Kerby Anderson

Is what is happening these days in America normal? I doubt very few people would answer in the affirmative. But you would probably get different answers depending on a person’s political persuasion. Republicans might say America got off track when the Supreme Court nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas got so political. They might point to the actions of the previous president and the development of a swamp in Washington. Democrats might talk about the vast right-wing conspiracy against the Clintons and the elections “stolen” from Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. But as Christians, we should look at the harsh reality that America has not been normal for a much longer time. For example, since the 1973 Supreme Court Roe v. Wade decision, there have been about 60 million abortions. That is the current population of Italy. It is hard to consider America normal when it has aborted 60 million unborn babies. It is also hard to consider America normal when five Supreme Court justices essentially legalized same-sex marriage three years ago. It is also hard to consider America normal when more people died of drug overdoses last year than all the soldiers who died in the entire Vietnam War. Of course, there are also the financial abnormalities. Over the last few months, the Federal Treasury has collected a record amount of tax revenues. Yet, the federal deficit for this fiscal year and next year may exceed $1 trillion. We are bringing in record amounts of tax dollars and yet are spending it even faster. We should remember a few of these facts and statistics when we hear politicians, pundits, and sometimes even pastors act as if everything is normal in America. These are not normal times.