership seems content to move us all toward the Moderate camp politically.
And Christians are basically being told to shut up about their political views. They are being told what to say. And what not to say.
The Safe Place Church
It seems as if the Safe Place philosophy is spreading into the church.
As the Cancel Culture that is rampant in the universities say, “Don’t tell us about your Conservatism. Don’t talk about Trump. Don’t take a firm position on political matters. Don’t offend us with the views we don’t like.”
As a result, a weenie generation of believers is developing. To cater to this mentality. To appease the culture.
Evangelicals are becoming people without convictions. Hiding behind a false concept of what being a Christian means. Hiding behind some vague idea of following Jesus.
There is a growing mentality among Christians taking a minimalist view of the gospel. Keeping everything very simple. Very unspecific. Not nailing down any biblical truth. And avoiding the divisiveness of solid doctrine.
But, is this really what it means to follow Jesus? Or are they following someone else? Or something else>
Such as the Gospel Coalition and the whole Christian Progressive movement.
All these folks are talking about Jesus. Talking about Love. Talking about kindness. Talking about doing Justice.
There’s a whole lot of talk going on without any real biblical truth. Lots of people acting nice with no real doctrinal soundness.
Which looks a lot like people fashioning a hollow idol based on a Humanist, passivist, Progressive concept of Christianity.
Image by Gerhard G. from Pixabay
Eternal Approach 
January 24, 2021 at 5:27 pm
I think individual churches, and the church as a whole needs to discuss exactly what Romans 13 means. I get confused between whether we should “submit to the governing authorities” meaning the current administration, or to what the current authorities are sworn to uphold, namely the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
It is difficult at times, too, to know what “obeying God rather than men” means. For instance, in the case of abortion, does it mean just to not have an abortion yourself, or to try to influence others thru alternatives, or because we believe abortion is murder, try to stop it more directly.
We (rightly) laud the military in our churches, and always have, sending our kids to fight against Totalitarianism around the world. Should we– and how should we “fight” as Christians when it’s taken over our own government?
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January 24, 2021 at 7:48 pm
Anonymous,
Thanks for that comment. What you are asking has been on my mind and heart a lot lately. And I know we are not the only believers asking these questions. I really want to write several posts on this very question. Because, I have often wondered about what I would have done had I lived at the start of the Revolutionary War.
Would I have joined up to fight or remained apart from that battle? I was talking this through with my wife this morning. And I realized that this was a legal issue they fought over. The King broke his own laws. He would not allow the people representation but still took their taxes. And seized people without a legal right. Building up grievances that the people cried out about. Which he he would not hear.
Then I remembered Oliver Cromwell basically challenging the Divine Right of Kings. A major huge deal in history. Where the people, along with the Parliament, fought against the king who denied them their right to govern through Parliament. So they took up arms against the King in a Civil War. Which changed English history.
So, I don’t know. Really, We are to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves”. So not sure what our role is to be. To stand up personally, vocally, civilly, peacefully in protest against things. Yes. That seems wise and good. But not sure I could ever condone a violent cause. Even to save this country from those who seem bent on shutting us up. Silencing our free speech, Making it an act of insurrection to even question that the election may have been corrupted. Even though the party now in power did that very thing, every day, in every way, for the last 4 years. I guess the right of free speech no longer applies to Conservatives.
Lots more to talk about. That’s for sure.
Doug
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