No one said we would not have enemies. We are promised enemies. We are told there will be opposition. The Psalmist talks about the fool who does not believe in God, and the rich man who sees nothing but his material wealth, and the troll who mocks the righteous scholar (Ps 19, 53, 119, and I have alluded to them out of order: in today’s lectionary).

But our enemies can be useful, particularly in times when they are clearly becoming anti-Christian. Firstly, their behaviour becomes more dysfunctional: one would have to go back to the elite of Weimar Germany and before that to the end of Victorian age with the decadent authors (whose resurrection in Penny Dreadful I am enjoying[1]) to see a period of such systematic stupidity.

The question we face is not how do we make them like us. Or how do we get their approval. That will not be coming. It is what we do about them.

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

“If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

(Luke 6:27-36 ESV)

We need to pray for our enemies. We should do good to all. We should not choose who to bless and who to curse. The laws of this world may be against us, but this is not fiction, and we still have to do our duty.

He should hate what they are doing, but we need to point out that the current classification labels apples as lemons, and our laws and ways of living are dysfunctional. Because our duty is to do the best for others, and leaving them in error is not that.

Let them call what is truly love — teachings of correction, pointing to reality — hatred. It is love nonetheless.

Pastor Mike has no use for fellow pastors who want to change the Word of God. Apparently he got some emails about changing the Bible to reflect modern sensibilities. He was MAD.

I’m completely down with this. You know, I don’t expect worldlings to believe the Word of God or take it seriously, or as sacred. But pastors? On God’s payroll? Speaking for Him, professionally? Um. NO.

But that takes us to another place – he was talking about Defense Of Marriage Sunday (next week), and while I’m tots down with voting my conscience and God’s law, I think we’re well past the line of insanity on this. Logically – if there is no Creator, then there’s no reason that the bald bipeds shouldn’t do whatever they can get away with and make up whatever rules they want.

I think we’ve lost the argument against gay marriage when we refer to it as gay marriage, period. It’s just not marriage. It doesn’t matter what the state says, it’s still not a marriage. Humans can’t make it a marriage, it’s not possible. I can point at a lime all afternoon and say, “lemon!” and it still isn’t a lemon. Similar, but not. The law is relevant to how American Christians have to live life and interact with our government, but it’s ultimately not relevant to God or reality.

One final thought. In these periods, fiction about the malevolent becomes common. I’ve cited Penny Dreadful because it is well made. The themes here are echoed in Twilight and the Hunger games, indeed almost every supernatural horror movie made. But that is fiction.

I reality, evil is more hidden, more subtle, and far more frightening. THe Devil does prowl this earth, seeing whom he can devour. And the elite are, unfortunately, his minions. They think they are righteous, but the results of their policies are destruction and the celebration of evil.

This world is not fiction but real: our very souls are at stake. And we act as love as an act of radical witness.

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1. Penny Dreadful is not in any ways nice and is NSFW. I do have low tastes in yellow fiction. I am flawed. And the youtube video made my point.