Subject: immature Cone Flower.

Jeremiah 2:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ Has a nation changed its gods, Which are not gods?

But My people have changed their Glory For what does not profit.

From the NY Times, today, 05 July 13

To Fight Religious Monuments, Atheists Plan Their Own Symbols (click HERE).

Believe it or not, I am open to the idea that this is a good thing.

I don't fear such monuments, especially in a secular society. As Paul was troubled in his spirit by the numerous pagan idols he saw as he walked through the streets of Athens (Acts 17:16), so Christians need to have the Spirit within them "provoked" by the visual symbols testifying to the hold that Satan has on the minds of the general population.

In the article one person is quoted as saying “Christianity has had an unfair privilege for at least the last 150 years. We want to level the playing field by stripping them of privilege, and bringing them to equality with all other ideologies.” What this person doesn't probably realize is that this "unfair privilege" may very well have worked more negatively against Christians than positively in terms of advancing the cause of Christ. As long as Christians are lulled into a false sense of security, for instance equating a general 'head nod' toward the Ten Commandments with a conclusion that the laws of this land are rooted in a Biblical ethic, then for all practical purposes, secular humanist and mostly atheist legal ideas were every where victorious.

If the atheist erect their symbols and stand by them and Christians stand by their symbols across the sidewalk, figuratively or literally, a public conversation might be possible. I not only do not fear that idea, I would welcome it. The problem is that it cannot simply be a shouting match.

We Christians must abandon the notion that the United States of America was ever a "Christian" nation (and I am very aware of the public statements by leading figures including the Supreme Court rulings that stated otherwise). The best that can be said for the social and political order that we have enjoyed for the past 200+ years is that it was "supportive" of Christianity. Belief in "Nature's God" (see Declaration of Independence) is not identical with Christianity and is, quite often, contrary to it. However, the nation presumed Christian ethics and sensibilities in the general population and to a greater or lesser extent, those ethics and sensibilites were given lip service by the political leaders. Contrast the lives and moral habits of Ben Franklin and John Adams for a general idea of what I mean.

That very situation then worked to create an atmosphere where American citizens lost whatever understanding they may have initially inherited from their Puritan, Episcopal (Virginia, et al), Quaker (Pennsylvania) and Presbyterian (South Carolina, et al) forefathers as they began to give American political decisions and actions a de facto divine sanction. All one has to do is inquire into the ideas of Manifest Destiny and Prohibition to see the errors that such confusion generated.

So... if Christians are confronted with atheistic symbols perhaps they might actually begin to inquire into what the opposing Christian symbolactually signifies. What do those 10 Commandments actually require? What does it mean to have "no other gods before Me?" What does it mean that the command to not murder also requires that we do not harbor hatred in our hearts... even against atheists.

We need more stuff making us think and complacency is a much more formidable and deadly enemy than any atheistic symbol ever will be.

Bring 'em on. God can take on all challengers and His Church should absolutely trust that the truth of our doctrine will stand and ultimately triumph, one way or another, in any exchange.

Paul did not "win" the day at Mars Hill if you only count the number of converts he gained at the moment. But what he did accomplish was show that none of those vaunted thinkers were able to demonstrate that his arguments were inconsistent with his own suppositions and that those suppostions, if true, were far and away more hopeful than those of his opponents.

If our job is to proclaim and let God sort out the results then having a forum is required. Every atheistic symbol provides just that forum.