In the past I've generally thought of the hard Left as well-meaning, but misguided. The Iraq War has opened my eyes. There's a subsection of the Left which is truly and fundamentally evil. They hate my faith, my way of life, and my country. They publish fawning articles in Islamist journals and give overt and covert support to those killing our soldiers. There's a special word for that -- treason.
In an insurgent war, the homefront is every bit as vital as the battlefront. The hard Left is emboldening our enemies and demoralizing our people. They came within 3% of unseating a wartime president and installing their candidate of choice. They need to be answered; they need to be exposed. We need to work for justice and speak truth, and it would be the highest moral cowardice to retreat from the enemies of one's country.
At the same time, how does a Christian reconcile that with the imperative to love, and to preach and demonstrate grace to these people? I'm not saying that there's an inherent contradiction, but it seems easy to err badly on one side or the other. So where's the balance? And what place do parody or sarcasm have in this?
Posted by Discoshaman at novembre 9, 2004 12:09 AM | TrackBack
"There's a subsection of the Left which is truly and fundamentally evil. They hate my faith, my way of life, and my country." Wouldn't it be scary if the end was in doubt?
I read this article this AM that made me also think, what next?
Posted by: Carol at novembre 9, 2004 06:43 PMI'd say it depends on the *amount* of sarcasm one is willing to deploy... ;)
Even not sharing some of your views I wish you all the best in this war you speak of. If all the sides involved were this straightforward and down-to-business, I'd probably be a hell lot more interested in politics... keep up the fight, love your blog.
Cheers from Brazil
Posted by: Elton at novembre 10, 2004 01:18 AMOne thing my husband frequently points out is that now that the war is essentially over, the hard left still argues that we must come home immediately. That isn't even compassionate toward those they claim to speak for, because it essentially suggests that now that we've finished a coup we leave them to pick up their own pieces in a damaged land.
Posted by: Christina at novembre 10, 2004 01:44 AMCarol-
Those are words that Christians need to hear. I like the article. :) Thankfully, I think that Evangelicals have gotten a lot wiser in their relationship to politics. I can remember in the 90's many who really did think Gingrich was going to usher in a sort of earthly millennium. It was healthy for them to be disappointed. Not to get overly Kuyperian, but politics has its sphere, and it's relatively limited in what it can do effectively outside that circle. Colson's right -- the real work needs to be done on a cultural level. Thanks for linking that article. :)
Elton-
Wow, thanks, man. :) Seriously. I checked out your blog. It's really an attractive site that you've put together. Indecipherable in large measure, but really nice looking. I hope you'll come back often, and share your own views on the war, politics, etc. I need some dissension here!
Christina-
That's one thing that's really astounded me -- the bad grace of the Left. Chirac's refusal to meet with PM Allawi is a perfect example. I mean, can we please be grownups? Even if Chirac opposed the war, how does that impact the fact that the Iraqis have a new, sovereign government, and that it needs to be dealt with? Typical liberal reaction -- ignore an uncomfortable reality, and hope it'll go away.
Time to wake up and smell the doctrine, Disco. There is something fundamentally evil about the Right wing, too. It uses Christian religion to gain its own ends, and it exploits the faith and fears of Christians who are not well taught enough to recognize that the Kingdom of God is brought in by means that are neither political nor military. It's always good to know who your depraved enemies are: the world (the entire world), the flesh (all who rely on the flesh, including those with a conservative mindset), and the devil, who succeeds at deceiving the very elect of God, until God enlightens them by His Word.
Posted by: Jeri at novembre 11, 2004 03:55 PMJeri-
Thanks for weighing in.
"There is something fundamentally evil about the Right wing, too."
Please reread what I said. There is something fundamentally evil about a "subsection" of the Left. Just as there are subsets of the Right which can only be called evil -- Ayn Rand's Objectivism springs to mind.
"It uses Christian religion to gain its own ends, and it exploits the faith and fears of Christians who are not well taught enough to recognize that the Kingdom of God is brought in by means that are neither political nor military."
Sweeping, unsupported assertion, not to mention evincing a Jane Smiley sort of condescension toward your fellow Christians.
I have known a few Christians who thought they were ushering in the Millennium or something with their political work. But they were massively in the minority. The great majority understood themselves to be working toward a national culture that better honors God. That's a perfect valid doctrinal position. One that shares a Reformational understanding of politics and culture.
Further, I'm not sure who this "they" is exactly which are deceiving the Christians. Did you mean the Commandants at the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy?
"It's always good to know who your depraved enemies are: the world (the entire world), the flesh (all who rely on the flesh, including those with a conservative mindset), and the devil, who succeeds at deceiving the very elect of God"
I agree, we should know who our enemies are. And that starts with a proper understanding of the word "world." I don't accept the hyperliteral Anabaptistic/Jehovah's Witness understanding of the word "world" that you seem to be following.
Christians are called to be salt and light in all aspects of life. We're also called to work for the glory of God in all spheres of endeavor, including politics. The Bible calls also for us to work for justice. Romans 13 makes it VERY clear that magistrates are appointed by and serve God Himself. So there is nothing inherently evil in politics.
Further, the NT says very little about the specific forms of government. So there is bound to be a lot of variation and liberty of opinion as to what a just government looks like. So there can be politically liberal Christians (in some senses of the word liberal) and there can be politically conservative Christians (also in some senses of the word.) And there is nothing inherently evil in these two positions. Thanks to common grace, there can even be decent government in a pagan society. How much more so in a nation like ours where so many serve Christ?
Posted by: Discoshaman at novembre 11, 2004 06:32 PMI think the best answer to your question is not to seek a "balance" between two equally good and necessary things. One of the most penetrating insights Chesterton ever made, in my humble view, was in Orthodoxy: He pointed out that balancing between goods, diluting one with another, was basically pagan. Paganism was always in a balance. Christianity rejects balance altogether. It demands that we hold two things, which only seem to be in conflict (but cannot be because they are goods), with equal fervency. For example, Christian courage is a simultaneous disdain of death AND love of life (as opposed to, say, Chinese courage, which he describes as a disdain of life).
I would suggest to treat them with kindness, minister to them with grace, and do so with the same ferocity with which you combat their efforts. Do not allow one to sink the other.
Just a thought.
Posted by: Sage at novembre 14, 2004 03:56 PMBy the by, Disco, as a Catholic I cannot but agree that the World is a positive good, and is not our enemy--God explicitly said so when He made it. Allowing that the material World is not to be completely trusted, because of Lucifer's lordship over it, it is nonetheless to be cherished and loved, because it is an original good, not an evil.
Posted by: Sage at novembre 14, 2004 04:00 PMsage-
For a Romanist, you make some good points. ;-)
I like what you said about holding both simultaneously. This is something I understand on an intellectual level, but have great trouble doing in real life. I tihnk most people do.
A good example is love the sinner/hate the sin. A lot of Christians have a hard time actually loving gays or pagans, while doing a bang-up job of hating the sin itself. I have the opposite problem -- I'm good at showing grace to sinners, but I don't have the visceral hatred of sin that I wish I had.
Posted by: Discoshaman at novembre 16, 2004 02:37 AM