By James L. Lambert
On Tuesday night, I was given the opportunity to appear on The O'Reilly Factor, Bill O'Reilly's weeknight television show on the Fox News Channel. The topic of the segment in which I was involved followed the same lines as an AgapePress commentary on secular humanism published on Friday, August 29.
The TV show's segment focused on the clergy's silence regarding America's cultural war. As outlined in my piece from August 29, the Church and a majority of its clergy have been negligent in tackling the important moral issues of our day — e.g., the attack on traditional marriage, the media's increasing representation of homosexuality as “normal,” the general acceptance of abortion and out-of-wedlock births, and America's fascination with hard-core pornography. The list could go on.
O'Reilly asked his guests to postulate why members of the clergy have found it so difficult to speak out on America's great current moral issues of the day. Apparently, a primary concern among pastors, priests, and rabbis is to avoid offending others by speaking out.
A successful pastor often is measured in a term that “the world” would define; that being size — namely size of budget, size of congregation, and size of facilities. And as so aptly put by Rev. Don Wildmon, founder and president of the American Family Association, there is “a genuine effort to put more emphasis in going to church, rather than being the Church.”
Wildmon continues, saying that “church leaders want us to memorize the rule book — which is good in itself — but don't want us to play the game.” Such a statement speaks volumes to some of the core issues that confront the Church today.
While it might be easy for people like myself and Bill O'Reilly to pick on those religious leaders, the argument becomes more compelling by offering suggestions on how we can all effect change in the culture if we work together. Since most of our present cultural downward spiral occurred incrementally, it can change for the better in stages.
Jesus was always in the midst of controversy during his three years in public ministry. He mingled with tax collectors, prostitutes, and a number of so-called “outcasts” in His day. Even by our Lord's standards, we cannot be greater than our Master. He told us to expect some form of persecution if we are doing His work.
Besides spreading the gospel (on many different levels), we are exhorted to uphold morality and be “salt and light” to the world. Catholic news writer Allyson Smith espouses, “just because we've all fallen short doesn't mean we should not try to uphold the standard.”
Sometimes taking a stand for our beliefs means personal sacrifice. Now more than ever, we need to be more vocal in the public place. The secular humanists want to silence our speech. They do it by intimidating us with political correctness and scaring us into silence. I'm glad the Founding Fathers did not entertain this train of thought.
We should not be afraid to condemn the forces that continually try to take God out of the public arena. Whatever happened to public shame? Whatever happened to people who have the boldness to discuss moral standards that protect our families and our children?
If the pastors indeed have the ear of their congregation, they need to hear from their parishioners that they can no longer avoid the great moral issues of our times. Bold believers need to show up at church and school board meetings, object if civic leaders or area businessmen actions are immoral, and interact with the media and other voices in the community that help shape public opinion. We can no longer afford to be uninvolved. The future of this great nation depends on it.
(Editor's Note: Shortly after his commentary “Church, Clergy Doze While Secularists Take over America” was published by AgapePress, columnist James Lambert was invited to appear on national television to discuss the topic further. This piece is offered as a follow-up to that appearance.)
(James L. Lambert, who resides in San Diego, California, is a frequent contributor to AgapePress. He is the host of Night Lights, a weekly conservative talk cable television show in San Diego; the author of Porn in America (Huntington House); and a real estate loan sales agent. He can be reached via his website: JamesLLambert.com. This article courtesy of Agape Press).
