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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

If not us, then who?

Listening recently to the song with that first lne in its Chorus, it occurred to me that a deeper question needs asking. Perhaps because I was recently listening to the excellent debate between the late Christopher Hitchens and William Craig at Biola University back, the question raised in my mind was this: if the good fight to right wrongs falls on whomever is so enlightened and inclined to it, there remain the crucial details of what exactly is the right thing to do in particular situations. Did God throw us into the fray to work out whatever system of ethics we wish to live by? What if we have serious and sincere disagreements about them? Is abortion wrong or not? Should the elderly and disabled be encouraged and aided in taking their own lives? Are these matters unnecessary to clarify and nail down? Even well-meaning people come from different, opposite sides in these and other important matters. Did God not intend any guidance that everyone can follow, even within their immediate communities?

The line from Elijah after he showed up the prophets of Baal struck me as apt and challenging: "How long will you go limping along with two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. (1 Kings 18:16-40)"

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