Ken Connor is a widely acclaimed speaker and contributor to Christianity. Sinful Silence presents a clear look at the significance of God and our involvement in the civil process. Ken Connor is a civil trial attorney in Washington, D.C. He has served as President of the Family Research council and National chairman of Care Net, an organization for crisis pregnancy centers that are sponsored by the Christian action council. Co-author John Revell has been involved in the SBC Executive committee and has been in the pastorate for ten years. This book was written to show the poor understanding that Christians have of the civil process and that it is God’s will that we are involved. It shows the biblical principles that reflect how God sees the government and our job in standing up for what is right. This book looks into Isaiah and the alarming similarities of then and now. After reading this book the believer will see the need of standing up for Jesus not only in the ministry, but in civil service by voting and making your voice heard. His audience is mainly believers and if the book is taken to heart, it will make a profound impact on the nation. The first chapter is a look at how it is our shared responsibility as Christians that America is in the shape that it has become. Judah in the Old Testament was wicked; Isaiah was the prophet crying out against their immorality and open defiance against God. The alarming sin was that of their civil responsibility. The people were responsible for selecting qualified people to be in positions of leadership, so they were all part of the wickedness that was going on in Isaiah’s time. When God indicted the civil leaders of Judah for their mistake, the people who appointed them were just as accountable to God as the leaders. America in comparison is a constitutional republic; the people appoint leaders to make laws.
Oppression is widespread in the judicial arena in America, especially in criminal sentencing and welfare. The abuses that happened in Isaiah’s time are happening today. Moral decline is getting worse and worse, truth is thought of as relativistic, “Whatever is right for you may be wrong to me.” America is great need of re-forming its foundation back to God and His principles.
Chapter 2: America is not far from the corruption of Judah’s day. The author points to the fact of how God shows so much passion as it relates to civil duties. God’s passion is built upon man; He loves us with an infinite, unconditional love. God is just, it includes: moral standards of right and wrong, separation of financial influence from legal and civic decisions and punishment for the guilty. God’s nature is fair and honest with His dealings with man, in turn when man disregards this it defies the nature of God. America has to realize that God is love, but His justice is also evident and there will come a time when “enough is enough.” If we do not realize the dire strait that America is in, then I pray God withholds his wrath from this nation.
There are divine expectations upon civil leaders, if they do not meet the standard, they sin and face God’s overall judgment. It doesn’t matter what their beliefs are, everyone is judged the same. If we know the problems in government and have the do not respond to it, that is a sin to almighty God. We need to come to God with a clear conscience, asking for His forgiveness. When there is undeniable sin in our lives, God will not hear our prayers, unless we come broken before Him. This chapter would be beneficial to churches all over the United States; we need to be people of prayer. The heart of God is to love and have a relationship with us, but if we continue in sin and do not ask for forgiveness, it puts up a blockade on that relationship. National implications on prayer relate to when men pray that are in high positions to God, He does not hear them unless they are right with Him. We have to come to God on his rules, not on our own. To me, this is one reason why many churches do not see significant changes in people’s lives.
If we continually reject His standards, it is all wasted and not beneficial to God’s glory. We need to come to God broken over our sin and ask Him to forgive and cleanse us from ourselves, in doing so God will hear our prayers.
America’s standards have lowered significantly over the years. In this chapter the author talks about raising the standard, not earthly standards but God’s standard. Isaiah stood firm in all of the sin of Judah, even as America’s sin swirls downward, Christians need to stand on God’s principles. God instituted laws in Isaiah’s time to be fair and to have an honest government. Sexual immorality was growing rapidly after the Israelites came out of Egypt; America is also in sexual perversion today. God loves life; He loves each and every person and established laws forbidding murder.
Chapter 3: King Solomon restarted worship to Molech and they offered babies as sacrifices to give them material wealth. America is murdering countless babies every day, just doing it with smooth names like, “partial birth abortion.” Bribes were a travesty to God, many used wealth in Isaiah’s time to control and manipulate people. People today use money to control and get off easy from paying restitution for their actions. God had three expectations from the civil leaders: maintain and protect justice, judges to display justice in all situations, and lastly that the leaders are honest in their actions. Justice is in God’s nature, He is love but also just. The people in “Isaiah’s day were worried about the “bottom line” then God’s design.” God can not allow sin to go unpunished, but many people were acquitted who deserved justice for heinous crimes.
God also desires to defend the helpless, many people are neglected because of their social status, but God loves all people equally. God will not allow injustice to go on continuously, the people and the leaders are to blame for the lower standards. America is a nation that is losing in its battle of justice, rapists run free and murderers are treated to cable television and a college education while people are murdered each day. God loved the people of Judah even when they sinned against Him. God did allow them another chance; His love is amazing and endless. I hope He continues showing mercy to our immoral sin in America.
Chapter 4: This chapter is about how America is in the state that it is in. I think the justice system has deteriorated to the point that people with money will most likely get off free. The value of life is God’s passion; America is involved in sin just as Judah was by sacrificing babies to the fertility god, Molech. Abortion claims the lives of 4,000 babies per day, a sobering figure. The “choice” that people label abortion with is just another word for murder. The brutality of abortion is a torturous and sickening process that happens in the “land of the free and home of the brave.” I believe that one major reason for this tragedy is the preachers in America do not have the backbone to stand up from their pulpits and openly rebuke abortion. Without the pastors of America standing firm on this issue, many lives will be murdered in the future. Sanctity of life is being battled even now and Christians need to take a firm stand on the issue. Along with abortion, “stem cell research” is an issue that takes life in order to give it. Man is made in God’s image, each person unique and special. No one has the right to take a human embryo and kill it in the name of “science.”
