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The idea of the historical Jesus running for president is on its face preposterous. He was tempted by Satan, who offered Him all the powers of the world, and He emphatically declined (Luke 4). He told the Roman governor Pilate that “My kingdom is not of this world.”
Someone once said that culture is religion incarnate. There are many people today who are distressed over trends in modern American culture; that we’re losing traditional values; that the family is disintegrating; crime is rising; and juvenile delinquency is up.
The internet is both a blessing and a curse for the cause of religion in the world. The fact that information can be exchanged instantaneously means ideas—bad ones as well as good ones—can be widely accessed.
The Question: What does the Eliot Spitzer scandal say about our public and private morality? Should he have resigned?
Integrity means wholeness. When a ship goes to sea, it assures its watertight integrity. Even a small leak can affect the ship.
Christians do not believe that we can separate public and private morality. A man who will cheat on his wife will cheat on the taxpayers.
Spitzer might not have lost his moral authority and been able to survive in office had he not set such a high standard through his years of prosecution. For him to stay would have been more hypocritical than even our morally indifferent, tolerant-at-all-costs society could accept.
The Question: How should Barack Obama have responded to inflammatory remarks made by his former pastor, Dr. Jeremiah Wright? Are you responsible for what your spiritual leader says from the pulpit?
Barack Obama is not responsible for what his spiritual leader says from the pulpit anymore than I would assume responsibility for what my pastor says.
If Jesus was not raised from the dead, as the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15, Christians are of all people most to be pitied. To me, the resurrection is the central doctrine of Christianity, and if you don’t believe in it, then you can’t really call yourself a Christian. But I don’t know why people would not believe in it, because the evidence for it is overwhelming.
The Question: Which "ism" is more entrenched in America, sexism or racism? Which should religion address?
Both isms—sexism and racism—are sadly a part of American culture as they are, often to a much greater degree, in other cultures around the world. The dominant groups of any culture do not give up their privileged position easily. Christians have always seen a primary responsibility of the Christian life to defend human rights.
What Islam Really Says About Violence, Rights and Other Religions
Gomaa, Fadlallah, Mubarak, Khan, Siddiqi, Ellison, others | On Faith
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