First, Keith has posted a response from Eric Miller about his article in the Post-Gazette.

That got me thinking, as did a lunchtime discussion we had at the office. And it got me reading. So I read this article on Christian Counterculture. This really hit home:

Instead of crusading and picketing against all of the perceived evils in our culture, believers would better glorify Christ by leading the way in concrete acts of kindness and love. Instead of complaining about our government’s tendency to waste money on useless programs, believers should open their hearts and their purses to care for the poor and needy. Instead of blocking the doors to abortion clinics (or worse), they should open the doors of their homes to pregnant women who don’t need a ?Pro-life? lecture, but a clear presentation of the gospel and loving assistance in carrying their babies to term. Instead of fighting to have ?prayer in the classrooms? of our public schools, believers should be spending more time in prayer themselves. Instead of suing for the right to display a nativity scene in the public square believers should be ?using the, public square? to tell anyone who will listen about the grace of God in Jesus Christ. These are but a few of the practical ways believers can demonstrate the love of Christ instead of becoming objects of ridicule by constantly engaging in all of the negative rhetoric about how bad our society is.

I’m ready to give up political discourse, and I don’t think that Christians should ignore the public square/political sphere. But obviously, we can’t get too wrapped up the political game and lose sight of what we really fighting for.

Posted on 11 November 2004