Useless Gestures
Heard about this on Air1 news this morning:
A church group is raising money to set up a Ten Commandments monument on the front lawn of the city building, with the blessing of the City Council.
The council voted unanimously to let Lone Oak Wesleyan Church begin raising $12,000 for the granite marker.
Now, this has nothing to do with religion. Why do I say this? Because they did:
Church member Ken de la Bastide, Lapel, insisted the Ten Commandments marker “has nothing to do with religion” and said the Ten Commandments were the basis of modern law.
So I’m not sure what the point is. Why in the world is a church worried about something that has nothing to do with religion? Is this non-religious display going to point people to Christ? No, but it will likely point nonChristians to the ACLU, who called the display “problematic.”
So, I looked up Anderson, Indiana at the U.S. Census Bureau. Here’s the interesting part, to me (from 1999 stats):
| Anderson | Indiana | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Household Income | $32,577 | $41,567 |
| Per capita money income | $19,142 | $20,397 |
| Persons below poverty | 13.4% | 9.5% |
So, you’re in an area where the average household makes less than 80% of the state average and the poverty rate is almost 50% higher than the state average, but you’re gonna spend $12K (62% of the per capita income) on… a slab of rock?
I’ve grown very tired of this type of useless, Christ-dishonoring grandstanding.
January 27th, 2006 at 11:30 am
Exactly!
What’s more important, making a difference or making a point?
January 27th, 2006 at 12:09 pm
Well, I think the real problem with Ken de la Bastide is that he’s, um, under-reasoned in his support of the 10 Commandments.
Yes, the 10 Commandments are fundamental in the Western concept of law. The problem is that Ken somehow wants to forget or kid himself into thinking that the reason for this is not “religious”. It is most certainly “religious”. The reason the 10 C’s are foundational in Western law is that their authority was seen as unquestionable, since they come from God.
The problem, really, is that some people think they can tell half the truth about the Gospel and it still be true. When we see non-Christians doing the same thing, we get very worked up. Maybe we should stop doing it first and then we can get worked up an not look like we’re ridiculous.
Whether it costs $12K or $12.99 to build a monument to the 10 C’s is, I think, at best a practical consideration. I’m not sure I understand why that’s a reason not to build a 10C’s monument.
January 27th, 2006 at 1:03 pm
Cent:
The point of cost is that it’s not going to make a difference, and therefore is a waste of money. In other words, bad stewardship of your resources. I guess I did not make that clear.
You are absolutely right in that it’s half the story. Yes, it will point out people’s sin. But it will not point them to the Savior, which ought to be the concern of the church.
February 6th, 2006 at 5:09 pm
Nicely done.