A Texas School, Christian Plaques, And How Fox News Gets It Wrong…Again!

In Midlothian, Texas a school is under fire for displaying a dedication plaque stating the following:

Dedicated in the Year of our Lord

1997

to the Education of God’s Children

and to their Faithful Teachers

in the name of the Holy Christian Church

Soli Deo Gloria

Yes, you read that right.  This wasn’t laid in “1697” or “1797” which the Christendom – like vernacular would suggest.

No…

This plaque is less than 20 years old…

Simply put, the ceremonial plaque is dedicated not to God but to staking out territory. To marking where the frontier of Christendom borders with the heathen hinterland.

It’s the equivalent of a dog peeing in the corner to mark his spot.

Let me put it another way…

As a member of the aforementioned Holy Christian Church I find this plaque positively offensive and a stumbling block to the Good News that Christ truly came to bring.

Apparently though the Freedom from Religion Foundation also found it offensive (for other reasons) … as well as unconstitutional and has initiated legal action to have the school remove the plaque.

Of course Fox News, being Fair & Balanced, jumped on the bandwagon sensing bloody meat they could toss in the culture war waters and work the piranha up into a frenzy.  Nothing gets the Religious Right riled up faster than cranky northern atheists up in Wisconsin sticking their nose into good ol’ Southern Jesus Culture and telling them what they can and can’t do.

As the pastor in the Fox News interviews admits

“We want to see the cause of Christ go further, we want to see the Cause of Christ in more public arenas.”

See, this dedication plaque is not really a dedication plaque.

No…

It’s a tool… a proxy for an ongoing cultural war between Christendom and the heathen.

Unfortunantly the Cause of Christ the pastor speaks of is the same cause that

* fueled the Crusades

* burned witches in Salem

* displaced the native peoples in America

It’s the Cause Jesus rejected a number of times when the people sought to make him king (John 6:15).  It’s the Cause that he rejected when tempted by the devil (Matt 4: 8-9) and it’s the Cause he rejected when he went to the cross rather than calling on 12 legions of angels to kill his enemies. (Matt 26:53)

It’s a Cause that uses the power structures of this present world system to shape history and manipulate people to prop up “us” at the expense of “them”!

It’s the Way of the World which Jesus came to deliver us from, not to champion!

In many ways the Freedom of Religion Foundation is no different.  They are using the weapons at their disposal to get “their way”.  Both sides of this issue are using power re-enforced with threats and intimidation.  Fortunately in America we have progressed to the point where these skirmishes are usually fought in the courts and not on the battlefield but don’t be fooled…

…the same spirit both sides of this argument advocate would be killing each other not that long ago.

And once you peel away all the legal jargon, religious posturing, and civic wrangling you discover what the real root of the issue is…Fear!

Fear that “them” will get a foothold in “us” territory.  Fear that the barbarians are at the gate.  Fear that sin will enter the camp!

The temptation then is to Make a Stand!  But the Good News of Jesus is not about making a stand!

It’s about telling people they are free…

…and they don’t have to be afraid.

Christ didn’t come for a Cause…he came for a Kingdom.

And it’s a Kingdom that won’t be advanced by religious plaques!