A Response

I have finally received some real criticism for my essay “The war and the War” and I desire now to respond to these arguments. Here is the response from the anonymous person:

Good points....but I have 2 remarks:

1) how do you respond to the statement, "if we try to negotiate with madmen, we will eventually have the bomb dropped on us, eventually killing us all."

2) People in America aren't necessarily against the doctrines of Christianity, but rather the institution of organized religion. In history, we have seen much corruption and evil committed by a Church-sponsored nation cloaked under the auspices of "We believe in Jesus Christ". What do you care if someone's gay? Why is it your job to control the sexual orientation of someone, even if it's completely caused through environment? The problem people have with the church is its elitist power trip that it feels the need to inform anyone outside of their own of what to do.

I’m glad the first argument raised was in the form of a question. I guess my primary concern with the question, however, is the statement itself. The statement presupposes a lot of things, and I will each of these that I noticed.

1) “if we try to negotiate…” This statement first argues that we have not tried to negotiate with madmen. It was my argument from the beginning that part of our problem is that we not only negotiated with madmen, but that we had decided to trust certain madmen with weapons and economic benefits. It would seem obvious to me that we ought to stop providing madmen with these materials and benefits, whether we “trust” them or not. As of now, no madman has proved capable of dropping “the bomb” on us, outside arguably North Korea.
2) The arguer seems to see negotiation as mere nit-picking and not an actual active process that could possibly have a positive outcome. To me, the statement seems to paraphrase as “If we complain to madmen about their madness, they will, in fact, go mad on us.” This is naturally a possibility, but it is not always the case. If you approach a sinner about his sinfulness, he could certainly repent.
3) Both of our arguments hinge on the assumption that we are in the right and the madmen are wrong. While we are far from perfect, I think we can agree that the madmen we are (or have not yet) confronting are much further than we.

In short, I am not sure how to reply to this response when I am not sure the point at which it is attempting to get. If it is trying to force me to abandon my position due to the threat of “the bomb,” it has failed. God is in control of his-story, so I do not fear anything of which He is in control.

The second argument is interesting. I would probably have to agree with most of the reader’s argument. I might even go a step further. Not only are people outside Christianity disappointed with the established church, but people inside are equally (if not more) disappointed. I will leave the discussion of the history of the church throughout history to someone who is much better prepared to offer historical examples (and I might suggest the reader to do the same). However, I will agree that the church throughout time has messed up. I’m sure if Christ were to speak to us directly today, he would express his disappointment with the church as a whole. As I see it, the church as too much interest in doctrine rather than attempting to “act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with [its] God.” (Micah 6:8)

However, to say that the church ought to keep out of the world’s business is slightly ludicrous. The reader asks, “What do you care if someone’s gay?” I care because that person has allowed his perverse desires to lead him into bondage with sin. It is not, however, my job to correct this behavior. It is not even my obligation. It is my job to love, to love my neighbor as myself; to dislike the behavior but not the man. I will say that homosexuality is wrong, but so is a man looking lustfully at a woman, or a boy coveting his friend’s new bike, or a man allowing his love of sports to control his life and in essence become his god. But my duty is to try to live as close a life to Christ as I can. To fear God and keep his commandments. To shun evil and love good.

The church at times has been overly judgmental. It has seen itself as self-righteous even, likening itself to the Pharisee praising God for not being as lowly as the tax collector. The church has a lot of work to do, I agree, but the God whom Christians profess is very real.

Thank you for responding!!