fiftynine

THOUGHTFULLY DRIVING THE PORCELAIN BUS

A Column by John S Schroeder

March 22, 2003

BUTLER WINS…

The 12^th seeded mighty Butler Bulldogs defeated the 5^th seeded Bulldogs of Mississippi State in a self-proclaimed ‘dog fight’ in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament last night. Has to be one of the greatest wins in BU history. It’s right up there with the championship of the Hoosier Classic last year over IU in Conseco. Go ‘Dogs. Next victim, the Cardinals of Louisville – I do love beating Rick Pitino.

THE WAR…

Most people would find it difficult, if not impossible, to define their "greatest frustration in life." I do not. Since I was old enough to be rational, I have always railed against the fact that the ‘right’ thing to do is not always the thing that people do. As I entered puberty, I came to understand that what is ‘right’ can in some cases be debatable and I certainly became less frustrated in those circumstances. Then in high school people, apparently for no other reason than wanting to justify their actions, began to argue about if anything was ‘right.’ The results have been fascinating.

The United States is without question the most dominant world power, in every sense that can be measured, in history. Newsweek had an article this week with the statistic that the United States will spend more on defense in 2003 than the rest of the world put together, while only using four percent of its GDP to do so. That is an overwhelming statistic. We achieved that level of dominance in an age of declining moral sensibility. Therefore, it is difficult to draw the conclusion that the decline in moral thought among Americans can be linked to national failure.

However; I think it should be pointed out that Europe is much farther down the moral decline scale than we are and they have during this period lost their position as the world leader. I have for sometime thought that this country was headed in the same direction, but this war gives us an opportunity to avoid the same fate as the Europeans.

This war is about nothing more than what is ‘right.’ The world agrees that it is right for Hussien to disarm. It is unquestionably right for a murderous thug like despot to be removed from power so he can no longer kill his people by starvation, in concentration camps, with poison gas, and whatever other hideous means are at his disposal. America is right in pursuing this war and that righteousness is measured in the restraint it exercised to get here and the restraint it is using in pursuit of the war. Believe me, this would be a lot easier to finish with a few nukes.

If we are to avoid the European fate, Americans must embrace this war. I don’t just mean support our people in battle, though that is vital, I mean really embrace this war -- Declare and uphold its righteousness.

The church must lead this embrace. Yes, the church must lead this embrace of the war. In my lifetime, the church has completely lost its pace in the world and it will die if it does not find it again soon. Simply put, the theology of "grace alone, grace sufficient" is absolutely correct, but insufficient to justify the existence of an institution like the church. The church is the place for "grace practiced." I have written over and over about how for faith to be meaningful it must turn into action. I have even taught a Sunday School class called "Responding to Grace."

Practicing grace must be about doing what is ‘right.’ If not, what is being practiced is something other than grace. God does not grant us grace to do what is wrong. The decline in the mainline churches can be tied directly to its conformity to the moral ambiguity that has moved through our nation. This war presents the most clear cut moral choice we have faced since WWII. Helping the country make that choice is exactly the kind of thing that justifies the existence of an institution like the church.

I pray God He will help the church do the right thing.

With Love,