America Will Survive

[Vince Massi]

This Sunday will be forty years since I heard Brother Hyles preach "America Will Survive." The college was in its fifth year,.and Jimmy Carter had just beaten Gerald Ford.

He talked about how America had a loyal people and a well-structured government, and how the powers were divided. He explained that he had been upset when Kennedy was elected, and then Kennedy turned out to be a great President.

We had a debate when I was in fourth grade, and the nine-year-old representing Barry Goldwater started crying and yelling that if Johnson won, it would be a disaster. But America survived. A student at HAC went around telling us that if Jimmy Carter won, it would be America's last free election.

America will survive.

 

[Walt]

This Sunday will be forty years since I heard Brother Hyles preach "America Will Survive." The college was in its fifth year,.and Jimmy Carter had just beaten Gerald Ford.

He talked about how America had a loyal people and a well-structured government, and how the powers were divided. He explained that he had been upset when Kennedy was elected, and then Kennedy turned out to be a great President.

We had a debate when I was in fourth grade, and the nine-year-old representing Barry Goldwater started crying and yelling that if Johnson won, it would be a disaster. But America survived. A student at HAC went around telling us that if Jimmy Carter won, it would be America's last free election.

America will survive.

I have frequently said such things -- but, of late, I've realized that they are not true.

While it is true, I believe, that America won't fail because of one election, and all of the things pointed out are true; we are electing a President, not a dictator - he must get legislation through a House and Senate before it can become law.

However, we have no guarantee that America will remain a nation... we have no sure promise of God.  Rome was a great power in its day, yet it fell also.  While I hope that America will not fall, it if fell next year, in 40 years' time, people will look back at the forces shaping America in our time and the preceding times and clearly see the signs of a fall that we, who are going through those times, are blind to.

May God bless America, in spite of her faults!

 

[Smellin Coffee]

I am not so concerned about the survival of America as I am about the survival of Christ's teachings being applied by those who claim to follow Him.

Christians in both major parties have sold their collective soul to the god of political agendas and we self-destruct in our failure to find unity in Christ through diverse sub-cultures and political beliefs. The "character" of the political candidate the Moral Majority used to preach is no longer a means by which we measure a candidate. We refuse to see all people, good and bad, as image bearers of our Creator. We tend to make "our" ideal the one by which everyone should agree and live by.

So even though whether America survives or not is an important issue, I feel it a greater issue that the heart of Christ survives in our lives and ideals through personal, moral character and love for one another.

 

[Walt]

I am not so concerned about the survival of America as I am about the survival of Christ's teachings being applied by those who claim to follow Him.

Christians in both major parties have sold their collective soul to the god of political agendas and we self-destruct in our failure to find unity in Christ through diverse sub-cultures and political beliefs. The "character" of the political candidate the Moral Majority used to preach is no longer a means by which we measure a candidate. We refuse to see all people, good and bad, as image bearers of our Creator. We tend to make "our" ideal the one by which everyone should agree and live by.

So even though whether America survives or not is an important issue, I feel it a greater issue that the heart of Christ survives in our lives and ideals through personal, moral character and love for one another.

Although I generally agree, I'm having a lot of trouble with the second paragraph... I'm not sure what self-destruct in our failure to find unity in Christ means.  I cannot unite with people who believe that Jesus' blood is insufficient to save, and that one must be baptized.  I seem to recall that Paul was very harsh with fellow Christians teaching false doctrine (namely, that Gentile believers in Christ must be circumcised to be "real" Christians).  Jesus Himself was harsh to religious leaders who were leading people away from God with their rules and regulations.

 

[Smellin Coffee]

I am not so concerned about the survival of America as I am about the survival of Christ's teachings being applied by those who claim to follow Him.

Christians in both major parties have sold their collective soul to the god of political agendas and we self-destruct in our failure to find unity in Christ through diverse sub-cultures and political beliefs. The "character" of the political candidate the Moral Majority used to preach is no longer a means by which we measure a candidate. We refuse to see all people, good and bad, as image bearers of our Creator. We tend to make "our" ideal the one by which everyone should agree and live by.

So even though whether America survives or not is an important issue, I feel it a greater issue that the heart of Christ survives in our lives and ideals through personal, moral character and love for one another.

Although I generally agree, I'm having a lot of trouble with the second paragraph... I'm not sure what self-destruct in our failure to find unity in Christ means.  I cannot unite with people who believe that Jesus' blood is insufficient to save, and that one must be baptized.  I seem to recall that Paul was very harsh with fellow Christians teaching false doctrine (namely, that Gentile believers in Christ must be circumcised to be "real" Christians).  Jesus Himself was harsh to religious leaders who were leading people away from God with their rules and regulations.

Jesus has sheep that are not of the same fold as we are. Christ HIMSELF should be the uniting point, not our perceptions about Christ. Are we doing what He taught? Are we seeking His guidance? Are we living like His example? Are we forgiving? Do we oppose violence? Do we seek to free the oppressed, heal the sick, befriend the marginalized? IOW, are we uniting in what Christ lived and taught us, even though we may have diverse opinions on politics and even theology?

If matters of belief is a dividing line for you, so be it. There were times the disciples didn't believe Jesus when He spoke to them directly, yet they were still His. Yet in their times of unbelief, they remained loyal to Him (save for Judas). THAT is what it came down to in the end. So is our faith in Jesus or theology? They are mutually exclusive.