ChristianProf.Societies
Joseph Carson (73530.2350@CompuServe.COM)
04 Apr 97 02:04:52 ESTApril 4, 1997
Members of Pastoral Staff at CSPC,
The recent stories (3/10/97 and 3/31/97 issues) in TIME magazine
about safety lapses in commercial nuclear power plants (and its
government regulator) and commercial airlines (and its government
regulator) seem to me "up close and personal" manifestations of
the SCANDAL OF THE EVANGELICAL MIND.
Pastor Wood described in a sermon, several months ago, about the
anger he felt at God at reading of the hideous abuse of a
helpless child by a (should be) trusted adult. I'm not angry at
God for safety lapses in commercial companies or government
regulators that cast a blind eye at them, but I am angry,
hopefully righteously angry, that no one, to my knowledge, has
tried to draw spiritual connections in the Church. I guess
"whistleblowers" have a natural antipathy to "head in sanders!"
If Christians are to be "salt, light, and leaven" - then where or
when if not in their job or their larger profession? Is someone
going to argue that commercial nuclear plants, the NRC,
commercial airlines and the FAA have no or so few Christians that
these Christians are "not accountable." Or will the argument be
that employees are basically "talking tools" (even servants or
slaves) in the Biblical model and have no right to question the
authority (the boss) or the workplace culture around them?
I don't think God buys it. So what can be done? Being an
engineer, I think to (hopefully) practical options. I've
mentioned one to almost all of you - forceful advocacy for
Christians in a profession to join and become active in their
respective professional societies. Now I'd like you to consider
another - whether a Christian professional should consider him or
herself under a moral imperative to join a related Christian
Professional Society. How analogous is this argument to an
argument that anyone professing to be a Christian should join a
Church and not attempt to "go it alone?"
I'd like to be pointed in the direction of any existing
literature on this point and I'd like to facilitate some rigorous
discussion on the point (not necessarily in CSPC, but in
Christian literature and the Academy), if research indicates it
is warranted.
Your coworker in His creation,
Joseph Carson
10953 Twin Harbour Drive
Knoxville, TN. 37922
423/675-0236
423/966-1675 fax
internet: 73530.2350@compuserve.com
copy:
John Wood
Roy Zinn
Mac Sells
Andy Holt
various internet discussion groups