OPINION:
This past week, I challenged a group of local Christians not to back down from the fight against “family-friendly” drag queen performances sweeping our nation. My argument was simple. This war is real, and it has reached America’s heartland. At its most basic level, this is a battle for our children’s hearts, minds and souls. Men who get their kicks out of dressing up like women and mimicking a cabaret striptease in front of children are, by definition, “groomers.” And any business, church, chamber of commerce or government agency supporting this nonsense is guilty of child endangerment and should be sued accordingly. It is time to take the gloves off. It’s time to go on the offensive. It is time for litigation.
I went further. I said that parents who care about their children need to run toward the storm, not away from it. Lead with your right; don’t retreat. Soldiers don’t flee; they fight! They use their opponent’s energy and aggression to their advantage. Now is not the time to try to find a middle way. It’s a time to take on the battle. While we may or may not win in a court of law, there surely are still enough sane people left for us to win in the court of public opinion. What small-town mayor wants to go viral as a groomer? What major company wants to be branded a purveyor of child exploitation? Local leaders do not want this kind of press. Paint them as the proponents of child grooming that they are, and they will back down.
While some agreed, others were more cautious. “We’re not convinced that bringing this to the court of public opinion is a good idea,” they said. “Until we have a conversation with them, we don’t know their motives. We’re obligated to love these people. Painting them all as child groomers is not loving them.”
Is this true? Is the Church obligated to have an ongoing “conversation” with those waving their rainbow flags over our children, and is it unloving to say we’re not interested in more dialogue and the time for talk is over?
Considering that this question is coming predominantly from Christians, and seeing that the Bible is the book that defines Christianity, maybe we should go there for answers.
If you start with the Old Testament, it doesn’t take long to see that the call for an ongoing “conversation” with our culture about its sin is not the modus operandi of the prophets or the patriarchs. Moses didn’t have a “conversation” with the Israelites when they melted their jewelry into a golden calf. Elijah didn’t engage in a “conversation” with the priests of Baal. Jeremiah didn’t have a “conversation” with Manasseh and Amon about their cultic practices and idol worship. Jonah didn’t have a “conversation” with Nineveh, and Jehovah did not send his messengers to have a “conversation” with Sodom and Gomorrah. Over and over again, the message in the first two-thirds of the Bible is clear. God is not interested in a conversation. The time for talk was over. It was time to repent.
“Well, that’s just the harsh Old Testament,” you say. “The New Testament emphasizes a different message of love and grace.” OK, let’s look at that part of the Bible, then. A few short minutes of doing so quickly shows that the message doesn’t change. John the Baptist, for example, did not have a “conversation” with Herod about his adultery. Paul didn’t have a “conversation” with the Romans when he told them the “wages of sin is death.” And Jesus didn’t have a “conversation” with the money-changers in the temple, nor did he simply “converse” with the Pharisees when he called them a brood of vipers and rotting graves full of dead men’s bones.
The conclusion here is inescapable — God’s definition of love and grace is apparently quite different than ours. He is much more interested in our confession and correction than he is in listening to us prattle on about our corruption. It is precisely because he loves us that he confronts us, disciplines us, and tells us to stop just talking the talk and start walking the walk.
I could go on and on, but the point is clear: The time for conversations is over. Conversations win no wars. Conversations result only in compromise. Nowhere in the Bible are we told to sit around and talk about our sins. Everywhere in the Bible, we are told to confess them.
Having an ongoing “conversation” with those who seek to groom our 5-year-old sons and daughters sexually is a fool’s errand. It’s time for Christians to stand with the likes of Elijah, Jeremiah, Jonah, John and Jesus and tell these people to stop molesting the souls of our children and make it clear that we will sue them if they don’t.
• Everett Piper (dreverettpiper.com, @dreverettpiper), a columnist for The Washington Times, is a former university president and radio host.
* Article from: The Washington Times
