WORLD magazine on politics, religion, gay marriage, and culture

I was able to flip through a World magazine today and several articles caught my attention, and I thought I would elaborate on them here.

"Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold" - Joel Belz
Good article on how much we want our politicians to be religious. We don't want them to be heretics or heathens, but we don't want them preaching the Word to us all the time either.
"Mike Huckabee...that's dangerous stuff, bordering on radicalism" - on how he was a Baptist Minister
"Mitt Romney...his beliefs in Mormonism shaped him thoroughly...he's a fanatic."
Mr. Belz does say that the founding fathers mention God in the documents of our early country, but very little is made mention of the Trinitarian God and "speak only in vague generalities about God".
We want a person's political beliefs to not be linked to anything demanding like religious beliefs.
But, what does the word of God have to say about it. The title made me immediately think of Revelation where He says to the church "“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."
Belz wrote: "or someone whose religion is just an accessory to his life, about as important as the brand of suit he wears, but then he's a mere nominalist."
I don't want a mere nominalist as a politician, as a pastor, and I surely don't want to be a mere nominalist.

On Gay Marriage:
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders went with his heart on his action of vetoing a law outlawing same-sex marriage. His daughter is a lesbian. But, as soon as I read the statement about "I decided to lead with my heart" I thought of Jeremiah 17.9: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick, who can understand it?" I guess Sanders didn't think about all the laws in God's Word where it says that homosexuality is a sin and God didn't create sex or marriage for that - He created both for His glory in the relationship of a covenantal marriage between a man and a woman for life.

On "Braveheart" - Jenny Kraemer
The first time I saw the trailer for Jodie Foster's movie The Brave One, I thought of a recent sermon by my pastor, James Hilton, on love and how we always seek vengeance - and not love (out of the sermon on the mount). But, as I read the article I was convicted about something else. Aren't most movies the same as this one? Take Batman (I love this series) - it is all about his vengeance of his parents' death. But, we cheer for Batman, we cheer at the end of all these movies. We don't think of it as sin do we? James Mac just preached a couple of sermons on this topic as well. We don't think about our lives being gripped by fear, "grappling with the pragmatics of justice and mercy". The only answer "Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him." (Isaiah 30.18).

I hope these thoughts spur you on to read magazines and culture and politics...in the light of the Word. May you think about the WORD as you read and engage culture. Don't be afraid of culture - but view everything through the lens of the WORD - have a Biblical Worldview.