About a year ago I addressed five different topics and some questions that I had about them. (You can view that post by clicking here.)

Without further ado, I have to admit that some of these five topics will not be fully easy to define, and nor will the conversation that results from them be easy to take in; however, I feel like it’s important to address some of these now.

1) Environment: On April 20, 2010, an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico caught on fire and exploded. The result of this explosion was that, up to, 210,000 gallons of oil a day could be spilling out. As Christians, how are we to respond to disasters like this? What are options in how to respond? Do we simply sit back and believe that others will take an active role in cleaning it up?

2) Earthquakes: As we all are aware, there have been numerous earthquakes this year alone (starting off with the earthquake that rocked Haiti). While this topic may be better for the environment topic rather than on its own, I wanted to make it its category because it’s not related to oil spills but to human lives. In a disaster, such as an earthquake, there is one main aspect that needs to be addressed, so here we go:
- What can we do to help? We can send money, but is that all we can do?

3) Secular America vs. Christian Nationality: Something that has been bugging me some is the idea that there are two different world-views out there (at least two different ones according to most Christians), and they are: the “secular/ worldly” and the Christian view. The former referring to music to the likes of Lady Gaga, movies like “Shrek” and TV shows such as “LOST”. The later referring to music by Hillsong United, movies like “The Passion of the Christ”, and TV shows like “Touched by an Angel”. Can Christians only function within the Christian subculture or should we try to reach out to the secular/ worldly standards and try to redeem them for the Kingdom of God? If we can redeem them, how can we do that? The phrase “take back America for the Kingdom of God” has been tossed around; however, was America ever a Christian nation? If not, then how can redeem any part of it for the Kingdom of God? If it was a Christian nation, when and how so?

4) Prosperity Gospel: The following definition of Prosperity Gospel is from Wikipedia – “a religious belief found among ‘tens of millions’ of Christians centered on the notion that God provides material prosperity for those he favors. It has been defined by the belief that ‘Jesus blesses believers with riches’ or more specifically as the teaching that ‘believers have a right to the blessings of health and wealth and that they can obtain these blessings through positive confessions of faith and the ‘sowing of seeds’ through the faithful payments of tithes and offerings.’” — Is this a true representation of the Gospel? If so, what is the Biblical proof for it? (Also, how do we explain this concept to Christians in third world countries that make next to nothing?) If it is not, then why is this a popular belief among some Christians?

5) [My topic of controversy for this post] LGBT Rights: This topic may be more spawned by the United States of America’s Declaration of Independence more than the Bible; however, I feel like this is a topic that Christians should have some thoughts on. A) In his State of the Union address this past January, President Barack Obama declared that he would work with Congress to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law that President Clinton signed into law in the 1990s. (For a full transcript of President Obama’s State of the Union address, you can click here.) Should openly gay, lesbian, and bisexual men and woman be allowed to participate in the military? B) A handful of states have addressed the issue of Gay Marriage (California mostly notably appears to keep flip-flopping on the issue), the overall idea is that marriage is only for heterosexual couples and gay couples should not be given the right to marry. While many church officials have commented on this issue, I would like to know, if we, as Americans, can deny this right to people? If America is not a Christian nation, then what does it matter if we offer equal rights to all? (The idea of equal rights can be found in the most famous line of the United States Declaration of Independence.)

I hope that this post can spark a conversation of some of the big issues that are in today’s news and I hope that we can all walk away with a deeper understanding of recent events.

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