{"id":1333,"date":"2011-08-08T05:00:43","date_gmt":"2011-08-08T09:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=1333"},"modified":"2011-08-06T15:20:16","modified_gmt":"2011-08-06T19:20:16","slug":"not-for-sale-the-faith-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/08\/not-for-sale-the-faith-community.html","title":{"rendered":"Not for sale–The faith community"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Presdient Barack Obama when he attended Martin Luther King's congregation in Atlanta<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At times we need to remember that the modern Civil Rights Movement did not begin in a fashionable salon where artists and intellectuals exchanged ideas, but in a Church, under the leadership of the Rev. Martin Luther King.\u00a0 In fact, from providing a philosophical basis for resisting British tyranny in the 18th<\/sup> century, to the moral rational for the abolitionist movement in the 19th<\/sup> century, it was the faith community in America that supplied not only the convictions, but much of the leadership that brought about these revolutionary changes.\u00a0 William Wilberforce, the dynamic Member of Parliament, who spent his life campaigning for the end of slavery in the British Empire, gained his moral conscience largely from the influence of his Pastor, John Newton, a reformed slave ship captain, and author of the song \u201cAmazing Grace.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Though vilified or lampooned because of failures, hypocrisy or the actions of terrorists, it is a historical reality that the faith community is a thriving group who stands proudly on their societal convictions and they are not for sale.\u00a0 It was through the inspiration of this self-motivated society that the first hospitals were built, along with the first orphanages, the first universities.\u00a0 The faith community is credited with preserving the art and literature of Western Culture.\u00a0 Everyone, who has trudged through a Twelve Step program and people who have a friend or relative who found sobriety, understands the remarkable power of this inescapable force.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Richard Dawkins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is more, though Richard Dawkins\u2019 much publicized thesis, The God Delusion,<\/em> sold over 1,500,000 copies in English, Rick Warren, a California pastor\u2019s, Purpose Driven Life<\/em>has sold over 33,000,000 copies in the U.S. alone.\u00a0 These facts and figures underscore an influence which should not be ignored.\u00a0 C.S. Lewis wrote, \u201cIt is the people who are focused on an afterlife that seem to make the greatest contributions in the here and now.\u201d\u00a0 Even if we will not settle this controversy, we can grasp the not-for-sale benefits the faith community makes in our own communities.<\/p>\n

Historically, the faith community has been faulted for sins and misgivings.\u00a0 Their usual response has been confession and turning away from the misdeeds.\u00a0 Yet, it’s vital for\u00a0a nation to be able\u00a0to maintain its intigrity that the banner of the faith community remains, “Not for Sale.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At times we need to remember that the modern Civil Rights Movement did not begin in a fashionable salon where artists and intellectuals exchanged ideas, but in a Church, under the leadership of the Rev. Martin Luther King.\u00a0 In fact, from providing a philosophical basis for resisting British tyranny in the 18th century, to the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,40,186,49,4,41],"tags":[21,688,696,699,715,701,57,692,6,700],"class_list":["post-1333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-church","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-prayer","tag-religion","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nNot for sale-The faith community - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/08\/not-for-sale-the-faith-community.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Not for sale-The faith community - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At times we need to remember that the modern Civil Rights Movement did not begin in a fashionable salon where artists and intellectuals exchanged ideas, but in a Church, under the leadership of the Rev. 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