"The trend is toward forgetfulness of God and disintegration of a Judeo-Christian formula for Democracy. We need to redirect. Are Christians responding?"Glenn C. Riffey makes an excellent point in his letter today in the Cumberland Times-News in response to Charles Haynes' column of September 5: "From the very start, the Christians were the ones who discovered, settled and built America." He reinforces the view that church and state are inseparable; and he seems to call on citizens to exercise conscience when electing public officials to guide us in God's light as the country takes shape in the future. It certainly does seem in this era of "cool" elistism and relativism that our country's religious and moral traditions (and let's not forget the Jewish half of our country's Judeo-Christian underpinnings: Law + Mercy = Justice) are "square" and fodder for national ridicule, bullying and degradation.
In a CTN article today about the first "Cry Out America" event held September 11 to commemorate the terrorists' attack, cooridnator Sharron Eror Moody calls it “a cry out to God for an awakening in America.” (The event was held at the grounds of the county courthouse, where the Ten Commandments monument was a subject of controversy in the recent past.)
A September 11 Zenit.org press release notes that Pope Benedict XVI says Christians' involvement in politics is key to evangelizing society. And in a release today reporting on Benedict's first papal visit (four days) to France, with the intent "to reinvigorate the Christian roots of Eurpoe," Catholic News Service reports that "the pope quickly zeroed in on a perennial and crucial issue in France: the proper role of the church in a secular society." The CNS release states that the pope said society must become more aware of "the irreplaceable role of religion" in forming consciences and instilling values. He said religion does not represent a danger for any democracy and that Christian values constitute a "living patrimony" for society as a whole. The pope called for a renewal of church-state cooperation, saying modern society greatly needs the inspiration of the Gospel. "This hope (of 'ethical consensus') is all the more necessary in today's world, which offers few spiritual aspirations and few material certainties," the pope said at an official welcoming ceremony at Elysee Palace, as reported by CNS.
Seems our country got a wakeup call seven years ago. Memories of that day that shook our nation's foundation should continue to awaken our awareness of the direction our country -- and the other Christian nations of the world -- are going. The trend is toward forgetfulness of God and disintegration of a Judeo-Christian formula for Democracy. We need to redirect. Are Christians responding?
Follow the pope's visit to France at Whispers in the Loggia.
by Nancy E. Thoerig 09-12-08
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