Why Can't We Name the Religion That Inspires?

The recent murders of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando are being run through the machine most call the "mass media" but the story is actually running through a larger something. That something is built up in the minds of individuals, social groups, villages, cities, and nations by inputs from the old mainstream media, off-the-mainstream news media, social media, and conversations with family, friends, and co-workers. This something might be called a narrative turned meta-narrative, or it might be something that gets grafted onto the spirit of the age or zeitgeist.

The role of the Christian Church in shaping the meta-narrative in the United States gets smaller and smaller with each passing decade, but that does not mean that they aren't trying.

Many Episcopal bishops have posted statements including our Bishop Waldo, and while these bishops rightly ask for prayers, do they truly inspire Christians to follow Jesus more closely? Do they inspire us to spread the news that the world, a hostile world which is in desperate need of help, has been given a Savior in Christ Jesus?

The following is typical, and it comes from the top,

Statement by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York on the Orlando shooting
13 Jun 2016
Author:
Justin Welby and John Sentamu 

“After Sunday’s attack in Orlando as Christians we must speak out in support of LGBTI people, who have become the latest group to be so brutally targeted by the forces of evil. We must pray, weep with those affected, support the bereaved, and love without qualification. The obligation to object to these acts of persecution, and to support those LGBTI people who are wickedly and cruelly killed and wounded, bereaved and traumatised, whether in Orlando or elsewhere, is an absolute call on our Christian discipleship. It arises from the unshakeable certainty of the gracious love of God for every human being. Now, in this time of heartbreak and grief, is a time for solidarity. May God our Father give grace and comfort to all who mourn, and divine compassion to us all.” (From Anglican Ink).

Christian leaders, like the mainstream news media, like many politicians, are shaping a meta-narrative that refuses to name the source of the problem.

The problem is inspired by adherents of, and by the scriptures of Islam. Its teachings, and the words of certain Islamic leaders on human sexuality (among other things) and how to respond to those who break its laws are contrary to western civilization's teachings. Islam and the western spirit of the age, which is increasingly secular, are destined to collide head on, and the violence in Orlando is just one sign of the clash of these two great forces.

Western "civilization" and all that goes with it, especially its attitude about human sexuality, is what is hated and is the ultimate target.

Mealy mouthed Christian responses do nothing to inspire us to spread the word that we do have an answer to Islamic radicals, and that is to boldly declare that Jesus is Lord and to spread this good news to those who hate us.