Reality Check 101

When political and cultural conservatives find their voices and are even represented by public figures, theology is suddenly very important.  Conservatism faces the same ferocity that Galileo faced against a reformation-embattled and inquisition-fueled Catholic church in 1616.

Galileo’s fight with the Catholic church of his day had little if anything to do with the geography of Heaven, let alone with any collapse of Biblical “Sola scriptura” (Scripture only) theology.  Nicolaus Copernicus, a devout Catholic, had already introduced the theory of a sun-centered system 70 years before Galileo and did so with the church’s quiet acceptance. (https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2013/0219/Copernicus-and-the-Church-What-the-history-books-don-t-say  &  https://strangenotions.com/galileo-controversy/)  Even the devout Anglican Francis Bacon (1561-1627) shared Galileo’s opposition to Earth-centered science.

The battle was less about science and more about the authority of the church, her theology, and the authority of Scripture.  History demonstrates her deep theological devotion to Aristotle’s view of the universe through St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.  Galileo’s abrasiveness and propensity to “push buttons” did not help the situation.

But a fake threat from science to Biblical Christianity in general or from Galileo, in particular, is not of much consequence.  The infinitely more impacting issue for 21st century America, a nation steeped in Judeo-Christian heritage, is the tossing around of Bible claims which have little root in reality.  It is an important liberal weapon because it still resonates with the majority of Americans, both religious and non-affiliated.

The attacks on Judge Roy Moore after his big primary win in Alabama are prime examples and Michael Gerson of the Washington Post might as well be the poster child.   His September 29th column gave his readers a perfect model of error.  It was what Jesus said of the Sadducees in His day as “…not understanding the Scriptures or the power of God” (Matt 22:29).

In January 2014, Judge Moore gave a speech at a Pastors for Life luncheon in Jackson, Mississippi which garnered little attention.  In his presentation, stating both the obvious and historically accurate, he said that “Buddha didn’t create us, Mohammed didn’t create us, it was the God of the Holy Scriptures on which this nation was founded.”  Gerson and the rest of liberal establishment, by taking the “God of the Holy Scriptures” out of context and fabricating a conclusion which Moore never made, have now decided that such belief constitutes a radical Christians-only First Amendment.

Such claims of First Amendment bigotry are a serious deception, not because it defames Moore, but because it targets Christianity exclusively.  Gerson states his message beautifully in one statement:  “Associating the Christian gospel with the political priorities of Roy Moore would be foolishness compounded by heresy”.  Foolishness and heresy?  The absurdity of this claim is just stunning.  Gerson needs to consider actual statements from the pens of our founder’s and other history makers (https://wallbuilders.com/america-christian-nation/).  As our country’s founders prolifically wrote, there is no conflict between civil law or service and faith.  As a matter of fact, they made it clear that the success of this nation hinged on religion and morality being exercised in the whole fabric of society and government.

Much more damaging is the false narrative being perpetrated against Christianity.  It turns the Gospel on its head and assumes that a vocal Bible-believing conservative Christian cannot be loyal to his faith and the exercise of civil authority simultaneously.  To quote Gerson, “What is his [Moore’s] limiting principle in enforcing the voice of heaven?”  [Is it] “…the death penalty for adulterers, apostates, blasphemers and incorrigible children”?  Gerson, like many others, is using religious caricature for an advantage.

For Mr. Gerson and anyone else who asks similar questions, the Gospel of Christ is bathed in love, not law.  Hear Jesus:  “I did not come to abolish [the Law] but to fulfill…” (Mt 5:17″).  Listen to the fulfillment, the unburdening from Israel’s ceremonial law:  “…we have been released from the Law…” (Rom 7:6). “…Christ is the end of the Law…” (Rom 10:4).  “He (Jesus) has made the first (covenant) obsolete (Heb 8:13)”.  Listen to the good news of deliverance from sins against God’s holiness through Christ under God’s eternal moral law:  “…unrighteous will not inherit…but you were justified [in the Lord Jesus].

Christ is the believer’s moral law, not Old Testament Ceremonial law.  The sins which required that justice be performed by men in Israel under “Moses” have now been suffered and paid for by Christ in His crucifixion (1 Pet 2:24).  The limiting principle between Christianity and government is submission to authority (Rom 13) ultimately cradled in the hands of God.