Author: ForCommonGround

Bible on Trial

~ ForCommonGround ~ 2 Comments

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I have always been under the impression that far too many people are sue happy in this nation. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that there are an abundance of legitimate claims but some people take things to a whole new level. We live in a nation that provides for so many individual freedoms and our nation’s history has been marked by the constant struggle to obtain and uphold those rights. One man believes that he is embarking in a fight for that very reason.

Bradley LaShawn Fowler, and ex-con turned author, is suing two Bible publishers in a US District Court for a combined $70 million (Zondervan for $60 and Nelson for $10). Now if you haven’t heard about this you may be thinking something like ‘he was mistreated by the companies, wrongfully fired or refused a job, or perhaps they wouldn’t publish something of his’. All legitimate ideas. However, Mr. Fowler is suing them for causing him 20 years of emotional distress and instability for publishing this “book” that speaks so harshly of homosexuality, a lifestyle in which Mr. Fowler has chosen for himself. According to him, this violates his constitutional rights. Representatives of the publishing agencies have simply stated at this point that, “they don’t translate bibles they only publish them.” The future of the case is still undetermined.

I love the US Constitution. I teach American Government so I have spent a lot of time studying this document and teaching about it as well. There is no shortage of incredible freedoms and protections contained there. However, there is no such protection against someone verbally or in a written fashion speaking out against choices and lifestyles. If so, millions of books would have to come off the shelfs, blog sites shut down, magazines and newspapers out of business. There are such things as libel and slander which are prohibited but for those to exist there has to be a malicious intent by the author or speaker and it has to be with a disregard to truth. So for starters, Fowler’s case is not with Zondervan and Nelson publishing (which is what their reps were trying to say) but with the authors of the various books contained in the Bible, and as one could also argue, his case is with The Author of the Bible. But I really doubt that Fowler views it that way. Regardless, he is going to have to get very creative in making his case because he is representing himself in the proceedings. But I am not writing this to argue his case…not my job.

When I first heard about this I went through a roller coaster of emotions and I have finally settled on one…sadness. People have already begun to point fingers at our president and Supreme Court for opening the flood gates for things like this but this is nothing new and it is not surprising either. In fact, this book that Mr. Fowler is suing over tells us that a time will come when people will no longer endure sound teaching and God’s truth but because of their own desires will want to alter it and gather teachers to themselves that will tell them what they want to hear. Thats found in 2 Timothy chapter 4 (my paraphrase). This has been happening for decades as generation after generation in this nation have abandoned God and His word as a basis of truth and guide for how we are to live our lives. Mr. Fowler, along with others, want the Bible to be altered to remove the negative remarks about homosexuality. To do that, they would have to take out entire sections, not words, but sections and chapters to make it fit what they want it to say. Here is just a short list of what would have to be taken out (feel free to look these up on your own): Leviticus 18:22, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Romans 1:26-28, Leviticus 20:13, 1 Timothy 1:10, and Genesis 19:1-38. I don’t want to take readers down a path of pointing out God’s feelings towards homosexuality. The Bible says what it says and there’s no way around it.

I get tired of both Christians and non-Christians putting a spotlight on homosexuality. Sure, God specifically states his views on homosexuality but this is really part of a greater issue. In many other places throughout the Bible, God calls people to not live in any form of sexual immorality (Revelation 21:8, Galatians 5:16-21, Ephesians 5:1-21, Hebrews 13:1-25) among those would certainly be included homosexuality. So this is not a problem between a gay man and the most historically proven, accurate, and fact-containing religious text in history. This is a problem with a society that has long embraced sex outside of marriage, having an affair if your spouse isn’t making you happy, pornography, and teaching safe sex to children rather than telling them to keep themselves pure for a future spouse. It’s a society that promotes all forms of lust and plasters it all over billboards, magazine covers, and television screens. This is a problem with a society that embraces pleasure at pretty much any cost and doesn’t want anyone, even God restricting us. I’m of course using generalizations which usually I don’t like to do.  I know that there is an ample number of people in this country not embracing the afore mentioned things.

So yes, I am sad. I am sad for the state of our nation. I am sad for generation after generation giving into more compromise. I am sad for what the future holds for everyone abandoning hope in the Lord. And I am sad for Mr. Fowler. If I were able to reach him directly I would not criticize him or bash him or tell him my opinion of his case. I would simply tell him that God loves him. That God died for him so that He could spend eternity with him. That God doesn’t want to restrict his life but give him abundant life. I would tell him that I am sorry for any abuse or mistreatment he’s faced by people who have condemned him rather than showed him the truth and walked alongside him in love. And I would share that with anyone else in his shoes.

God is not a withholder of freedom, He is the creator of it. He has given every human being the ability to make choices for themselves and live the life they want but along with those choices comes consequences. God is not a buzzkill of love…God is love. God designed us all for love. But we live in a broken world caused by mankind’s selfishness. The Bible says what is says about sexual immorality and many other immoral practices like lying, cheating, killing, etc because God knows that those things destroy people and societies. We can try to change the Bible all we want to fit the lifestyle we want to live but when our life comes to an end, and we stand before Almighty God, our translation of His Word will not suffice. Be encouraged because we have a God who loves us and wants what’s best for our lives.

