Thursday, August 07, 2014

Can Christ Not Spare One Man?



 





I like Ann Coulter. There is no “but” after that. I like Ann Coulter, period. There are many people reacting with hostility and anger toward her over her latest column about the doctors in Atlanta who are infected with Ebola.

In her column, Ann asks, “What was the point?” She goes on to write

Your country is like your family. We’re supposed to take care of our own first. The same Bible that commands us to “go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel” also says: “For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’”

Right there in Texas, near where Dr. Brantly left his wife and children to fly to Liberia and get Ebola, is one of the poorest counties in the nation, Zavala County — where he wouldn’t have risked making his wife a widow and his children fatherless.

I am neither angry nor outraged by Ann Coulter’s column.

I have written several times that American Christians have a mission field in their own backyard that too many are ignoring. Too many Christians send their kids on church run beach trips to Mexico where they hammer nails for a few days while working on their tan. I think Protestants should be pouring money into building church run schools that the poor can go to for free or at great discounts, emulating the Catholic Church. I think Christians should take up the cross in inner cities where too many liberal Christians preach a body nourishing social gospel that never feeds their soul.

I also think had St. Thomas stayed in Jerusalem instead of journeying to India, many Indians would have never found salvation through Christ. Had Paul stayed in Tarsus instead of going on his missionary journeys, we would not have his contribution to the body of faith or the churches he planted along the way.

I also think that American Christians can do more than just domestic missions. It should not be a binary decision. We should emulate the apostles who went into all the world to share the gospel instead of only focusing on our own.

Christianity has been a stabilizing influence around the world. Had Christian missionaries stayed in their home countries, the world would be worse off. Is the faith so small that Christ cannot spare one doctor to Liberia?

Should Jim Elliott have never gone into the jungle? He was savagely killed there. His death inspired countless Christians to follow in his footsteps delivering the gospel to places it had not been delivered.

Not every Christian survives. Many are martyred. We, as Christians, (Red State cont)



"I have no reservations or caveats in liking Ann Coulter. She is a warm, kind, and generous person. I know this from my own experience. I must, however, disagree with her in this."  Erick Erickson

Me too.
I also subscribe to this Tocqueville observation about the guard rails religious faith provides to society as a whole.

Americans, however, derive their obligations not from government mandate but from religious morality and social pressure. There are innumerable religious sects in America, but “all sects preach the same moral law in the name of God.” Moreover, religion balances entrepreneurial striving: the latter teaches how to better yourself, for your own good, while the former teaches obligations to others, for the good of the community. Therefore, quite apart from its theological function, Tocqueville writes that for Americans religion “must be regarded as the first of their political institutions.”

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Currently I have a 19 year old niece "changing lives" in Darfur. She is dressed like she's on Ft. Lauderdale beach in the pics she's posting. They also ride 4 wheelers on excursion when not introducing Jesus to these folks who have been getting slaughtered for being Christian. The family was mad that I would not give a red cent to Africa or her vacation, um "mission" that is. Ann Coulter was dead on, the arrogance is astounding.-Anymouse

Rodger the Real King of France said...

I can sympathize; but to the extent I am able to take the long view I am persuaded by Erick Erickson's argument.

Anonymous said...

Erick Ericksson is a disgusting, narcissistic-competing-with-Obama blowhard that needs to be put down, horse-style.

He may, now and then. make a somewhat cogent remark on a topic of relative interest. Otherwise, he is to be avoided like
RINO-whore-for hire Coulter.

Anonymous said...

"And who is my neighbor?" The world is getting smaller every day. Besides, we are the USA! We are exceptional not just in our military might and technological achievements, but in our generosity.
Kung Pow

Helly said...

I always enjoyed those Presbyterians-in-the-pot cartoons. And I agree with Coulter completely. Here's why.

Christianity has been a stabilizing influence around the world.

This is true. However, a grain of truth is not enough to build a pearl of wisdom. We're just floating a sinking ship.

Had Christian missionaries stayed in their home countries, the world would be worse off.

Show me physical evidence of this instead of confirmation bias. Is the "Nation of Africa" on track to sustain itself? Is it getting healthier, wealthier, more productive, and wiser? Meanwhile, America would certainly be better if American missionaries had done the work that needs to be done here.

Is the faith so small that Christ cannot spare one doctor to Liberia?

No, there are seasons. When Africa is ready to benefit from humanitarian acts, God will provide a multitude of African teachers, doctors, ministers, engineers, etc. to serve those needs.

I look forward to the day when Americans benefit from African medical innovations, industrial trade, agricultural bounty, and astronomical discoveries. Anybody who believes that can't happen is just a damned racist.

Anonymous said...

As my ol' Pappy told me when I, as an adolescent guurl, said I wanted to "Heeeelp People":
"Is *your* room clean?"

e~C

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