END OF CONVERSATION

American Flag, Washington DC
Lines in the Sand, Wrightsville Beach, NC

When one of our most capable American presidents was confronted with the slippery question of whether God sided with the Union or the Confederacy on the contentious issue of slavery and civil war, he famously replied, “My concern is not whether God is on my side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right”. Lincoln deftly side stepped the question, but responded with an answer that was beyond rebuttal. End of conversation.

The Pharisees brought a woman accused of adultery to Jesus in an attempt to trap and accuse him of violating either their Mosaic law or the ruling Roman law. If he told them to stone her he would have violated Roman law which forbade the oppressed people to execute anyone. If he told them to let her go he would have violated their own Law of Moses. Instead of providing a direct answer that would be a problem either way, Jesus said nothing initially, but simply bent down and began moving his finger in the sand. It is not revealed just what he was writing, but one plausible theory is the sins of the men trying to trap him. Or perhaps it was simply random lines in the sand, giving pause for clearer heads to prevail. Then Jesus matter-of-factly said, without directly answering their question, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone”. And they all slowly began to do the right thing by dropping their stones and drifting away, from oldest to youngest, for all have sinned. Age and experience are generally more aware of human shortcomings than youthful self-righteousness. End of conversation.

Perhaps our elected representatives in government could use these models of human behavior to end the polarity that constrains our nation so that doing the right thing could prevail for all. End of conversation.

BIBLICAL ANSWERS

Lincoln and Generals, Wikipedia

One of my favorite scenes from the classic movie, The Longest Day, about the Normandy invasion that turned the tide in WWII was two flashes from both sides of the war. When queried about the critical outcome of the battle, an allied commander confidently replied that “God is on our side”. Then the scene immediately shifts to the German Third Reich commander who responds to the same question with the same reply. Obviously, one of the two commanders is deadly wrong. Anti-abolitionists in the 1860’s used Ephesians 6:5 to defend the slavery cause using the literal word which admonished, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling”. But I like the response of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War who famously responded differently, “My concern is not whether God is on our side—my greatest concern is to be on God’s side”. Both history and our inherent sense of values show us that slavery was indefensible.

The answers don’t necessarily lie in a literal interpretation of many of the Biblical writings set in the context of the ancient Jewish world, but in the context of scriptural values, especially those taught to us by Jesus in the New Testament when a new covenant between God and us human beings was established. The ancient Bible wasn’t written as a definitive science book either, but modern science is revealing the brilliance of a divine creative mind in discoveries such as the new DNA codes. It is good to find our values in Biblical writings VS our contemporary cultural environment, but we should exercise God given common sense and reflective contemplation for our answers. The truth found in these living writings transcends cultures and time periods. God doesn’t choose sides as much as he strengthens and protects those who seek truth and relationship, e.g., I believe you’re wasting your breath praying for a victory for just about anything, but seeking strength, guidance and protection could be useful.

GOD IS ON OUR SIDE

One of my favorite scenes from the classic movie, The Longest Day, about the Normandy invasion that turned the tide in WWII was two flashes from both sides of the war. When queried about the critical outcome of the battle, an allied commander confidently replied that “God is on our side”. Then the scene immediately shifts to the German Third Reich commander who responds to the same question with the same reply. Obviously, one of the two commanders is deadly wrong. Anti-abolitionists in the 1860’s used Ephesians 6:5 to defend the slavery cause using the literal word which admonished, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling”. But I like the response of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War who famously responded differently, “My concern is not whether God is on our side—my greatest concern is to be on God’s side”. Both history and our inherent sense of values show us that slavery was indefensible.

The answers don’t necessarily lie in a literal interpretation of many of the Biblical writings set in the context of the ancient Jewish world, but in the context of scriptural values, especially those taught to us by Jesus in the New Testament when a new covenant between God and us human beings was established. It is good to find our values in Biblical writings VS our contemporary cultural environment, but we should exercise God given common sense and reflective contemplation for our answers.