Two of America’s more notable commentators over the past 25
years share more than an ability to convey a message through words effectively.
Both Larry King, during his CNN days, and Mitch Albom,
currently with the Detroit Free Press, had more than a casual acquaintance with
two men who were very “religious.”
For King, he had Dr. John MacArthur, senior pastor at Grace
Community Church in suburban Los Angeles, appear frequently in the days and
weeks following 9-11 to put into spiritual perspective what this nation was
going through during those turbulent times.
For Albom, this appeared to be two-fold – his “Tuesdays with
Morrie” book dealing with the ALS-stricken instructor Morrie Schwartz, and his “Ernie”
play dealing with Detroit Tigers announcer Ernie Harwell.
It appears that both King and Albom were changed as a result
of their encounters. MacArthur has mentioned how the radio host would engage him
off-air with spiritual questions and concerns, while one cannot come across
Harwell’s path during his lifetime without being touched in some way through
his evangelical Christianity.
I know I have, and I believe that Albom has too.
This observation comes through a series of books he has
written, beginning 16 years ago with “The Five People You Meet in Heaven.” That
was followed up by “The First Phone Call from Heaven,” and most recently, “The
Next Person You Meet in Heaven.” While that series is fictitious in nature, it
does reveal his fascination with the afterlife.
Albom’s weekly Sunday Detroit Free Press column yesterday was entitled, “
America
Has a New Tune: Losing Our Religion
.” In it, he remarks about recent
polling that shows, “there are now as many Americans who claim ‘no religion’ –
23 percent – as there are who identify as Catholic or evangelical, the two
largest affiliations.”
While he goes into the reasoning behind this growing trend,
Albom comes up with some interesting conclusions that shouldn’t be surprising. Hypocrisy
among religious leaders who say one thing and do another is nothing new, and to
use that as an excuse for not being religious at all has been done for years,
if not centuries.
Looking to social media or any other man-made institution
for a moral compass is a recipe for disaster, for man is depraved by nature and
bitterly wicked at heart without accepting the cleansing of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
He brought up this point: “But before we give up on faiths
that go back thousands of years – because somehow we, in the 21st century, are
more intelligent and enlightened than those who came before us – let’s look
around at the world we’re creating, while proudly and loudly losing our
religion. Is it really an improvement? Are we really guided by better ideals?”
Albom’s last line is telling when he predicts that a coming
headline will read, “The majority of Americans have no religious tradition … I
wonder if a better question for that poll might be: ‘Is it God that you are
disillusioned with, or man?’”
Thanks!
