The Righteous Generation: A holistic view of life and family

Obama's election as President of the United States is a historic moment that attracts global attention. In the past, U.S. elections were nothing more than a transfer of party power. This year’s election means a grassroots shift in terms of politics, social culture, race, and even religious consciousness. Many people believe that this represents a new leadership and the dawn of a new era. It also reflects The changes and ideals demanded by the younger generation.

“David served his generation.” (Acts 13:36)We are all a generation entrusted to serve ourselves. Regardless of whether you or I fully agree with Obama's policy positions, understanding our generation is a prerequisite for Christian service. From the Baby Boomer generation, to Generation The more you become aware of the injustice of the world, the more you take action.

▲Graduates from Ivy League universities join Teach For America and teach in poor areas of big cities. (Image source: http://www.teachforamerica.org/)

There are countless examples: Ivy League graduates join Teach For America and teach in poor areas of big cities; young people join Peace Corp and go to war-torn communities. Three World Service; 2008 CNN Hero Award finalists include: rescuing and educating children who make a living by picking up trash, and college students under the age of 20 "on the streets and parks of Philadelphia every Monday night Serve the homeless, make sandwiches, buy socks and talk to these people.” For example, Mariane, the widow of Daniel Pearl, went to Cambodia to interview girls who had been sexually trafficked and abused during the most painful days when her husband was kidnapped and the murder was committed, and their tragic life experiences were made public to the world. . Media specials such as the documentary "Planet in Peril", which reports on ecological destruction, and the documentary "Scream Bloody Murder", which revisits the history of genocide over the past sixty years, have attracted much attention. This is indeed true. "A righteous generation".

▲The CNN TV series "Planet in Peril" reports on ecological destruction (Photo source: CNN official website)

During the election campaign, the most divergent issues between the two parties were abortion and same-sex marriage. However, for this "righteous generation", the sanctity of life does not only refer to abortion, nor does protecting the family refer only to the definition of marriage, but also extends to a series of social ethics. Problems: Poverty, health care crisis, urban violent crimes derived from the failure of public school education, drug abuse and drug trafficking, racial discrimination, gender discrimination, domestic violence and wife abuse, euthanasia, war, oppression, abuse, genocide, prisoner abuse, torture, death penalty, nuclear weapons, Sexual slavery, human trafficking, natural pollution, ecological destruction, etc. are all threats to life, violation of human rights, destruction of families, etc. The two intertwined issues of "life" and "family" are exactly the two sides of the "silver coin of righteousness".

▲CNN revisits the history of genocide over the past sixty years with the high-profile documentary "Scream Bloody Murder". (Image source: CNN official website)

Today, although the economic crisis has enveloped the world, social ethics are the conscience of the country and cannot be ignored. In order to shepherd this "righteous generation", our ethics and morals must be more comprehensive, more appropriate, and more implemented; therefore, "life must be cared for throughout the entire process, and families must be fully maintained" should be the most important thing for Christians to serve this generation. subject.

1. Care must be taken throughout life

Respecting life is the theme that implements the teachings of the Bible. Regardless of male or female, race, rich or poor, everyone is created in the image of God and enjoys equal value and prosperity. It is our basic responsibility to protect the rights and dignity that everyone deserves. It is understandable that the "righteous generation" sees the bankruptcy of justice and demands "change", but change should also follow the direction of mercy, as the Bible teaches: “Being just and loving mercy” is the true expression of walking humbly with God.

1. Abortion: A violation of life
Faced with the shocking number of 1.2 million abortions in the United States every year, Christians cannot stand idly by! However, it is easy to shout anti-abortion slogans, but it is extremely challenging to actually significantly reduce the abortion rate and save the lives of innocent fetuses. This cannot be achieved by "pro-life" versus "pro-life". The fight against abortion involves many social and economic factors: poverty, low income, lack of medical insurance and resources, failure of urban public schools, rampant human desires, breakdown of family support, fathers evading responsibilities, and other problems. If we do not comprehensively launch a "life care" strategy and extend a helping hand to these women and families in need, we will not be able to cure the social issue of abortion.

