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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MARCH
5, 1982
PAGE 9
Note also some prophetic passages in the Book of Lamentations which seem
very apropros regarding America's immoral state and the collapsing
hemisphere around her.
"Jerusalem sinned grievously, therefore she became filthy; all who honored
her despise her,... Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought
of her doom; Zion stretches out her hands, but there is none to comfort her;
the Lord has commanded against Jacob� his neighbors should be his foes;
Jerusalem has become as a filthy thing among them" (Lam.
1:8, 9, 17,
R.S.V.).
"Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us; behold, and see our disgrace! Our
inheritance has been turned over to strangers, our homes to aliens.�
Slaves rule
c:wer
us; there is
none
todeliver us from their hand" (Lam. 5: 1-
2, 8,
R.S.V.).
Most political leaders are as blind to the clear judgments of God as are the
wayward "shepherds" of Israel. A few, claiming to be the "Moral Majority,"
see at least part of the problem. The liberals are the problem for the most
part, having opened "freedom's door" to the inITood of immorality.
But
many conservatives are wandering around in moral darkness too, especially
those cl�iming to be "nee-conservatives." This influential group consists
partly of individuals converted from liberalism who have seen the faults of
that philosophy. But the "nee-conservatives" concentrate on economics and
foreign affairs, and have no moral underpinnings.
One of America's most insightful social critics, George Gilder (author of
the best-seller WEALTH AND POVERTY) takes the nee-conservatives to task for
their moral and spiritual blindness in the March 5, 1982 issue of NATIONAL
REVIEW. He writes:
"Today, the Nee-Conservative believes that the far Right is altogether too
extreme and obsessive on the so-called social issues. These matters, the
Nee-Conservative maintains, are a distraction.•.a mindless religiosity•...
Nee-Conservatives, in general, are afraid to fight on ERA, abortion, sex
education, pornography, school prayer, and gay liberation. Once again, as
in the case of poverty, they underrate the importance of stable families
and moral values to a productive and creative society....
They stay
fastidiously aloof while the flood of pornography--propaganda for degrada
tion and viciousness that must be seen to be believed--engulfs our nation's
youth."
A leading nee-conservative, Ben Wattenberg (who is admittedly very astute
on economic issues) was asked to reply to Gilder's assertions. He only
proved how blind the nee-conservatives are to moral and spiritual issues.
In fact, he made a fool of himself when he wrote: "We talk about an erosion
of religion but church attendance in America is up..•. I am sure it is true
that...in every village in America there are some movie theaters that show
movies rated XXX..•. You will find good old boys in pickup trucks out there
watching these movies, and in the back of the truck you will probably find
HUSTLER magazine, alas. But it is also true of these same people that on
Sunday morning they will be in church and on the back of their trucks will
be bumper stickers that say KILL KHOMEINI. Now this is an interesting set
of paradoxes that we might explore, but it does not seem to me to be the
characteristics of a society that is decaaent;-Tmmoral�sfntegrat"lng, and
ready to disappear."