As I have been working this week, I have been listening to a great little podcast produced by the Washington Post which devotes a podcast episode to every US President from Washington to Trump. It has been very interesting and I have enjoyed it thoroughly. Again and again, when I learn about the history of the US, I am struck by the deep rooted-ness of Christianity in our heritage. It is truly deep and wide. But the Washington Post isn't exactly a Christian media outlet. Most of the history that I learned growing up was very right-leaning and explicitly Christian in it's vision of history. There is nothing wrong with that, we all come from a perspective. There are no neutral historians. But I am struck by how much of our past has been ignored or painted over with a glossy brush by Christian historians, at least as I remember it. But the truth be told, I am guilty myself of retelling history, whether national or personal, in the way that I want it to be
remembered more than how it really was and is. This is human nature...corrupt human nature, but natural nonetheless. When I hear non-Christians reflect on history these days, I can hear a lot more of the critique that is being deservedly given more than I used to be willing to bear. This is a sign, I think, of Christian maturity, and a growth in the confidence of the steadfast grace of God. And I give God thanks for that. With that in mind, there is one good and necessary thing that has come out of the modern LGBTQ (why don't we just slap the whole alphabet on there?), movement and that is this: this movement has made it clear (though certainly not always intentionally) that abuse, abandonment, neglect, adultery, divorce, and pornography hurts people, especially children. When we silence the cries of children who have been hurt, the result is violent and destructive revolutions as we are experiencing now. This whole movement is a cry of protest and a cry for validation. We need to recognize the legitimacy of the protests (I am hurting because of someone who should have loved me), and we should validate, not the inappropriate behavior, but the legitimacy of the hurt and the value of the human being. If we look back at history and hear the honest critique of non-Christians, I think we can repent and work on moving forward to be better Christians in the future. Denying our own short-comings will never advance the kingdom of God. So, help me God, I will learn this.
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