The Pew report (http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/chapter-1-the-changing-religious-composition-of-the-u-s/) released earlier this year did not have the reaction I thought it would. Though there were mentions of it on the news and radio, nothing was said of it at my church on Sunday and I did not see any people running the streets holding “The End is Near” signs. I was not sure what to think about this; it seemed to not be worth mentioning to a lot of people.

I think it is because some see it is probably just liberal propaganda. The Gallup poll on religion and church attendance seems to be the same every year (http://www.gallup.com/poll/1690/religion.aspx) and does not show what the Pew poll showed (except in General Protestantism and atheism, but the huge changes as indicated by Pew are not there).

I also think that it is partly because people have already seen it. I can just hear people saying ‘Uncle Joe who is not religious has not been to church in a long while, anyway’. However, there is more than that. Anyone can just turn on the TV and see stories of atheists and our own government forcing people into one camp or another: If you are a Christian you must HATE and discriminate against gay people! But if you are a “freethinker” then you are FREE and you LOVE homosexuality! I am sure this evil mentality has forced many people to identify as one or another. Having said this, I know there are many Christians and Jews who are homosexuals and many more Christians and Jews who know that we are commanded to love our fellow man or woman regardless. They live by the axiom: love the sinner and hate the sin. This ‘US and THEM’ mentality is a conflict that is the bread and butter of these secularist organizations like the Freedom From Religion organization in Madison, Wisconsin. They celebrate the divisiveness that these issues cause. God loves them and we need to ask Him to see them the way He does.

However, part of this, “problem” comes from God Himself. You see, God never promised it would be easy to follow His way and He is about refining His church. We are not meant to live on any fence between this world and that one. We are called to be salt and light, which will put us in one camp or the other. I cannot think of anyone in the Bible to whom God said, “Uh, you have enough faith so I will not test you or challenge you to have more”. God never called Abraham, Joseph, or Paul, or Peter or Job to complacency or laziness. He does not call us to that either. We are called to be separate (2 Corinthians 6:17). We are called to stand up for our faith. We are called to sacrifice. Jesus said that He came to bring a sword that will separate families (Matthew 10:34). God says that He will burn away the chaff and what will be left will be the pure wheat (Matthew 10:31). This makes me think about what Robert Duvall’s character Colonel Bill Kilgore said in Apocalypse Now about Napalm. I am not making light of the Hell that those who will be, “the chaff” will be in. For those of us on the other side though, it will be  a victory.

Now, all these cultural/political decisions about homosexuality, etc… must be carefully prayed and studied about. Even then, Paul reminds us that different people of faith will come down on different sides and we still have to love them (1 Corinthians 8:1-13)! If you do not believe me about God refining His church, ask those who were Christians and Jews in communist Russia or China or those who profess faith in Christ in North Korea.

We need to stake our hopes in the land of love, faith, and we hope our United States will honor religious liberty someday again. If you are a believer and you cannot or will not do something, you should be true to your conscience. If you are a believer and you can do something, you should be true to your conscience. We are NOT second-class citizens. However, God is in the unconditional loving yet separating and refining business.

John 13:35: By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Revelations 3:16: So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth

—————————————————————W.