I am appalled and embarrassed by the condition of the Christian church. You hypocrites! There will be gnashing of teeth.
I can no longer attend the church of my childhood. The Anglicans have strayed so far from the narrow path that they are no longer recognizable as Christians. Yet, they are still one of the more "conservative" of the major denominations in the USA. The situation is truly frightening.
I just read the article, "Praying for the Chaplains," concerning the United Church of Christ. (See:http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=11830)
I don't suppose that I learned anything new in that article. But, I was taken aback by the quotation from Army UCC Chaplain, Tony Ciomperlik, who said: "I define faith as believing in God for what I cannot provide for myself."
Well, that's just swell. I hope you can be very self-sufficient, Chaplain Ciomperlik! But, Sir, that is not a Christian position.
Christian faith in God extends to every moment of very day, and to every facet of existence. I thank God for every breath I take. Unlike the good Chaplain, I have no faith in myself, nor in science, nor in the government, nor in my fellow human beings. I strive to do the best I can, I endeavor to learn, I pay Caesar his due, and I comply with the Second Commandment. But that is not "faith."
I am sorry for Chaplain Ciomperlik. I am sorry for all want-to-be Christians being mislead by today's church. God is not someone to be held in reserve, to be fed scraps from the table of self-sufficiency, to be called upon only when we cannot solve our own problems. God is not a part time help mate.
The church is frightened and cowed by the onslaught of secular humanism. I know that the voices of the atheists are loud and demanding. But our churches and clergymen must not compromise the principles of our faith. They cannot serve two gods. Nor will I.