Saturday, November 13, 2004 - Christopher M.       

Last Sunday, while driving to church, I happened to hear a bit of the weekly radio broadcast of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, Let My People Think.  Dr. Zacharias used an illustration that I'd like to share with you:

During the Second World War, the Allies used a clever tactic to confuse their enemies during the offensive against various German-held cities.  Prior to an infantry attack on a certain city, Allied planes flew overhead and let out hundreds of paratroopers.  Except that these were not real paratroopers - they were rubber dummies.  The German forces, however, didn't know that; they saw them as a viable threat and wasted their ammunition attempting to shoot down their 'enemy' in the sky.

Dr. Zacharias went on to say that he was very concerned that today's Church might also be engaged in such futile attempts at withstanding the enemy: we're too busy shooting at rubber dummies while the real offensive is moving toward us in another form, under the radar as it were.

My living north of the 49th allows me, I'd like to think, a more nuanced view of the events of the few weeks past.  And although I have nothing against the man chosen to lead America for the next four years, I am somewhat distressed by the reasoning behind the choice.  I can't help but wonder if the issues held as key to the campaign - though very real in and of themselves - were superficial, while the real issues went unmentioned.

Last week, fuelled by Anne's heartfelt piece on her view of the election, the discussion boards lit up with affirmations and denunciations of the various candidates, and the views they held.  From my reading of all that was said, two issues were proffered as the reasons to vote for the incumbent:  his view on abortion and his view on gay marriage.  Other reasons were mentioned at times, but these two came up without fail whenever the election was the topic of conversation.

Before I continue, let me reiterate: these are both very important issues and need to be addressed.  However, I believe the problem runs much deeper.

Some argued that America needs a government that opposes abortion.  The reasoning behind this view is that if an abortion is hard to come by, fewer will take place.  Granted, I too would rather have a government that discourages such practices, but I do not think that would do much to change the hearts of the people.

The current view of abortion as a way to end an unwanted pregnancy did not begin with Roe vs. Wade.  It began when we decided that children were something we could afford to have according to our convenience; when a baby became something we added to the bottom of our checklist of things to do before thirty; when we decided that there was such a thing as an unwanted child.  No amount of legislation will change that.

Similarly, many insisted that a vote for Bush meant a vote to preserve the sanctity of marriage.  "Something must be done to curb the homosexual menace."  Here too, I will add that I think that current trends regarding human sexuality are going to yield disastrous results in the long run.  But once again, I can't help but wonder how much the 'right man' will be able to do.

The erosion of the sanctity of marriage didn't happen overnight.  And it certainly didn't start when homosexuals expressed a desire to wed.  The current state of affairs is exactly what we should have expected when we decided that marriage too is a matter of convenience; when we decided that the onscreen antics of a couple drunkenly getting married in Vegas and franticly trying to divorce a week later is something to be laughed at; when we decided that sexual union is not something that should be saved till after the vows are said.

Please don't get me wrong:  I'm not saying that voting is a waste of time.  Electing the leader of one's nation is an important decision, and not one that should be made lightly.  However, I do not think that just making that choice - even if it is the right one - is enough.  We cannot afford to just cast our ballot and then sit back, feeling we have done our part.  We need to realise that all of these issues, abortion and the sanctity of marriage not being the least, are a sign of a much greater problem - the absence of God.

God, as far as the Western World is concerned, is not a part of the equation to life.  We took Him out of the picture, and as we did, we also lost our sense of objectivity - we no longer have an ultimate standard.  And if we no longer even know what right and wrong is, how can we then be surprised that we also do not have any problem killing the unborn or making a mockery of marriage?

Amidst all the reasons given to support President Bush, there was one that I most certainly hope is true:  he is a man of God and a man of prayer.  If this is so, if he will indeed govern the United States with prayer, then I wish him Godspeed.

Regardless of how President Bush may choose to lead, it remains the responsibility of all of us to realize that we cannot afford to think that we have addressed the real problems of our society when we have only scratched the surface.  Abortion and the challenges to the sanctity of marriage are real.  But by focusing solely on them, we've lost sight of the greater danger: a missing God.

   Posted on Saturday, May 22, 2004                                                    by Christopher M

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  Posted on April 11, 2004                                                                        by Christopher M

For the past week, I have been thinking of what I should say in this space that has been allotted to me.  I actually began to write something on four or five different occasions, deciding against the topic of my choice each time.  I am still not sure what to say.  Being a student of the arts, writing is something of which I do a lot.  But this year, more often than not, I have found myself at a loss for words.  I know why I find myself in such a situation.

Writing is one of the most personal things we do.  Whether we are jotting down a quick note or piecing together a doctoral thesis, when we write, we reveal the most intimate details of ourselves to those who might chance across our words.  They will see our sloppy penmanship, or our poor spelling, or our terrible grammar.  And even if we are privileged to be among those who have mastered such things, we are still vulnerable.  Is there coherence in our thoughts?  Are our views unjustly biased?  Or, leaving all that aside, is everything we say even right?

Because I write so much, I am lucky enough to turn out something of merit every once in a while.  With it, of course, comes a sense of accomplishment.  Unfortunately, that is also the moment at which I am most likely to succumb to my pride; it is far too easy to cross that line.  And so, I find myself here - unable to write.  At times when I need my God-given talents most, I cannot find them.  Because I allow myself to forget that they are just that: given to me by God.

Over the last twelve or so months, I have become very much aware of the kind of person I am.  I am human, and so very frail.  Everything I take for granted - my abilities, my health, my life - can be taken away in an instant.  And yet despite the temporality of my existence, I still choose time and again to lead the kind of life that I know cannot be pleasing to my Creator.  I have often wondered why I am so; flaunting my disobedience in the face of God.  Now, I know why: that is who I am.  I am that person who stands unawares of whose Presence it is that I am in.  I am that thief who laughs at a bruised and broken Savior.

And yet even here, at a moment in which justice would only be served in my dismissal, He chooses instead to offer His love.  That is the kind of person He is.  He can look at me, his creation, even as I raise my fist in defiance and say, "I love you."  And as I see myself through His eyes, I realize that I am the one who is bruised and broken; needing His love and healing.  So I come to Him; not with my usual bravado, but just as I am.  I am not strong or wise or good.  I am weak and foolish and evil.  But even though I am all that, I am still found to be Heaven's child.

I am complete.  In Him.

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