Mr. Obama has asked Rick Warren to pray at his inauguration. Barney Franks and many others are mad. It is hard to love people with whom we disagree. It is even harder to disagree and still seem loving.
Way back in the Sixties and Seventies I saw a dramatic change occur among student protesters and the radical left. They began saying that anyone who disagreed with them did not "understand their point of view". We who interacted with them started saying, "I understand but I disagree." The students were undeterred.
Now those who grew up in that era and since have gone even farther. They say and think that disagreement is hatred. Some agencies have even come up with the term, "hate speech" to describe any argument that contradicts them.
Dr. Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Seminary has written a great article about the difficulty Evangelicals have on this score, especially when it comes to homosexual issues. Rick Warren openly disagrees with passing laws that allow homosexuals to marry. This is considered homophobic hate speech by the radicals.
Is there any way we can take a stand that disagrees with the popular culture and not be excoriated as haters? I doubt it. Taking unpopular stands used to be considered a mark of mature character development. In the popular media is is not a mark of hatred because it contradicts societal mores.
Maybe in a few years the USA and Western Europe will recognize Sharia Law. If so, it will require all laws to recognize and affirm polygamy. Can we Christians disagree with polygamy without being hate mongers? I doubt it.
Now is the time to decide how we can learn to "Agree to disagree agreeably" and teach it to everyone in the church. The pressures on such matters will increase not decrease. The test is coming in many areas and we need to prepare now for them.
What do you think?
Gary Sweeten
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