We Are All Like Chameleons

Word from the Center
Written By Peter Scaer

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Last night, I was graciously invited to sit at table with the faithful bishop of a small Lutheran church. We were talking about such things as courage and culture, and he observed that we are all chameleons. Of his friends and colleagues, he remains the only one who opposes women's ordination. Why then, he wondered are there so many good pastors in the Missouri Synod. His answer? Because there are so many good pastors in the Missouri Synod. Of course, we can't take such things for granted, I noted. The whole thing could change quite quickly. He nodded not just in agreement, but from experience.

 And so, it happened among us. Everyone knew, not all that long ago, that marriage was between one man and one woman. Obama said so, and even mentioned God. Hillary Clinton made a speech on the senator floor, invoking time and tradition. No need for a constitutional amendment defending marriage; everyone, going back into the deepest mists of history, knew that marriage was a man and a woman. No worries.

 And how long did it take for America to turn? Overnight seemingly. Though Obergefell is less than ten years ago, most young people can't even imagine a world where two men couldn't get married. The thought shapers put out the idea that race and sex were the same sort of thing. If a black man and a white woman could get married, which is obviously, biologically true, then why not two women? And the dull-minded fish took the worm and the hook. And the day after, people were saying that men could become women. We are chameleons. So much so that supposed conservatives like Sean Hannity regularly say that, of course, of course two men can get married. And others, who know better, or should know better, say nothing at all. They change their colors in accordance with the season.

 Could the LCMS go down this road? Of course, it could. Such matters will be decided by demographics. If our children are swallowed up into the culture, if they embrace the DEI, which has been promoted among us, then yes, the chameleons' skin will become a rainbow flag.

 Is it possible to remain faithful? With God's help, yes. But it comes down to not simply to knowledge or even the tilt of the heart. What's needed is courage. Live not by lies. That's the first step, according to Solzhenitsyn. But that applies to those who are already living in fallen and coercive world. That means don't use wrong pronouns. Don't pretend Bruce Jenner is a girl.

 But it also means an active courage that speaks. I am reminded of a prominent local Republican who said, some dozen years ago, that we had talk the marriage thing to death. I chuckled. I couldn't remember him, or anyone really, saying why natural marriage was true, good, and right, or why gay marriage was a problem, which it is. Every kid comes from a male and female and needs a mom and dad. Not hard to say, really. And with that, men may be pastors, but women may not, cannot be, any more than a boy might grow up to be a mother. Something always beats nothing. And if we know the truth, but do not speak it, then we have nothing, offer nothing, and become nothing. And so, speak. A little homework helps, and a little courage, that muscle that grows stronger with use, what's needed most when living among the chameleons.

 

The Rev. Dr. Peter Scaer is professor and chairman of the Exegetical Department at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.

 Be Informed

The Rev. Tom Eckstein discusses why marriage and sexuality matter in a recent episode of Sharper Iron.

 

 Be Equipped

Do the culture and world around you feel out of control? Take heart! “When we were baptized, we weren’t given a spirit of fear. . . . We have a Spirit of power and love and self-control.”

 

 Be Encouraged

“When it seems that no one wants to hear the Gospel anymore in America, our God is sure that His Gospel of peace is all anyone at any time in any place needs for his soul. When it seems that no one wants to bother learning the Bible and digging deep into its riches, our God is sure that what His disciples need most is for their hearts to burn within them as He opens the Scriptures to us.” –Rev. Dr. Adam Koontz

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Peter Scaer
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