God Bless!

Southern Makeover?

~ ForCommonGround ~ 1 Comment

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It would appear that the recent controversy has swelled to much more than about a flag. In the wake of the Marion County dispute, the flag is coming down in Charleston South Carolina. The state grounds will no longer hoist the rebel flag but it doesn’t end there. All over the region commonly referred to as the south, lawmakers are busy pushing for a ‘monumental’ makeover. New Orleans, for example, is considering a name change for the Jefferson Davis Parkway. For those who don’t know, he was the President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. The change wouldn’t stop here. Many want to remove statues that commemorate civil war confederate leaders too.

Washington D.C. is even joining the ranks to rally against the old confederacy. The House and Senate are debating resolutions to make it illegal to fly the rebel flag in national parks. Far over on the west coast in Long Beach, lawmakers are demanding the name change for a local elementary school that bears the name of General Robert E. Lee.

Perhaps it is time for the rebels and racists to cease to be glorified. But no one can clean the slate of the past besides God. We need memorials alright, but they need to be aimed at showing future generations our mistakes so that history won’t repeat itself. That’s why we have holocaust museums. They don’t glorify those events but help us not to forget what happens when good people allow evil people to rule nations. They help remind us that we need a savior and we need to partner with God to stand up for justice and truth and fight back against hate and oppression. Was the institution of slavery similar to the holocaust? In more ways than one. Groups of people were treated as property, caged, abused, used for forced labor, and murdered. Sounds shockingly similar doesn’t it? Now sure there were slave owners that treated their slaves like family but they were most definitely a minority.

I say all of this for the reason that we shouldn’t try to erase the past but we should remember it in the right context. We should not allow men like Supreme Court Justice Taney, who led the way in the Dred Scott case to declare all slaves property and unable to gain the rights of a citizen whether freed or not, or Ben Tillman who sanctioned for mass extermination of black slaves in the south, to be memorialized in any other fashion than as sins of our past.

I think the American psyche has a hard time looking in the rear view and remembering our major blemishes. Slavery, assimilation and removal of native Americans, abuse of immigrants, antisemitism, racism, gender discrimination, etc. it’s like people only want to see America as great. I would agree that we live in a great country but not one without a long list of mistakes.

So let’s put the statues and names and flags in a museum that tells the accurate story of who they were and what they stand for. Maybe then we can move forward even more towards healing deep-seated wounds. Maybe that could help us break cycles of hatred and distrust coming from all races still today. Maybe then we can join together and fall on our knees before God and pray that He fill us with a love for Him and one another that we can move forward united while not forgetting where we came from. In the Lord there are new beginnings and forgiveness from the most horrible things.

God Bless!

The ‘Good Enough’ in All of Us

~ ForCommonGround ~ 1 Comment

imageThe other day I was working out and I arrived at a point where I almost always come to…the crossroads where I decide whether I’ve done enough or if I should complete the full workout that I set out to do. Now for those of you who workout I know you’ve been here. You may not have this internal battle as frequent as me but I’m sure you have none the less. If you have no idea what I’m talking about let me paint the picture and I’m sure you’ll be able to associate it with something more common in your life.

So here we go. Forty five minutes or so into lifting weights my body is starting to fatigue. My mind takes note of this and starts having a dialogue with itself. (I swear I don’t have multiple personalities). Thoughts of all the things I could be doing instead start to flood in. Then what seems like the minority voice in my head says, “you won’t be lifting again for several more days, just finish.” Then here comes the argument, “you’re 33 and you’re not training for anything. Why be so hard on yourself?” I could give you the entire conversation but I think that’s probably adequate.  I am at a place where I have achieved enough but not as much as I could or initially even wanted to. The barrier to moving on lies fully in my mind. My body is no where near its limit yet it’s decision time once again.

I have made up my mind to try and not give in to the part of me that would limit how I live, even in the small stuff like working out. I call this the ‘good enough mentality.’ Now you might be thinking that I’m blowing this out of proportion but bear with me. This scenario is common in so many areas of daily life. Your job, projects around the house, serving others, loving others, giving time and money, taking care of possessions…you name it…it fits.

I want to clear something up before I say any more. I am not promoting perfectionism by any long shot. Perfectionism is a false belief that any of us could be perfect at all short of a relationships with Jesus Christ. I am talking about taking short cuts in life. I would venture to say that whenever one does something of importance in life the ‘good enough monster’ is going to come out to convince you that you don’t need to do something to your greatest ability every time. Thoughts like ‘you loved well enough today,  you did your job well enough or as good as the next person, you’ve given your share, you’ve prayed enough, you’ve eaten well ‘most’ of the week (or more like you had one good meal today in my case) so splurge a little, you’ve spent enough time with your spouse and/or kids…I don’t think I need to go on. These thoughts are poisonous.

