Wednesday, September 28, 2005 Hurricanes Remind Us of Christianity's True Gospel MSNBC: "There was a great piece in Harper's last month, "The Christian Paradox: How a Faithful Nation Gets Jesus Wrong'' by Bill McKibben, about how 3 out of 4 Americans believe the Bible teaches this: "God helps those who help themselves.'' The Gospel according to Mark? Luke? Actually, it was Ben Franklin who came up with these words to live by. The thing is,'' McKibben writes, "not only is Franklin's wisdom not biblical; it's counterbiblical. Few ideas could be further from the gospel message, with its radical summons to love of neighbor. Now, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we have seen -and been unable to look away from- the direct result of this self-deception. As rats feed on corpses in the streets- American streets- if this isn't enough to make us rethink the public-policy implications of turning the Gospel on its head in this way, then truly, God help us." Amen, and can I get a witness? |