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 "To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying 'Amen' to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive." - Robert Louis Stevenson
INTRODUCTION
Speaking by phone on a radio show recently in far away New Zealand, the interviewer asked me to comment on his impression, which he believes is shared by a large portion of the world, that America is largely a nation of 'conservatives.' I reminded him that the last presidential election clearly demonstrated how America is almost ideologically split down the middle between liberals and conservatives. Surprised to hear this, he went on to express great concern about the impact by evangelical Christians in America, who take certain parts of the Bible literally, and their influence over this nation's foreign policy. He expressed indignation at America's 'imperialistic' role in Iraq and the Middle East. However, it was a surprise for my interviewer to hear me report that there is just as crucial a war going on within America as without!
A BATTLE FOR THE SOUL
The internal war between the secular and the religious for the soul of America, is obviously not something that gets a lot of coverage in foreign media. However, perhaps there is some truth to my interviewer's assumption that most of America is conservative. And perhaps it is the left domination of the mainstream media here that has created a false impression of a dichotomy, when in reality, most Americans still believe in traditional values.
 PERILOUS TIMES
California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown, a recent nominee to the Federal Appeals Court who has elicited accusations of "extremism and aggressive judicial activism..." from the left, comments, "These are perilous times for people of faith, not in the sense that we are going to lose our lives, but in the sense that it will cost you something if you are a person of faith who stands up for what you believe in and says those things out loud." And so a brilliant self-made black lawyer, judge, Christian, and daughter of black Alabama sharecroppers is called "out of the mainstream of America," when in reality, she is the mainstream!
Prolific author and conservative commenter Mona Charen put it this way, "There was a time when 'fear of God' meant piety, or at least conscience. Today, it more accurately describes the worldview of secular liberals who get itchy and twitchy at any reminder of our religious roots as a nation."
STOP THE ROT
Evangelical Christians pose no threat to the world, unless it is happy to blindly continue on a path of moral devolution! In that case, they would be perceived as a threat. They would, however, see their role as more preservative than conservative! The latter is a political term while the former is more spiritual in this context. They are called the 'salt of the earth' by the Lord in Matthew 5:13, but He goes on to say, "but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned?"
To be a salty Christian means being a preservative against the tide of moral decay, no matter what the world says. To do this is to keep 'your soul alive!'
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