To R. Scott Clark and his blogpost quote that correctly criticizes public displays of piety that exist to impress people. This appeared in Heidelblog.
Piety doesn't have to be limited to Christianity, it can exist in many religions even those religions that aren't officially religions because their object of worship is not a supernatural being.
That brings up the question about the National Anthem controversy. Should we think of publicly expressed pride in patriotism being as wrong as publicly expressed Christian piety that exists for getting the approval of people?
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Oct 27
To R. Scott Clak and his blogpost on how Christians should react to the current tribalism that has so gripped our nation. This appeared in Heidelblog.
Saying that Jesus's kingdom is not of this world does not adequately address the problem with Tribalism. Tribalism can be based on ideologies and we should note that theology is a kind of ideology. And not only does Church history provided a great plethora of examples of tribalism, when theology is combined with an understandable nationalism, what is seen as a challenge to one's nationalism is often conflated with an attack on one's theology. The censoring of contrary views that challenge political and economic values on this blog provides examples of that confusion.
In addition, conservatives need to admit that the road to the current tribal mentality that has so divided much of the nation started with the all-or-nothing denigration of nonconservatives by pop personalities and commentators like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Mark Levin. Long before Trump, they have tried to brand nonconservatives as the enemy of what is truly American.
Clark is right to single out loyalties as being a significant cause of tribalism. But what would have helped is a well-defined description of the concept. Tribalism occurs when loyalty to one's group, regardless of the identity of the group becomes so strong that that loyalty trumps commitment to principles and morals. And here we should note that we all struggle with competing interests that cause us to sometimes compromise our commitment to values and morals. That degree of loyalty produces a moral relativity in us as we will readily condemn other groups for sins we eagerly overlook when committed by our own groups. Right and wrong thus depends on who does what to whom.
But there is another aspect to the tribalism that so divides our nation. That part involves those who embrace tribalism. For what they have become is the Pharisee from the parable of the two men praying. In that parable, the Pharisee blindly and arrogantly claims moral superiority over the publican who merely begs God for mercy. And that is what we see in those conservatives, liberals, and those from the left who have fallen prey to tribalism.
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Oct 30
To R. Scott Clark and his blogpost about how the Masterpiece Cakeshop Supreme Court case involves heavy funding by those who oppose religioiusly liberty. This appeared in the Heidelblog.
When we religiously conservative Christians try to marginalize the LGBT community in society, can we really plead religious liberty?
Obviously, I disagree with the Supreme Court decision regarding the Masterpiece Cakeshop case. But there is a broader issue than what the court decided. That question is, can we religiously conservative Christians, while holding a Biblical values regarding sex and marriage, promote equality for the LGBT community in society? And if so, we should understand that part of that equality includes ensuring that the LGBT community is treated equally in the market place.
Those of us who have opposed same-sex marriage in society have already answered that question with a firm 'NO.' We then selectively look at all of the trials that result from holding to Christian values as well as trying to keep the LGBT community marginalized in society as unprovoked persecution. In reality, the consequences of denying equality for the LGBT community range from normal responses to our attempts at promoting marginalization to wrongful but understandable overreactions. Like the proverbial bull in a china shop, we are disconnected from the real impacts of our own actions.
The result of our attempts to marginalize the LGBT community in society is that our use of the term 'religious liberty' has become a well recognized code for religiously conservative Christian privilege. Or because of how we view America's past ties to Christianity, perhaps we should say substitute the word 'entitlement' for the word 'privilege.'
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