Giving in to the good enough leads to compromise that will more than likely affect more than one area of your life. Would cutting my workout short mean I would start neglecting my family or job? Who knows. If you phrased it like that anyone would laugh at the connection. But what if you asked the question more like, “if I settle for good enough in one area of my life, won’t I be far more likely to settle in other places too?”

Colossians chapter three in the bible puts it like this, “whatever you say or do, do all things to the best of your ability like your doing it for Christ” (my paraphrase of course). That doesn’t leave room for short cuts or the ‘good enough’ side of us to come out. Plus, who is getting cut short in the process? Rarely just the person giving in to doing good enough. We owe it to the people in our lives to not settle for doing good enough. More importantly, we owe it to our God who didn’t settle when creating us or dying on the cross to save everyone who would believe in Him. So let’s live and love and serve and give greatly, not just good enough.

God Bless!

Let it Fly

~ ForCommonGround ~ 4 Comments

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As many already know, a major controversy has been ongoing in Marion County Florida over the issue of a confederate flag. It seems some want it removed. Last week, interim County Administrator Bill Kauffman made the decision to remove it in response to the mass shooting that happened at a South Carolina church. However, a majority vote led to the hoisting of the bars and stars once again.

I have never been a fan of the confederate flag. To me, as with many others, it symbolizes a dark part of US History that should be buried in the past. But it seems to me that so many people want to keep this symbol alive. On one hand people view this flag as a beacon of hatred. That could be because the KKK and other white supremacy groups, mainly in the 20th century, flew it at their rallies and streamed it from their cars as they made the worst expressions of hate, both verbal and physical. So, should a group of racist morons be allowed to tarnish a piece of history that many others hold in high esteem? The answer is no…in the south at least. But perhaps that’s not a non biased party. Several people who were interviewed over the controversy stated that the flag is a cherished part of their heritage. It somehow reminds them of where they came from. It’s a symbol of pride and honor to them. I can’t help but to think to myself, “pride in what? Pride in slavery? I doubt that. Pride in a failed attempt at maintaining independence? Certainly not. Pride over being the hotbed of racism towards and murder of minorities for over a century after the civil war? Probably want to forget that one. What could it be that they are prideful of?” My inner monologue may have been a little sarcastic. So I started to think of other symbols that could be similar. The state flag of Texas, the loan star state, has been a symbol of their hard-fought independence for well over 100 years. Did Texas have slaves? You bet they did. The difference lies in the application of the flag thus the association for on-lookers is altered.

Truth is, the Confederate Flag was a battle flag for people who felt oppressed by, or more accurately feared the oppression of a powerful government. In fact, it wasn’t even the original flag of the Confederacy. It was adopted two years into the war originating in Virginia. So the question could arise, was the south’s struggle different from that of Texas. Not as different as you might think. How about another beloved symbol of rebellion…the American Flag. Did the American colonies have slaves? You bet they did. But the first flag was different from the one today wasn’t it? Only in the number of stars. Do we associate ‘old glory’ with slavery and racism, both of which happened under its banner? Maybe some but I strongly doubt Americans would make that cconnection. The point I’m trying to make is that the confederate flag is a symbol of independence. I believe it to be interwoven into the fabric of life in the Southern culture. It’s a picture for many that represents the common attitude of most Americans that’s says, “don’t tread on me government!”

This might be hard to imagine but had the United States lost to Britian, or Texas lost to Mexico, those flags would be extremely controversial. Side note, the U.S. started as a confederacy just like the seven states that broke away in the 1860’s. But I find it hard to believe that Britain or Mexico would be fine with their colonies flying symbols of rebellion. But the United States of America is neither of them. This is the land of freedom, a land where people may express themselves as long as it isn’t illegal or insight something illegal. Like it or not Marion County has every right to fly that flag whether I’m offended or you are offended by its symbolism. Mr. Kauffman’s response to the shooting by taking the flag down shows that the South is still sensitive to the issue of brutal racial violence, which has been fueled by the deaths of black men by white cops (which is a whole other topic I’m not getting into…now anyways). But the public outcry to put the flag up shows that the flag is about far more than that, and possibly for many, has nothing to do with it.

I close with this. Jesus Christ calls us to not lay a stumbling block before our brothers and sisters and to live at peace with all in so much as it depends on us. Would I wave a symbol that could offend because it is linked to a ruthless past? Not a chance. The mission of the believer is to be gracious towards others, and loving, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. But do I have a right to tell people to not fly a flag that means more to them than what racist bigots made it into? Nope. But believe me, if the south started flying that flag to promote injustice I’d be the among the first in line to dread that flag under foot. For now, I’m going to devote more time to praying for healing and forgiveness, both of which can be found in full measure in Christ. God bless!

Hello world!

~ ForCommonGround ~ 2 Comments

Our modern media world offers so many opportunities to be interconnected with people way beyond our common circle as well as those closest to us. ForCommonGround is a place to launch challenging and thought provoking discussion of world issues and close to home life issues. Maybe, just maybe, in the process we can reach a place of common ground. I am looking forward to sharing in this new adventure with everyone who’d like to come along for the ride.