Friends, Sixty years ago the Bible and prayer were “86ed” from public schools and places.  We now have another property crisis on our hands.  See the column below ... Blessings, Bob

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Labels: 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ask Not speech, banned Bible and prayer, god of this age, James Lindsay, John F. Kennedy, Marxism, public schools, Satan, the Sixties, Woke

Spirituality Column #860

May 9, 2023

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Responsible Faith

By Bob Walters

“Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” –   U.S. President John F. Kennedy, inaugural speech, January 20, 1961

On that winter day in 1961 JFK was pitching, among other things, the beginnings of the Peace Corps (which by the way still exists).  But in the 62 intervening years our Western culture – and America’s central and defining notion – has devolved from one that declares and lives its responsibilities to one that demands and cries about its rights.

Connect the dots?  It is ironic that a presidential era that captured so much of the public’s altruistic imagination and inspired such hope for truly remarkable good works, should in two short years ban the Bible (Engel v. Vitale 1962) and prayer (Schempp 1963) from American public schools and public spaces.  The race to the bottom was on.

Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, and President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 sealed America’s deal with the devil by cynically signing “Great Society” legislation that through free money, unearned gifts, and diminished personal responsibility quickly slaughtered the tacit glory and hope of the free American family among poorer citizens.

“Getting” free stuff is fun until one receives the bill for defaulted responsibilities.

I’m writing to say, that seems to be where we are: the Devil wants his due.  There is a Tsunami on the way; anyone paying attention can see the coastal waters receding.

God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are just fine, of course.  Human chaos is nothing new to God, whose righteousness, love, and goodness are infinite and eternal, though opaque to unbelievers’ minds. Second Corinthians 4:4 says, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  Please note: “god of this age” means Satan.

Churches and people are struggling, and earnest Christian folks continue to pray in the face of myriad social and political chaos.  Surely, God’s got this … God? God??

Our great responsibility – and by “our” I mean those, Christian or not, who have not yet lost our minds, faith, trust, or livelihood to wokeness, D-E-I, indefensible gender nonsense, rampant urban violence, CRT, anti-racism, government corruption, media fraud, etc. – is to educate ourselves about what is truly the clear and present danger.

Remember, Satan’s favorite weapon is confusion masking anti-human lies.  He's working overtime on this one, and it is slick.  Here’s a responsible, revealing suggestion.

My “Woke” education this past week centered on watching this roughly 30-minute video (click link) of author / philosopher James Lindsay addressing the European Parliament March 30, 2023.  Various mainline online media, naturally, call Lindsay a “troublemaker” and “conspiracy theorist about the communist takeover of America.”

But as I said last week … look around.  There’s a reason I brought up the 1960s in this column.  I now have a far better appreciation for Marxism … and I see the light.

If, like me, you are old enough to remember Kennedy and the 1960s, you no doubt remember the pro-Marxist rants of anti-American protestors.  We are hearing those again today (e.g., BLM describes itself as Marxist), but the Woke mob truly means it and is coming for property we don’t realize we possess. 

I didn’t; you likely don’t. The video is educational.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) has become very sensitive over the years to listening whether people are demanding their rights or offering to help.  God always affirms His will and Satan always affirms fallen human will. Choose wisely, ask graciously, and treasure responsibility … it is the crux of freedom.  Scripture and prayer sure help.