Don Heacox, For the Headlight Published 8:12 a.m. MT July 30, 2020

Heacox(Photo: Courtesy photo)

Fr. Gabriel Rochelles, I have never had a harder column to write, published July 19, in the Deming Headlight online was wonderfully constructive but raised some questions. He concluded that we were, as Peter said, strangers in a strange land and to stop pretending we are anything other than that.

Okay. What is the Christian pretension and what does stopping the pretension look like for Christians?

My wife gave me some insight into what the pretensions are. They are jumping on wagons. Social justice, whatever that means and it means different (and therefore divisive) things to different people, is one such wagon.

People jump on that wagon for the sense of presumptive moral superiority and social acceptance it provides them in the communities of which they are a part. It provides a sense of identity and meaning. Christians are, however, to have their identity and meaning foremost in Christ. Consider transgender rights, whatever those may be. Some might see it as essentially Christian to support them. Others may dissent on the basis that Jesus never addressed the issue and a commitment to them would be worldly. The result is division and perhaps to be compromised by this world.

Living both in and apart from this world is tricky to say the least. Fr. Gabriel mentioned the Benedict Option of intentional communities and cited current examples of the Amish, Mennonite, Hutterites, Bruderhof, and conservative Quakers. We respect the Bruderhof and hope to visit a community sometime.

All of the aforementioned communities are pacific and have been persecuted at times for not taking up arms for countries in which they resided. So they have had to flee or endure persecution.

This raises another question, Should Christians try to influence the greater society of which they are a part and, if so, how?

Jehovahs Witnesses and others consciously take no part in political and civic activities, leaving the resolution of those activities up to God. If persecution results, and it has, so be it. Others hop on political wagons. So called evangelicals seem more inclined to the conservative carts and more liberal faiths ride the liberal caravans. Increasingly the carts and caravans are headed in opposite directions with substantial momentum.

The upcoming Presidential Election is being portrayed as a defining moment in the history of this nation and I believe it is. Yet the world has seen many turning points and will likely face many more before the ultimate battle between good and evil.

Perhaps the greatest pretension is that evil does not exist in this world and that we can safely ignore it. The history of the world, at least so far, seems to have a common thread of war and conquest. In an evil-free world, more effort would have been spent in trying to elevate man than in killing him.

An awareness of evil for Christians does not include obsession. Paul told the Christian community in Rome not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil by good. Dont be overwhelmed.

Ive heard both a physician and a pastor advising to stop listening to the news. One interpretation of Jesus resist not evil is to shrug off slights and get on with ones life. Another is not to engage evil in a way that strengthens it. Instead, strengthen each other realizing we need each others help and Gods.

Don Heacox can be reached at frheacox@gmail.com.

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Inside out: Jumping on wagons and worldliness - The Deming Headlight