2. Poverty: devaluation of life
Hunger is the most extreme manifestation of poverty. According to a survey by the World Health Organization, 923 million people around the world live in chronic hunger; 16,000 children die from hunger every day, that is, one child every five seconds and one in every three people in the world die of hunger. Severe nutritional deficiencies lead to disability or death, with pregnant women and babies bearing the brunt. Today at the beginning of the 21st century, more than 30,000 children around the world are still dying of preventable and curable diseases every day. These statistics make us, a generation with rapid advances in medical technology and unprecedented wealth, deeply ashamed.

So, what about the United States itself? Among the 73 million children in the United States, 40% (that is, 29.2 million people) live in low-income families; 18% (that is, 13.5 million people) are below the poverty line. Today, as the economy continues to decline, the situation is expected to be more serious.

3. War: destruction of life
Main battle? Anti-war? It seems that both positions can be supported by Scripture. Tenacious evil forces continue to seize power and take human lives lightly, such as the massacre of World War II and the September 11th Incident. It is urgent to maintain peace and defend innocent people against evil forces. Therefore, it seems difficult to accept the anti-war slogans based entirely on pacifism. On the other hand, the cruelty of war is far more terrible than natural disasters. The casualties of soldiers caused by this man-made disaster are incalculable. In addition, the war also brings massacres, rapes and family destruction, which is shocking. Not only that, but history has repeatedly told us that war, far from solving problems, will only breed more wars and become more intense. These inescapable facts make it difficult to support jihadism. War is indeed a controversial "life" issue!

In fact, the left and right parties only use different perspectives to safeguard the sanctity of life. For example, the left wing focuses on poverty and hunger, while the right wing focuses on abortion. Both parties capture the heart of God, but both parties lack integrity. . The topics of bioethics should be consistent and broad, and should be responsible for the full care and protection of life "from the womb to the grave."

2. The family must be fully maintained

To maintain marriage and family, we must return to God’s ideal when he established marriage and family. “Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24) Therefore, men and women are raising and developing children. The culture should have equal responsibility (cf. Genesis 1:28).

1. Defend the sacred covenant of marriage between one man and one woman

This issue, which has sharply divided the country, has been a hot topic in the 2008 election. The family is the most basic social unit of mankind: a man and a woman form an alliance, organize a family, have children, and reproduce offspring. These are the natural laws of the Creator. They are also the basis of social ethics and the way for children to have a healthy mind. According to God's revelation, the marriage contract between a man and a woman is sacred, and homosexuality is "a matter worthy of retribution and a shameful thing." Since the government assumes the role of protecting moral ethics, it should be oriented towards maintaining family stability and cultivating the physical, mental and spiritual integrity of the next generation when formulating policies and adjudicating lawsuits. We should be careful. Although homosexuality and same-sex marriage are not in line with God’s will, they are not the only responsibility God has entrusted to Christians to protect their families.

2. Fight against the culprit who destroys the family

There is no doubt that the legalization of same-sex marriage will destroy the institution of marriage and seriously harm society. However, we cannot ignore that in today's indulgent culture, the sacred marriage and family have long been trampled on!

‧ Divorce: Since the 1970s, the divorce rate has been rising explosively, putting traditional families in a quagmire; today’s divorce procedures are “simple, error-free, convenient and fast.” Survey data shows that more than half of couples do not keep their engagements and end up divorced. However, those who claim to be the guardians of social ethics remain silent and tolerate indifference in this wave of family collapse.

‧ Extramarital affairs: Cohabitation without marriage, extramarital affairs and sexual behavior are the second largest culprits destroying the institution of marriage today. In the United States, the younger generation above 30% never consider entering into a marriage contract because they find it troublesome; babies above 33% grow up in the homes of unwed mothers; couples above 66% are blatantly unfaithful outside of marriage. Church people are no exception and completely disdain traditional marriage.

‧ Domestic violence: Abuse such as incest and sexual rape is the third leading cause of marriage destruction. Women in 20% to 50% reported being physically abused by their spouses throughout their lives; women in 20% reported being sexually assaulted by their spouses. What’s even more tragic is that survey data shows that every six seconds in the United States, a woman is beaten by her husband. Marital violence betrays the trust between husband and wife, ignores the sanctity of the marriage contract, destroys family happiness, and harms the safety of life.

‧ The proliferation of pornography: The pornography and obscenity industry, which generates profits of tens of trillions of dollars every year, is the silent killer of today’s marriages. In order to protect our families and the next generation, we should join hands to fight, work together to sweep away, and redeem the sanctity of "sex" given by God to human beings.

