WHY WE HAVE LOST OUR WAY

I think I may have said before in this blog that I am not particularly a church goer.  That doesn’t mean that I’m not a person with some pretty deep religious convictions.  In fact, when I was in my high school years, I was very active in my church and editor of a synod-wide newsletter which served California, Nevada and Utah.  The story about why I don’t go to church anymore is a lengthy one and basically irrelevant to what I have to say here today.  Suffice it to say that, at my mother’s graveside, the minster came through the receiving line and said to me, “Maybe that will teach you not to play golf on Sunday.” 

While the remark was horribly insensitive, it taught me that churches in this country have lost their way.  They have themselves strayed from the teachings of God and Christ.  I settled with myself that I could be just as close, if not closer, to God and Christ without going to church and paying a tithing to a religious organization that had lost its grip on The Truth. 

I now look at what is going on within our country in that context.  Crime is up, teen pregnancies are up, ethics are in the toilet, the people we should be looking up to are riddled with substance abuse and other problems, drug use is rampant, family units have been destroyed and we have a corrupt and non-responsive government. 

The first question that comes to mind is: If the country were more religious, would these problems exist?  That leads me to question two: If our religious institutions were more proactive in delivering The Truth, being the teachings of God and Christ, would this country be more religious?  And the third question: What will it take to straighten religious institutions out?  I happen to believe that the answers to the problems we have in America and to gun violence as we have recently seen it lie within this paragraph. 

Why are ministers of the faith afraid to speak out on the issues?  We are they afraid to practice the teachings of the Bible themselves?  Some say that religions are afraid of losing their tax-free status if they get involved in politics.  Well, politics and religion may not mix, but you can’t have good politics without religion.  Furthermore, any religious leader should know in his heart and from the teachings of the Bible that as long as he believes and as long as he practices, he should fear not what evil adversity might confront him. 

Perhaps the study of theology these days has been influenced by the sinister agenda of the radical left.  Certainly, our universities and colleges have been permeated with teachings contrary to the teachings of Christianity or Judaism… or any other religion for that matter.  Theologians should always question what someone else is advocating or teaching and they should constantly seek The Truth. 

The bottom line to what I am saying here is that we know in our hearts what the answer is.  What needs to happen is for religious leaders to get back to the basic fundamentals, start preaching the real Bible and don’t be afraid to speak out to America on the multitude of sins we are actively participating in.  We need morals, ethics and structure in our lives and our country; belief and adherence to the Bible is where it’s at. 

In short, and directed to men and women of the cloth: Either you believe and you are willing to stand up and preach your beliefs, ready to speak out to your communities, and you are willing to lead your flocks in God’s way, or you are simply kidding yourselves… you’re in the wrong job. Right now, your country needs you to set the example. 

That’s MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.