Legalism

Aren't the efforts to create laws implementing Christian values just a modern form of legalism? I am by no means an antinomianist, but I think that many are missing the boat. The message of the Bible is Christ. It is a message of love and forgiveness.

In the efforts to ban pornography, homosexuality, and abortion, we are creating enemies of man. "Religious Right" has become a derogatory term. Groups are on edge, feeling the need to be ready to defend themselves. We must love these people, not despise them. Through the love, understanding and forgiveness of God they can be changed. Laws won't change them - God will. It is our job to bring them to God.

God the Biologist

Kansas, Georgia, and many others seem stuck on the "conflict" between evolution and creationism. It has even go so far as to create "Intelligent Design" (more here), a pseudo science effort to push creationism into science classes, but stay away from religion.

Evolution does not contradict or disprove creationism. Creationism does not contradict or disprove evolution. God's creation of man is a mystery to us. We have only the story in Genesis to go by, and that is merely a story. If you were God, thousands of years ago, and you were going to explain to man how you made everything, what would you have said? Biology, biochemistry, and evolution were simply unheard of in the Old Testament world. Details were simply unimportant. Even with all of modern science, we are only scratching the surface of the complexities of the natural world. Medicine is a formal method of guessing what is wrong and what will help. Astronomy changes constantly.

Evolution could well be the process by which God created man and the animals. Perhaps God worked on the world while the world was developing? Is the fossil record a historical trail of God's work in creating man?

The fight against evolution is a diversion; a subversion of purpose to borrow a phrase. We must focus instead on helping the world to understand the compassion and love that God has for us.