Euthanasia and elder abuse is running rampant in America also, we must stand firm on the sanctity of all life, ranging from embryos to nursing homes. Marriage has lowered its standards in America, the belief is no longer in “till death do us part.” Pornography generates billions of dollars, killing marriages along with it. I believe that pornography is one of Satan’s best tools to destroy men and marriages.
Homosexuality is part of American life, many people believing it is the “alternate lifestyle”, but it is a wicked sin that God hates. The author’s insight is precisely on target, “it appears that our civil structure is following Judah’s example.” Corruption is widespread in campaigns, judicially, it is all focused on selfishness and greed. I believe that unless we get right with God, we will be judged for our actions or neglect of actions.
Moral decline abounds in American culture. Ethics have become relative, not based upon moral absolutes. Opinions and feelings are the focus of people and not absolute truth. Truth and justice is running short in America and without Christians to stand in the gap and hold a banner of the truth of Jesus and His plan, we will be beyond repair.
Chapter 5: This chapter is about restoring the standard that is based on God’s principles. God is a loving God that wants the best for His children. This chapter is useful to Pastors in order to preach the God of the Bible. Moral standards of right and wrong, separation from financial influence from legal and civic decisions and punishment for the guilty are all parts of God’s justice. God is love, abounding in it so much that it comes out of His nature to have a relationship with us. God is a protector of life and the helpless people are the one’s that He has a special care for. God showed love to Judah even when they openly rejected Him for earthly gods and overlooking the needs of the helpless. The need is for people to be God’s children without any reservation in the world, fulfilling God’s plan for us to be like Him. Judah did not reflect God; they turned to the ruthless and wicked practices of the Canaanites. I believe that as believers we must set an example to the world to give God all the glory and paint a picture of God’s indescribable love.
God is in control, whether the world likes it or not. God is still God over America and I believe that His deliverance from all the moral decline is available if we will only cry out for it. I think as Christians, we must adhere to God’s nature and have concern that turns into action on civil immorality and in doing so, reflects God’s awesome power to the lost world.
Chapter 6: This chapter goes on about Judah’s civil immorality and Isaiah’s cry to the nation to turn to God. The sexual perversion in the nation of Judah was a rebellious act towards God. The sexual immorality was sanctioned by the leaders; this was the last straw for the country. God in his grace and love offered to forgive the people of their sin, but his offer was conditional. He made it plain that if they continued in sin, then there would be consequences.
God’s design is for a heterosexual, homogenous relationship between a man and a woman. Judah broke this along with America, God will have justice. Natural catastrophes are mentioned in Isaiah, this is one of God’s ways of judgment. Diseases have gotten worse over time; sin worsens and never gets better. Drugs, crime, and all other societal demise have heightened over the years. Youth have become more violent and vindictive in their crime and problems. America is in need of a revival of momentous proportions. Not all of this is judgment on us is from God, but God offers hope if we will only return to Him and repent as a nation. This will not happen unless Christians take the biblical mandate and stand on God’s plan.
Chapter 7: This chapter is on the focus of America on material pleasures and greed. Children have parents, but they really do not have the parents that will spend quality time with them. This affects the overall development of children to be equipped to live balanced lives. The author looks to Isaiah once again at Judah’s predicament. Material pleasures were a pursuit of the Israelites as well as America today. The appetite for material things is unquenchable to many people and that becomes their god. The pursuit of sensual pleasures runs rampant in America and in Isaiah’s time. The Bible is the most relevant book that we have today, God has given us His plan and we must carry it our as His ambassadors. The author displays a great look in this chapter of our job as Christians to stand up for God’s truth. Pride is a huge problem in America in its accomplishments, focusing not on God’s blessings. Judah flaunted their wealth and faced God’s humiliating judgment.
America is a country of material focus and pleasure. Debt is surging and people continue to fall deeper and deeper in debt for material things. Giving to the church has decreased much, resulting in less funding for the ministry to fulfill God’s mission. Sexual sin is all over the news; the so-called Christians do not look any different from the world. It is a shame that God’s own children can not stand against Satan’s temptations and set an example. The Christian leaders are to blame in a large part to their cowardly stand on all these moral issues. When a man of God pursues pleasing people instead of almighty God, America is in a deep hole of hopelessness. Our trust must and should be in God for everything, but it is not evident in how we spend our money and live morally. God should be given all worship for everything we have in our life, He is our first love. I hope that God continues to show mercy to America and to the Christians who are neglecting their civil duty.
Chapter 8: This concluding chapter talks about what we do now knowing the situation we are in. I think the author showed the truth of our predicament in American and how we must attack it. We must be people of prayer, daily cleansing our self of personal sin by confession to God and acting upon our prayers. The author points to staying current with politics and government. We must know where candidates stand on issues and how their past has been on being balanced in their views. They must stand upon God’s standards and vote their conscience on issues that affect America. You are electing people, so they are not perfect, they mess up too. The final and most important aspect of our civic duty is to vote. We have no excuse to not make our vote count towards issues that affect all parts of government.
Spiritual revival must start in believer’s hearts before it hits society. Christians are God’s ambassadors to show His love in their words and deeds. The world is lost and going to Hell, we are His tools to seek and witness to them of the gospel. As Christians I believe that we must grasp onto the Bible and let go of our misconceptions or beliefs of the world and firmly stand on God’s Word. Christians must cry out for spiritual revival and mercy for this country in hope that God will hold back His hand of justice.
Conclusion: This book was a great read, convicted me of my neglect of keeping up with current issues. I agree with the author’s powerful stand on our accountability of Christians on the nation and its problems. The author is a type of Isaiah in sending a wake-up call to believers to no longer point the finger at the world, but at themselves for not standing up and being examples for God in the civil arena. This book needs to be read by every believer across America. I hope that God continues to show mercy to America and Christians that do not stand up for truth.