'Deafening Silence' Was The Theme Of The Week
Two events, two cases of "deafening silence" here in America.
Regardless of your political leanings toward foreign affairs and Israel in particular, Benjamin Netanyahu's "Deafening Silence" speech at the UN General Assembly a few days ago was sobering and even better than his "Red Line" speech and prop from last year, especially this 5-minute segment (though I'm not sure why some delegates in attendance were caught on camera laughing/smiling during this!; Matthew 24:12 perhaps).
As expected, there was also "deafening silence" from our national news media who refused to report on any of the important and urgent things he said during his 42-minute speech.
Wanting to put the best construction on things, I can't blame them though. After all, it was hardly a "slow news day" thanks to the atrocity committed by one young man in Oregon who decided kill people...due to their Christian faith.
I'm not expecting the national media to focus on that aspect of the tragedy as they would if people of a different faith were targeted (or if the shooter identified himself as a "Christian" let's say).
Let's face it, there's been "deafening silence" in response to the thousands of Christians in the Middle East who continue to be brutally persecuted (some even unto death) simply due to their faith in Christ and their refusal to publicly reject Him.
And the media outlets around the world say absolutely nothing.
As the above piece noted, "Christians were martyred for their faith, on American soil, a fact mostly ignored by the mainstream media and the White House."
The collective response to all the world's current crises may be "deafening silence" right now, but I'm hearing war drums beating louder and louder, and so my response to the devil, to sin, to brutality, to injustice and to war is to tell others about the righteous Prince of Peace Himself, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, because He expects me to continue to love and pray for my enemies (as hard as that is!) -- not kill them or ignore them. Come quickly, Lord!
In a Lutheran layman's terms, "now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21:28).
NOTE: Please understand that I'm not a called and ordained minister of God's Word and Sacraments. I'm a layman or just a regular Christian, Candy-Making, Husband, Father, Friend who lives in the "City of Good Neighbors" here on the East Coast. To be more specific, and relevant to the point I want to make with this disclaimer/note, please understand that I'm also a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism almost 2 years ago now. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is inconsistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and repeatedly point us back to over and over again) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1). Also, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier pieces I wrote for this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that "Old Evangelical Adam" category since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a Christian "Book of Concord" even existed (Small/Large Catechism? What's that!?!). This knowledge of the Lutheran basics was completely foreign to me even though I was baptized, confirmed, and married in an LCMS church! So, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavy influenced by those old beliefs of mine. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because they are not blasphemous/heretical, because we now have this disclaimer, and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Most importantly, please know that any time I engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always closely follow the verse-by-verse notes from my Lutheran Study Bible and/or include references to the Book of Concord unless otherwise noted. Typically, I defer to what other Lutheran Pastors both past and present have already preached and taught about such passages since they are the called and ordained shepherds of our souls here on earth. Finally, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the length of most entries (this disclaimer/note is a perfect example of what I mean! haha!). I'm well aware that blogs should be short, sweet, and to the point, but I've never been one to follow the rules when it comes to writing. Besides, this website is more like a "Christian Dude's Diary" in the sense that everything I write about and share publicly isn't always what's "popular" or "#trending" at the time, but is instead all the things that I'm experiencing and/or studying myself at the moment. For better or for worse, these posts tend to be much longer than most blog entries you'll find elsewhere only because I try to pack as much info as possible into a single piece so that I can refer to it again and again over time if I need to (and so that it can be a valuable resource for others -- if possible, a "One-Stop-Shop" of sorts). Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Feel free to comment/email me at any time. Grace and peace to you and yours!
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Regardless of your political leanings toward foreign affairs and Israel in particular, Benjamin Netanyahu's "Deafening Silence" speech at the UN General Assembly a few days ago was sobering and even better than his "Red Line" speech and prop from last year, especially this 5-minute segment (though I'm not sure why some delegates in attendance were caught on camera laughing/smiling during this!; Matthew 24:12 perhaps).
As expected, there was also "deafening silence" from our national news media who refused to report on any of the important and urgent things he said during his 42-minute speech.
