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Thursday, January 01, 2009

My latest letter to the editor: Too many Christians worship political might

2009 is only a few scant hours old and it's already seen my first published work for the new year. In today's News & Record (the big paper serving this region) out of Greensboro there's this letter, "Political power presents a false god for Christians", written by Yours Truly.

Here's the full text of it...

My thoughts regarding the recent election were confirmed when the son of a prominent local minister told me, "Why can I not have both?" when I remarked that the Christians of America can pursue Christ or pursue power, but they cannot pursue them together.

Who is to blame most for the election of Barack Obama? The self-professed "conservative Christians." The ones who have for many years made an idol of political influence. Instead of the God of heaven, they have turned to worshiping a "god of fortresses" bereft of sincere love, mercy and grace.

These are the people who most claim that they are doing "the work of the Lord." But in reality they show the lost of this world anything but why Christ came to us. Their lust for power does not demonstrate anything different than what the people of this world have seen already.

My fellow Christians: You are worried about the outcome of a mere election? Then you are not worried about what truly matters at all. Stop sheepishly following the hucksters like James Dobson and Pat Robertson. God cannot bless our lust for political power. It is time to let it fall away and die.

Christopher Knight
Reidsville

And in case anyone's wondering, here's the post on this blog where the exchange with Jeff Baity of Berean Baptist Church in Winston-Salem took place, where I told him that he and the other Christians of this nation must choose between "saving the lost from a dying world or saving a dying world from the lost" but they cannot have both.

What do y'all think? Feel free to leave comments here or on the letter's own page at the News & Record website.

On another note, it was announced in the News & Record this past week that Elma Sabo and Becky Layton are retiring from the editorial department of the newspaper. I've been reading Elma for many years and had the pleasure of talking to her a few times, and I certainly wish her all the best in her future projects. And as for Becky Layton: hers was the voice that I heard on the phone, back in 1991, regarding the first piece of writing that I ever submitted for publication. Since then we have wound up chatting more times than I can remember, not just about the letters and other pieces that I was turning in but about other stuff too. She has been a fine front lady for the News & Record editorial department, and a very neat person through and through. And it is sad to know that I won't be hearing her voice on the other end anymore but I also wish her only the best in whatever she winds up doing from here on out :-)

Ladies, my hat's off to ya!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoKfNvB2zjk

Chris Knight said...

That video discusses nothing that I have not already heard.

Two things I have learned over the years. The first is that there is OVERWHELMING historical evidence for the life of Jesus, even beyond the scriptures of the Bible.

The second is that it takes more faith to not believe in God than it does to believe in Him.

Anonymous said...

You said what needed to be said Chris. As always its a good letter.

Anonymous said...

Chris I am writing anonymous only because what I am about to say can hurt others in my family. I know Ron Baity and have known him for many years. Ron Baity is a man all about power. I personally watched him recruit members from other churches to attend his and "make it grow". I could give names and dates but it would give away who I am. I also know that Ron Baity was married as a younger man to another woman and a few days before their divorce in court she died. So in Ron Baity's eyes he is still qualified to be a pastor as being the husband of one wife. I would not put much credit into anything Jeff Baity says and truthfully I wouldn't waste my time or energy debating him.

Regards,
Someone who has seen more than he should.

Chris Knight said...

The bad vibe is all over Berean Baptist Church/Ron Baity/WPIP.

I first noticed Baity about ten years ago when he was trying to scare people on his TV show with the whole "Y2K" thing. Just from that, I had him pegged as someone more interested in himself than in Christ.

Then I wound up listening in to some of his WPIP broadcasts. Dear Lord, where to begin...

It's bad enough that they have taped messages from Lester Roloff, a SEVERE nutcase who died in a plane crash in 1982. Roloff was a bigtime cult leader and the wreckage of his plane is now a macabre "shrine" on the campus of Hyles-Anderson College.

Then there's "Southwest Radio Church Ministries", which I first heard over the Internet in 2001 when a friend passed along the mad ravings of this Brother Noah Hutchings character, who at the time was complaining about Harry Potter books being evil...

(...the fact that there was more solid Christian doctrine in the last Harry Potter novel than there is in a YEAR'S worth of broadcasts on WPIP, will no doubt be unappreciated by them.)

But what REALLY popped the red flag about Berean Baptist/WPIP was the day I happened to hear Ron Baity praising WayOfLife.org, the website of David Cloud: the absolute WORST example of "preaching" that I have ever found on the Internet! And I got something "special" planned for Cloud in the near future (along with a few other loonies...)

We are told that "by their fruits shall ye know them". There is no fruit of the spirit that can come from the pursuit of worldly power. Such fruit only comes from the daily "dying unto self", that the old nature might perish so that Christ within us can give us that life fulfilled.

These people do not understand that. They have made Christ into an idol on par with every other so-called "religion" and they cannot see it. They are not capable of showing the world anything different than what it already knows.

That is the greatest tragedy of the whole thing.

Anonymous said...

Chris, there's more solid Christian doctrine on your blog than there has ever been on WPIP.

Thank you for standing up for your faith in love and boldness.

Anonymous said...

Yes!

People like Ron Baity and Johnny Robertson just talk about Jesus Christ.

Chris Knight LIVES his life for Jesus Christ.

Ron Baity, Johnny Robertson could not write this letter.

You're not perfect but Chris I like how you are honest about that and not hypocrite about it.

I think God is going to reward you for your faithfulness to Him, brother.

Call me a longtime reader, first time caller.

Anonymous said...

I attended Berean Baptist Church for a month in the mid 90s. That church worships Ron Baity it does not worship Jesus Christ. I have never seen so many people with such empty souls.