Blog

by Charlie Wolcott

America right now as a society is in the midst of an identity crisis. Because of political correctness, tolerance, ‘co-existence,’ etc., our society has basically become one where we are tolerating anything and everything EXCEPT being American. The nation that has a history of being representative of the example of Biblical principles, as the U.S. was founded for the purpose of allowing Christianity to be free from the government but also to influence government, now rejects anything that supports Christianity. Ultimately, the U.S. is not allowed to really be the nation we were founded to be. And as a nation that chooses leaders to represent the people, when the leaders refuse to pursue the goal America was founded to carry through, it is a reflection of the people. Because America as a nation has identity issues, it is really because we as a people have identity issues. This is going to be about as much of a political post as I will go, but I have a purpose to all of it and the purpose is to reveal the worldview issue of Identity. So what kind of identity issues am I talking about? Let’s dig into a few of them.

Racism is an identity issue. Do we see people of a different color of skin as ‘less than you’? Do we see them as ‘higher than we are’? It works both ways. Blacks can look down on whites just as much as whites can look down on blacks. Racism was not solved by abolishing slavery, nor with the civil rights movement. You cannot legislate morality. It doesn’t work. The reason racism is still rampant is because of the root of the problem lies with how we identify ourselves and others. How do we view ourselves? How do we view one another? The riots in Baltimore a few weeks ago were just another example of the racism issues. I’m not merely talking about the black kid that was allegedly murdered. I’m talking about the stereotype of the black community as being thugs. I heard a comment a while ago that many of these people have the impression they are supposed to be thugs because that is what is expected out of them. The rioters were complaining about racism and yet the entire time, everything they did only confirmed the picture they were fighting against. If these people do not want to be seen as thugs and criminals, it would really do them a lot of good by NOT acting like thugs and criminals. Ever notice how many of these black young men murdered by white people have a lengthy criminal record? The media does not report that. Nor do they report the murders of white people by blacks.

The police are also not given a fair share for their identity either. Yes, there are bad apples in there. Yes, there are dirty cops. But the majority of them do a selfless job, a good job, and do keep the peace the right way. There is a very poor stereotype being placed that cops are selfish, racist, murderers when that really is not the case. This whole thing is an issue of identity.

Now I am going to step on some toes here. The whole homosexual agenda is also an identity issue. They have claimed the high ground that their lifestyle is not a choice but their identity. They are claiming they are being discriminated against because of their identity in the same way the black community has often been discriminated against. (Remember that racism works both ways too.) And now that homosexuality is on the verge of societal acceptance, mark my works that pedophilia will be right on its heels, with the claim being identity discrimination. I’ve already heard initial suggestions for how this will come into play both in Germany and California. That hasn’t gotten far, but it’s still in the same early steps that the homosexual agenda started at.

These are some of the major issues we are dealing with in the United States and each one of these deals with the worldview aspect of identity. So how do we address these issues? Or can we? First we have to know how we identify each other. Who gets to define who we are? Do we do it? Do our parents do it? Does society do it? Does God do it? How you define yourself depends on who you let have authority over you. Many turn to psychiatrists or psychologists. Why? Because they are experts on these mental issues. Who made them experts? In reality, they did. They can slap a label on whatever they want, and people will buy those labels simply because these doctors are the ‘experts.’

Labels are being thrown left and right. We have sinful lifestyles being called “just identity” issues. We have those standing for the truth of Scripture being labeled as ‘bigots,’ ‘liars,’ ‘haters,’ ‘homophobes.’ We have scientists who believe the Bible who are labeled as anti-science because they disagree with the consensus of evolution. We have people who call themselves Christians when everything they say and do does not even remotely resemble a form of godliness, all the while denying the power of the Gospel. Many people believe the labels some people put on them, but refuse to recognize the labels others put on them. This is a worldview issue because your worldview is going to tell you what authorities you will listen to or not. We have a lot of young people out there that HATE their attraction to the same sex. They are bombarded with media and counselors that tell them this attraction is just fine. But they are not being told that such actions are not normal because God did not create us to be that way. Homosexuality is just as much of a sin as theft, lying, or gossip, and there are propensities towards that sin just like there are of theft, lying, or gossip. It’s all sin, but because the secular worldview refuses to recognize Biblical authority, they open up Pandora’s Box. And the only solution to such a situation is to recognize sin as sin and then call upon the Savior who can address it the proper way.

How you identity yourself is going to determine what you think you can do, what you think you can’t do, how you view other people, and you are going to act towards them. Next week, I’m going to zoom in a bit more on how the identity issue affects what we do, and then in two weeks, I’ll zoom in even further and address how we deal with sin.

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