Quinta, 28 de Março de 2024
   
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Are We Forced to Listen?

King James II of England (1633-1701) decreed a bill known as the Declaration for Liberty of Conscience, so-called the Declaration of Indulgence, which should be read in all churches of the kingdom. The effect of it in practice was to give full freedom to Catholics — James II was Catholic — without giving the same openness to Protestants, especially in Scotland. The ministers were very reluctant to read such a statement, and some congregations, little eager to hear it. In a Sunday, when the moment of reading the document arrived, the pastor told his congregation: "Although I am required to read this document, you are not obliged to listen." That said, the people got up and left the church, leaving the cleric reading the law for banks, for the kneelers and the walls.

This is a part of the history of our ancestors that should extend its roots to the present day. That is because many speeches and decrees have been imposed among Christians, their families and the church. And, more than ever, in the name of freedom, our own freedom has been dwarfed by all sides. Amid so many attacks and political speeches, the Christians have been feeling lost in face of the confusion on our days and forgot their own identity. The truth is that the more Christians seek to respect different groups themselves, the more these groups seek to limit freedom, identity and even the existence of Christianity. It is a unilateral respect. When this happens, we must return to the eternal foundations of our faith and definitely reject anti God discourses that surround us. We have to permanently close our ears to the secular lies and stop negotiating our faith with the world.

Therefore, we must say that we are not obliged to hear the immoral speeches of the world. All types of media of our day surrender to instill a kind of mentality in which sex is the center, the motivation and the goal of all. The songs are openly immoral. The clothes have cuts and shapes made ​​to display the body. Television programs have on indecency their main script. The result is that all sectors of society are increasingly immersed in immorality. And the worst part is that nothing happens hidden. Instead, the public display of shameful procedures became a great honor for the world, to the point of modest people being mocked rather than praised. Fornicators, adulterers and perverts are the heroes of modern society. Unlike this, the Christian has a guide for their moral life, that is "the will of God, your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication; that each one of you should know how to possess his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God" (1 Thessalonians 4.3-5).

We are not obliged to listen to the propaganda in favor of homosexuality. What began as a struggle for guaranteeing rights, eventually became, in recent times, shares of proselytism and inhibition of any other option or lifestyle. They include actions such as the distribution in schools of an informative guide to sex that encourages homosexuality, and therefore popularly called "gay kit". Besides, there are attempts to manipulate the laws of the country in order to prevent Christianity to hold and preach the lifestyle taught in Scripture, denying Christians the freedom and rights that homosexuals seek for themselves. We must remember that God created marriage to be integrated by a man and a woman, saying: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Gn 2:24). As for homosexuality, the Christian has the evaluation of God himself, who says that "for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men, working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due"(Romans 1.26,27).

We are not obliged to hear the attacks of science to the Christian faith. Since the days of the Enlightenment, man has used the advances of knowledge not to glorify God for what he did, but to fight against faith in his existence. The curious thing is that, despite being called "science", this fight is nothing scientific, as it can not verify any of his theories - such the scientists do not even seem to mind. Moreover, this attempt corrupts the essence of the scientific process that is from experimentation to arrive at conclusions, as the prophets of atheism depart the conclusion that God does not exist and then go to research with the sole intention of corroborating their previous concept. This is not science, but a religion. That's exactly what atheism is: a religion. But God reminds us that he "made ​​foolish the wisdom of the world" (1 Cor 1:20) and that only a 'fool says in his heart there is no God "(Psalm 14.1). True science is knowing by faith that "God made ​​the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth" (Acts 17:24).

We are not obliged to hear the claims of postmodern thought and universalism. A world growing speech is that there are no absolute truths and that any idea or taste have merit and should be recognized as valid. According to this reasoning, the only way for someone to make a mistake is to want to limit the true realities and certain conclusions, rejecting others as false and wrong. The religious implication is also that there is no single way to serve the Lord, but instead, all paths lead to God. Even so-called Christian churches have adopted the discourse, not to glorify God and save the lost, but to meet the expectations of the world and to garner applause from those who hate Christianity and the message of salvation in Christ. This "politically correct" discourse has neglected the greatest need of unbelievers and defaced the main pillar of Christianity, which teaches that "whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them"(Jn 3:36).

The fact is that Christians have lost their identity and lived without clear and defined directions because of the confusion around him and for not defending their faith. As servants of God, we should, rather, be respectful and, if possible, "as it depends on us to have peace with all men" (Romans 12:18). But never, ever should we negotiate the pillars of our faith and practice of life as Christians. The world has shown he is not at all willing to negotiate with us.

Pr. Thomas Tronco

 

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