Miscellaneous

These are some of my afterthoughts on "Amazing Grace"... The movie certainly suggests that William Wilberforce's abolitionist movement was shaped and fueled by his Christian beliefs. It seems to me, however, that the Quakers' words are not to be misunderstood:

"We understand you are having a problem trying to decide whether to do the work of God or the work of a political activist. We humbly suggest that... you can do both."

Do these words apply in every situation -- say, in today's American politics? I already hear the free-thinking students of University of Florida saying, "God forbid; lest the Church and the State become one." Having heard that, let us subject the issues to some critical thinking.

Wilberforce was concerned with slavery. Let us define an American Christian's issue as say, "gay marriage." There arises two interesting issues. One, slavery was not necessarily regarded as a sin in the biblical times, but the practice of homosexuality, was. Two, slavery was a corporate evil, whereas homosexuality is a personal sin.

Hence, we cannot readily conclude from merely playing on words. We must ask some questions. First, why did the Christians in the 18th century England believe that slavery was wrong, whereas most Christians in the 1st century Palestine seemed almost nonchalant on the issue? Second, can either slavery or homosexuality be amended through legal measures?

With that said (since I think most of you know the answers anyway), I will leave you with the words of C.S. Lewis to ponder:

"There ought to be two distinct kinds of marriage: one governed by the State with rules enforced on all citizens, the other governed by the Church with rules enforced by her on her own members. The distinction ought to be quite sharp, so that a man knows which couples are married in a Christian sense and which are not."

- Mere Christianity; ch.xvi

To be honest I think today's attempts to enforce ban on same sex marriages for everyone is a mere assertion of one's self-righteousness upon others, not a hope guided by a sincere yearning for justice and love.