"Silence in the Face of Evil, is Itself Evil."

Gary Bauer writes, "There is an old curse that says, 'May you live in interesting times.'” It turns out the curse isn’t Chinese after all, but it IS still a curse.

"Because none of us really wants to live in dangerous 'interesting times.'  That has been true for all of human history. Leading up to the American Revolution, many in the colonies wanted no part of a war with King George. The same in the 1850s with the strife over slavery.  Many Americans and Brits were in denial that Hitler meant what he said."

Uncle Sam may “want you!” but we usually want this cup to pass – to take our rest or enlist someone else in the fight.

Over the past decade, it has become clearer than ever that this is not an option.

Bauer was reflecting on a speech recently given to the pastors at Turning Point USA by Eric Metaxas.

Be informed, not misled.

As a pastor and missionary, I have always felt the urgency that Christian leaders must fearlessly speak to the culture regarding moral issues and righteousness. And that includes speaking to the political issues.

Gary Bauer wrote in the Patriot Post, "Over the past decade, it has become clearer than ever that this is not an option. My good friend Eric Metaxas laid out the case for Christian engagement in a recent speech before Turning Point USA’s Faith Forward Pastors Conference."

He said:

Metaxas’s message was compelling. It was a call for courage in the public square, for leaders to be leaders in every sphere.  Condemning silence on the issues of the day, Metaxas declared, “If you’re not living fearlessly, you’re failing.”

The left and their faithful friends in the media will insist this message is about the Church seeking power, violating the separation of church and state. But that is a smokescreen.  It’s about the survival of ordered liberty in a free nation.

“Freedom or liberty or self-government requires virtue, virtue requires faith, and faith requires freedom,” Metaxas said.

He is right. American history has many examples of our churches rising to the occasion.  In colonial America, the nation’s pulpits were ablaze with the light of liberty, with the proclamation of the Founders that our rights do not issue from government, but are endowed by our Creator.

That vision, and not merely the force of arms, built this great country.

Then, as a matter of course, that vision posed the American people an unavoidable question.  Did “all men” include the slave, or could one man own another, made in the same image and likeness of God?  It took four years of one of the bloodiest wars in history – a nation torn asunder and 650,000 or more dead – to answer that question.

How easy would it have been to stand aside and let the politically powerful and the moneyed interests answer this question for all of us?  But the churches responded in courage and truth and fought for abolition. The Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th centuries propelled these movements forward. Followers of Christ did not turn away from history but faced it and embraced their role in it.

It’s impossible not to see, as Metaxas underscores, that we are in another such moment now.

Consider what is at stake. The progressive forces in society believe they have secured the abolition of marriage. They are shocked to find that their campaigns for drag queens in public libraries, obscene books in elementary schools, men in women’s restrooms, and nudity in the streets are finally meeting some resistance. But they are not about to give up.

He notes, "Blue states are passing laws and adopting policies that allow the killing of infants in the womb – in the richest nation in all of time – up to the moment of birth (and even beyond). They turn away indifferent when it’s revealed a public high school has been transporting minor girls to abortion centers behind the backs of parents."

"After a century of experiments around the world that led to economic debacles, famines, purges, and millions of deaths, the Democratic Socialists are advancing mayoral candidates in some of our biggest cities who want to impose radical socialism here. (Mamdani has opened his biggest lead yet in the New York mayoral race's latest poll.)"

As parents and families are punished for participating in meetings of local school boards, the Left would collapse our borders and let millions enter our country with no checks on their history as terrorists and criminals.

"If you're not living fearlessly, you're failing." 

While praising recent acts by the Trump administration to allow greater religious liberty — such as guidance issued last month enabling federal employees to share their faith in the workplace — Metaxas characterized the willingness of Christians to stay silent on important issues in the first place as a danger to the republic.

"How pathetic that we need a presidential memo to tell us that we have freedom of speech and freedom of faith!" he said. "I need to be told by a presidential memo, 'Oh, it's now OK for me to talk about Jesus?' That church is a dead church."

"And I'm telling you, folks, the reason we got into the problems we did in the United States of America up until recently — and of course, we're trying to dig our way out — is because of those kinds of Christians."

"If you're not living fearlessly, you're failing," he said. "And by the way, this is not a guilt trip. God created us to live that way. He created us to live freely and to rejoice in Him."

"Patriots have bled and died so you can say whatever you want."

Metaxas also praised recent pushback against the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 provision in the tax code that makes religious leaders and entities liable to lose their tax-exempt status if they endorse specific candidates ahead of elections or engage in other types of political activity.

"Patriots have bled and died so you can say whatever you want," he said. "It doesn't even have to be true. You can speak your mind on anything, because we have religious liberty and freedom of speech in America."

"You're telling me the one place that [we have to] watch it is in the pulpit? That is demonic; that is sick."

Metaxas exhorted his listeners to speak courageously and suggested God has been refining the American Church in recent years by exposing weakness and cowardice among some religious leaders.

Takeaway

Metaxas concluded by expressing hope for revival in the U.S., driven by love and a personal experience with Jesus.

"When the Church begins to be the Church of the United States of America — and that is happening, by God's grace — we will see revival. We're seeing the beginnings of revival. And the spirit of revival in America really has a lot to do with loving Jesus. It's not about doctrines, because you can have doctrines and not love Jesus. And the Lord wants us to have an experience with Jesus."

"Pray for that, folks. Pray that God would give you an experience of Him."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously said, "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." 

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Bold. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.