Faith: A Thing of the Past?

           I’ve been disturbed lately at how many people who call themselves Christian have completely abandoned the majority of Christian ideology and morality. I’m writing out of mere questioning. As I’ve stated in other articles, I do not represent the stance or voice of the Orthodox Church. I’m simply a small voice in the body of Christ who has questions to ask, comments to make and points to argue.

            I ask you today, where in the world is our faith and devotion to Christ and His Church? I know it exists, but in what capacity? I ask these simple questions out of my sinfulness and lack of submission to Christ and His Church. For I’ve discovered the infinite power of self-evaluation of the heart, soul and mind by the law of God, not by the opinions of the world or myself. 
           A few nights ago I had the American freedom to watch the Republican National Convention. It was quite a spectacle -- Clint Eastwood even made an appearance. And although there were all kinds of fancy big TVs and red, white and blue everywhere... that's not what sucked me in. And it's certainly not something I care about. But what I did care about was the use of words like: God, Creator, Love, Happiness, Hard work, Family, Care, Protection, Sanctity, Freedom, Trust . These words are important because they're all focal points in the Christian world. And, for the sake of argument, focal points for the majority of society.
          I bring all this up because I've noticed more and more recently that society is in the process of throwing God out the window, and becoming a god itself. All people ever talk about is how America is a free country and that we humans have rights. While this is all fine and dandy, where did these rights come from? And if not from a god or creator, then what human being had the authority to tell me what rights I do and don't have...even though we're all supposedly equal?
          This idea of throwing God out the window becomes dangerous. Without God we have no moral ground, no rules and no regulations on how to live with each other and for each other. I know people will read this and argue that people don't need religion to be moral. I agree, religion doesn't make you moral. But the truth is, God gives us the ability to be moral, whether we choose to believe in Him or not.

          I read a post today, and in the post there was a line that said, "Truth, in the world today, is a moving goal post." And I cannot agree more. Think about it, we're living in an age where wrong is becoming right, and right is becoming wrong. We're living in an age where "the norm" is anything and everything. Too often the argument is simply that "times are changing." Yes, times are changing. But does the change of times translate into letting our guards down on morality? Does change of times translate into accepting everything and everyone, regardless of their chosen lifestyle?
          These questions are important to ask ourselves daily. For those of us who are conservatives, why are we conservative? And for those of us who are liberals, why are we liberal? Who and what dictates our moral compass? Who and what influences the decisions we make? And for those of us who claim to be "open-minded," who influenced us to think the way we do? In other words, are open-minded people truly as open-minded as they claim? And on the flip side, are closed-minded people really as closed-minded as they seem to be?
          If we decide to label ourselves as Christians, we must be active as Christians and constantly bring the teachings God and Jesus Christ into every conversation we have and into every decision we make. Believe me, I struggle with this, so it's no easy task. My entire point is that every time society tries to throw God/Christ under the bus, or sweep Him under the rug, we must be the ones to be proactive and not let it happen. When society reminds us of separation of Church & State, remind society In God We Trust. When society says God doesn't belong in the voting polls, tell society God created the voting polls.
          Everyday is a struggle not to say or do stupid things. As the picture in the article beautifully illustrates, we are all in a battle between good and evil. And the picture can be interpreted one of two ways. Either we strive to live a good life and are constantly tempted by demons or negative influences. Or, we hide behind a facade of beauty because we don't want to deal with the "ugly truth" of what's right and wrong... or deal with Truth.

          Before I close, I wanted to revisit my key points. 1) Where is our faith and devotion to Christ and His Church? 2) If we're all created equal, who gave us our freedom and rights? 3) If Truth is a moving goal post, how can we decipher Truth from untruth? 4) What does it mean to be open-minded? Closed-minded? 5) What does the picture with the angel and demon illustrate to you? Is there more than one way to interpret it?
          So yeah, that's all I've got for today. No conclusion. No argument. No debate. No answers. Just some thoughts, ideas and questions I've had on my mind. As much as I'd love to elaborate on some ideas... I'll leave it up to you to think about and interpret what I laid out on the table.