There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; those who are pure in their own eyes and not cleansed of their filth.

Proverbs 30:11-12, NIV (1978)

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Old folk proverb

 

One of the most common arguments that I hear from those who do not want to repent and return to righteousness is that not everything was perfect before they stopped sinning. You may have found the same to be true. You might have observed that America is a much more sinful place than it was when you were younger, only to have someone challenge you by saying, "Oh yeah? America used to practice segregation and have Jim Crow laws! Things weren't so good when you had prayer in school!"

 

And this is where many Christians are shut down - they simply have no response to such arguments. The article today is an attempt to give a response.

 

Let me begin by saying that while two opposite things cannot be true at the same time, two compatible facts can. For example, you can have dirty bathwater, and you can have a baby in the bathtub. These things are both true, but that does not allow you to leap to the conclusion that both must be thrown out. So, the right thing to do would be to keep the baby and get rid of the bathwater.

 

America used to have segregation, and they used to have prayer and the Bible in schools. These facts, while undisputable, are also unrelated. It was not because people were Christians that some were racist. People were racist because they were not acting like Christians! The notion that things were not perfect prior to expelling God from the public schools is no proof that they are better now, nor is it proof that it was Christianity that was the root of past problems. It is true that Satan's children are pretty good at assigning blame to Christians, but it is also true that the problem is when people act like Satan's children but call themselves Christians.

 

Today, many accept the ludicrous proposition that you can be anything you identify as. A boy, they say, can identify as a girl. The obvious problem with this argument is that it just isn't so, any more than if I, as a slow 64-year-old man, were to identify as a young and incredibly swift Olympic runner. They still wouldn't let me in the Olympics, and I am not going to allow a man to attempt to go into the bathroom with my granddaughters no matter how they view their identity. 

 

It is true that there are Christians who are hypocrites. They say they are Christians. They identify as Christians, but they live like the Devil. This does not make Christianity bad, but it does highlight why God despises hypocrisy so: It puts the purity of Christianity into a bad light. 

 

And for those who equate Christianity with racism, understand this: It was Christians who insisted that slavery was a sin and who had the courage to fight a war to get this abominable practice stopped. You don't believe that? Go back and read about the abolitionist movement and you will find that it was started by Christians who were seeking to end this terrible sin. I realize full well that there were some who identified themselves as Christians who were for slavery, but again this does not make it so, any more than identifying as a cow would allow you to give milk.

 

Furthermore, it was those within the religious community that fought so hard for civil rights back in the 1950's and 60's. It wasn't until Lyndon Banes Johnson and his ilk who had fought so hard against civil rights finally realized that they were fighting a losing battle, that they switched over to becoming "champions" of the cause. And this is not a matter of speculation. One simply needs to go back to the congressional records to see who was promoting civil rights legislation in the 1950's and early 60's, and who was opposing it. 

 

So, what's the point? My point is just this: When we observe that America used to be a more righteous nation, and that we can see the need to return to that righteousness, we are not at all supporting the things that were wrong with the country - we are simply acknowledging that the sinful direction we are taking now is wrong and that we need to go back to the things that were right. Two things can be true at the same time! 

 

Perhaps one more example will help. Suppose a man finds a flea-bitten dog that is plagued with the mange. He cleans up and doctors the dog so that it is reasonably healthy, only to then proceed to beat that dog. Hauled into court, he offers the defense that the dog no longer has the mange or fleas, so it is actually better off now. Does the judge find the man not guilty? Of course not, he fines the man and takes away the dog and puts it in the hands of a more compassionate owner. By doing so, the judge is in no way suggesting that it would be good for the dog to have fleas and the mange again; he is merely pointing out that it is wrong to abuse an animal.

 

It is true that there were some failings to be found with society when we were a more Christian nation, but it is also true that it was not those who were complying with the teachings of Christ who were responsible for those failings - it was those who were failing to put their Christianity into practice. And it is also true that our atheistic-leaning country today is in a far worse state than the nation was when it was trying to do the right thing, despite having obvious need to correct the things that were wrong.

 

America needs to return to her Christian roots before it is too late! And we need to stop listening to the false arguments of those who would prevent us from doing so.