Divorce, out-of-wedlock births, marital violence, and incest not only severely damage families, but also turn millions of children into innocent victims. These weak hearts are trampled, lose self-confidence, are filled with a sense of loss, grief and even anger, and suffer lifelong consequences. Therefore, the collapse of the family is not only caused by the wave of same-sex marriage. To defend traditional marriage, in addition to not accepting same-sex marriage, we should start from the core of marriage, turn the tide, and join hands to fight against the culprits who destroy marriage. This "righteous generation" must see more healthy families whose words and deeds are consistent, God's will is followed, and mutual respect is given.

3. Rescue children in man-made disasters

Children are the future of the family. Although children's rights have made significant progress today, this helpless and weak group is still marginalized and has become the first to bear the brunt of man-made disasters. Countries that have been ravaged by war for years have not only displaced tens of millions of refugee orphans, but also girls have been humiliated and gang-raped, and boys have been forced to serve as child soldiers with guns longer than themselves, and drugged to inspire them to kill on the battlefield. There are also people who are abducted, imprisoned, tortured and abused, forced into child labor, underage prostitutes, sex trafficked, etc. It is horrific and truly a hell on earth.

According to statistics, more than 10 million children under the age of five die every year from preventable and treatable diseases, and AIDS orphans are still cast aside by society. In addition, there are countless street children living in "garbage dumps" without care for their mothers, newborn babies and young children. It is estimated that 1,400 underage girls die every day due to childbirth. The United Nations Children's Fund also claimed that 123 million children around the world are still excluded from school every year, mostly girls. "Take care of my children and the children of others" is indeed the key responsibility to protect the family today.

▲There are too many children in the world who cannot smile like this.

4. Universal medical protection for families

Obama believes that the current U.S. medical insurance needs urgent reform: 47 million people in the country do not have health insurance, and 9 million of them are children; equal access to medical insurance for citizens is a social justice issue related to the dignity of life and family security. In order to prevent the government from shouldering all the burden or relying on individuals to solve the problem themselves, he will specifically provide for a tripartite cooperation between the government, society and individuals to achieve universal medical care. Providing a safety net for poor families has been his top policy priority since taking office.

Conclusion: The Awakening of the “Righteous Generation”

When human beings lived in groups and established social culture, God revealed "Jubilee," "Gleaning," and "Sabbath" in order to enable the poor to be taken care of, the enslaved to be released, and the earth to rest. There are more than two thousand verses in the Bible that teach us how to care for the poor and the oppressed. "Doing justice and loving mercy" is a concrete manifestation of walking with God.

We acknowledge that there cannot be a perfect president, and we also know that God is neither a Republican nor a Democratic Party. We hope that as the leader of this "righteous generation", he can "see" the forgotten, inconspicuous, humble, and humble people in the world. Weak people who are bullied because they reveal the "face" of God. Christians should not distinguish between left and right. The most important thing is to be willing to discuss issues close to God's heart and to be willing to follow His will.

In recent years, evangelical leaders such as Jim Wallis, Tony Campolo and Ron Sider have taken the lead in leading Christians to focus on economic justice, poverty eradication, international relief and global ecology, and have increasingly received responses from some churches. Another example is the major progress made by evangelicals in social services: the 2007 agreement adopted the "Evangelical Declaration Against Torture and Prisoner Abuse"; pastors such as Rick Warren expressed concern about the global warming crisis and the causes of poverty and other issues of "justice" in the world. ” topic, we can really see God at work.

The church today can no longer stagnate in the isolated transmission of doctrines, and must show true piety to this generation that strives to practice righteousness: the church rises up to take care of orphans and widows, personally serving as their life teachers, accompanying them on the journey, and being practical about life. caring and protecting the essence of the family. Transform the "righteous generation" into the "mercy generation" and lead social culture with the heart of Jesus Christ.

Author profile

Li Wu Shuyi, one of the advisory committee members of this magazine, is currently the international board and executive director of Christian Horn Evangelistic Association, the board chairman and director general of New York Lixin, and the director of Evangelical for Social Actions. She is committed to speaking out for disadvantaged Chinese groups in China and the United States. .