Wanting to put the best construction on things, I can't blame them though. After all, it was hardly a "slow news day" thanks to the atrocity committed by one young man in Oregon who decided kill people...due to their Christian faith.
I'm not expecting the national media to focus on that aspect of the tragedy as they would if people of a different faith were targeted (or if the shooter identified himself as a "Christian" let's say).
Let's face it, there's been "deafening silence" in response to the thousands of Christians in the Middle East who continue to be brutally persecuted (some even unto death) simply due to their faith in Christ and their refusal to publicly reject Him.
And the media outlets around the world say absolutely nothing.
The Day Christians Were Martyred On American Soil
As the above piece noted, "Christians were martyred for their faith, on American soil, a fact mostly ignored by the mainstream media and the White House."
The collective response to all the world's current crises may be "deafening silence" right now, but I'm hearing war drums beating louder and louder, and so my response to the devil, to sin, to brutality, to injustice and to war is to tell others about the righteous Prince of Peace Himself, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, because He expects me to continue to love and pray for my enemies (as hard as that is!) -- not kill them or ignore them. Come quickly, Lord!
In a Lutheran layman's terms, "now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near" (Luke 21:28).
NOTE: Please understand that I'm not a called and ordained minister of God's Word and Sacraments. I'm a layman or just a regular Christian, Candy-Making, Husband, Father, Friend who lives in the "City of Good Neighbors" here on the East Coast. To be more specific, and relevant to the point I want to make with this disclaimer/note, please understand that I'm also a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism almost 2 years ago now. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is inconsistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and repeatedly point us back to over and over again) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1). Also, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier pieces I wrote for this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that "Old Evangelical Adam" category since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a Christian "Book of Concord" even existed (Small/Large Catechism? What's that!?!). This knowledge of the Lutheran basics was completely foreign to me even though I was baptized, confirmed, and married in an LCMS church! So, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavy influenced by those old beliefs of mine. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because they are not blasphemous/heretical, because we now have this disclaimer, and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Most importantly, please know that any time I engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always closely follow the verse-by-verse notes from my Lutheran Study Bible and/or include references to the Book of Concord unless otherwise noted. Typically, I defer to what other Lutheran Pastors both past and present have already preached and taught about such passages since they are the called and ordained shepherds of our souls here on earth. Finally, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the length of most entries (this disclaimer/note is a perfect example of what I mean! haha!). I'm well aware that blogs should be short, sweet, and to the point, but I've never been one to follow the rules when it comes to writing. Besides, this website is more like a "Christian Dude's Diary" in the sense that everything I write about and share publicly isn't always what's "popular" or "#trending" at the time, but is instead all the things that I'm experiencing and/or studying myself at the moment. For better or for worse, these posts tend to be much longer than most blog entries you'll find elsewhere only because I try to pack as much info as possible into a single piece so that I can refer to it again and again over time if I need to (and so that it can be a valuable resource for others -- if possible, a "One-Stop-Shop" of sorts). Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Feel free to comment/email me at any time. Grace and peace to you and yours!
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Thank you for visiting A Lutheran Layman! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question since we do not exercise censorship. We've seen a similar policy with other blogs and it's worth repeating: Please act as if you're a guest in my home, and we'll get along just fine. I think anyone would agree that the kind of back-and-forth that is characteristic of blogs/chat forums and social media is becoming tiresome for all of us. Still, we should confess, edify, and love (and contend and defend when needed). Bottom line? Search the Scriptures! Apply Acts 17:11 to anything and everything you find here and, if you do happen to disagree with something you find here (which is certainly ok), or think I'm "irresponsible" and "wrong" for writing it, then please refute my position by supporting yours with Scripture and/or the Confessions. I don't think that's an unreasonable request, especially for those who identify themselves as "Christians" here, right? Besides, Proverbs 27:17 tells us "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another" and 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." If you have an opinion that's great, I welcome it, but try to support it using God's Word. I mean, if the goal here is to help us all arrive at the truth of God's Word (myself included), then it should be easy to follow through on this one simple request (I'm talking to all you "Anonymous" visitors out there). Grace and peace to you and yours!