Continued...

I thought of some other issues related to the topic at hand so I thought I'd dive back in here and share my thoughts. I'm still thinking about the Christian community's overall lack of concern in regards to issues like creation care and materialism. One thought that came to me today dealt with the polarization of issues, particularly within the past two hundred years. Prior to that time, the issues the Church was forced to deal with were fairly simple. Of course there was corruption and whatnot here and there, maybe a little more here the closer things got to the Reformation, but things took a drastic turn with the dawn of the Industrial Age.

Consider the things that happened during this time. Life became wicked busy and prosperity came as a result of these machines and their productivity. The output gave people hope of spreading the message of Christ in new and exciting ways, not unlike today with the advent and popularization of this very medium we're using for our conversation. Ultimately, all of these events gave rise to a level of knowledge and technology, fueled by a modern empirical mindset, that grew exponentially. This exponential growth resulted in a number of questions we never thought we'd have to face.

I hope a bunch of this makes sense because I think there's something in here. Prior to this time, there was no real question about the origin of man but a guy named Darwin wrote a little book that changed all of that. Issues such as abortion rose in prominence and throughout the twentieth century wars dominated the minds of Christians, causing them to ponder the idea of the Kingdom of God within a context that was rapidly changing. These issues seemed to push any idea of stewardship to the rear of their minds as other things pressed in on them. Was this right? Of course not. Is it somewhat understandable? Absolutely for we have been there as well.

Well, those are just some more rambling thoughts on that issue while they're fresh. I had another thought come to mind today that I'd like to pose to you though. What are your thoughts on the concepts of patriotism as it relates to your faith? Our store received some flags and such in today and it just spurred my mind to think a bit. I'm curious as to your thoughts on the issue...