Just Pondering

This morning I find myself pondering the challenges that face our nation.  Just last night I listened to a PBS presentation on the history of Jesus; religious scholars who had surely not yet experienced the Christ of heaven, were promoted as authorities in the field of religion, eagerly contradicting the gospels.

Following that presentation I viewed an online email from a relative, connecting me to a movement called Born Again America, a folksy musical about the felt loss of freedom among Americans.  This very moving video seeks to inspire a revolution of sorts among middle class America.

Then, the daily rumble against Christianity brought on by the growing population of Muslims in our nation; though representing only 1% of our population, they have Christian leaders stumbling over themselves to accommodate their inclusion in our daily lives, downplaying our own practice of Christian values in order to protect the religious rights of others, even in the face of 9/11.

I know the risks of this blog entry and am aware that I could be seen as some religious zealot opposed to the rights of others, but I must point out that our nation is radically changing!  We are a post-Christian America and ironically, to some that is seen as positive?

Meanwhile, nations like China build both their wealth and their defenses, even boasting of a day of doom for this country.  Dare we speak against these nations, given they provide both our fuel and our credit?  Yet, can we continue to ignore their motives?

The quote below from the Los Angles times tells it all:

Bright future, bloody past

SIMON WINCHESTER

04 Jun, 2009 08:36 AM

Jiuquan, a small town in the gritty deserts of northwestern China, was a place once moderately celebrated around the world as the birthplace of that most singular vegetable, rhubarb. But, along with the profound changes that have engulfed modern China, this remote and half-forgotten town has lately taken a very different direction from its botanical beginnings. It has become instead and largely because of its splendid isolation the main launch centre for China’s armada of space rockets.

And at the entrance to its interplanetary complex there is currently a billboard, half in English, that bristles with pride at the community’s makeover. In very large letters at its base there is written a slogan that Western visitors may find more than a little chilling. It proclaims, and without apparent fear of contradiction or challenge: ”Without Haste. Without Fear. We Will Conquer the World.”

Meanwhile, we, the salt of the earth gather weekly inside our sanctuaries, practicing our faith in isolation from each other due to denominational disagreements,“fiddling” while our freedoms erode!