From the Desk of President Pingel

Rev. John Pingel
President, Eastern District of the LCMS

Last summer, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito expressed concern that, as a culture, we are losing sight of God. His remarks were prompted by his witnessing a young boy express to his mother that he had no idea who Jesus Christ was. Writes Alito: “That memory has stuck in my mind as a harbinger of what may lie ahead. And the problem that looms is not just indifference to religion—it’s not just igno-rance about religion—there’s also a growing hostility to religion.”

In response to Alito’s remarks, Paul Thornton published an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times. In it, Thornton expressed his opinion that a secular culture in America would be far superior to one influenced by Christianity. He claimed that “parents not having answers supplied by their faith traditions to complicated questions such as ‘Who is that man on the cross?’ or ‘What happens when we die?’ might actually be liberating and beneficial to our society.” He then went on to argue, based on what I consider faulty reasoning, that “being a less Christian nation would pave the way to being a more moral one.” He also interpret-ed the decision of the Supreme Court on Roe vs. Wade an infringement on “the right to be free of religion.”

I could spend the rest of my article arguing against Thornton’s position. The blessings we have enjoyed as Americans these two hundred plus years have their origins in Biblical principles upheld by people of faith. Christians living out their faith have influenced our culture for the good, serving as “good leaven” and “salt and light” in our land. General George Washington in his writings saw religion and morality as intertwined.

However, the real point I would like to make is this: the editorial in the L.A. Times which we may find so shocking elicited very little response from the millions of people reading it. Even twenty years ago that editorial would have been met with general outrage; in 2022 it was met with little push back. One can only conclude that the majority of readers found themselves pretty much in agreement with Thornton. Christianity is perceived by a whole lot of people not as a blessing, but instead as a threat, something we’d be better off with-out. Christianity is not only NOT a force for good; it is, in and of itself, intrinsically evil.

Calling good evil, and evil good, is nothing new. In Luke, chapter 11, the religious leaders accused Jesus of doing his works “by Beelzebub, the prince of demons.” Calling good evil, and evil good, more than that, attempting to convince others of this, while at the same time claiming moral superiority, sounds eerily familiar in these “grey and latter days.” (LSB 834, “O God O Lord of Heaven and Earth,” stanza 4).

The fact that many of our members would find these remarks in the L.A. Times shocking shows that in some ways we live in a “bubble”, leading sheltered lives in our churches. Not realizing how much the culture around us has shifted can place us at a disadvantage as we attempt to engage and influence others, and do evangelism.

I remember the late Professor Louis Brighton of our St. Louis Seminary, in his course on Luke’s gospel, stating that a major theme in Luke’s gospel is “Jesus, God’s strong man, sent into the world to bind up Satan.” We need to keep in mind, as the Easter Season draws to a close and we celebrate the Ascension, that Christ came into the world to defeat sin, death, and the devil for us. As we prepare to celebrate Pentecost, we need to remember that he leaves us with, in the words of Luther, “weapons of his Spirit.” (LW 297)

St. Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6:
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”

Paul concludes his list of Christian weaponry by admonishing Christians take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” Let us interpret these words as a call to be in the Word, and to foster increased bible study in our parishes. May the leaders of our parishes, and an ever increasing number of our families, be found in Bible study, that we may be equipped for life and service in these “grey and latter days” in which we find ourselves.

– Rev. John Pingel, President, Eastern District of the LCMS