Dawdling toward Gomorrah

The following is from Michael Duduit, citing Calvin Miller:

In his wonderful new book The Unfinished Soul (Broadman & Holman), Calvin Miller has collected "bits and pieces" from a variety of articles and books he has written over the years. The book is filled with fascinating (and often challenging) insights from the "poet laureate" of the evangelical world.

In one vignette, Miller plays off the title of Robert Bork's book Slouching Toward Gomorrah, and wonders if that evil city wouldn't look right at home in today's culture. He closes with these thoughts:

"Gomorrah and its sister city at the end of this tale go up in burning sulfur in a single day. But I believe that sometimes brimstone is gradual. Which of Toynbee's twenty-eight civilizations, rotting from within, woke up and suddenly said, 'Whoa! Look at us! We're post-modern!' None. Neither did Gomorrah. With civilizations, it is always the case of the amphibian in the stewpot. The only way you can cook one is gradually. So when the brimstone fell on Gomorrah, Abraham and God were bargaining over eroded values in a culture which — as the culture itself saw it — no longer sinned. God's narrow view of things surprised everyone on Nightline.

"The odd thing is that the people in Gomorrah seemed not to have been aware that God was bargaining with Abraham over the death of their culture. But we who follow Christ should be ever aware that God has a requirement of those who haggle over just how many are righteous in any city. His requirement is that we, like Abraham, are responsible for doing our part in Christ's rescue operation.

"Imagine this: God loves Sodom and Gomorrah! The moment we forget that, it is not just Gomorrah that is dead. We, too, are dead. God holds no glee over the death of cultures. He grieves over urban evil and longs to call sinners back to their lost Edens.

"It's no easy job being God! To stand for holiness and yet love the unholy is almighty stress — if not for God, for us. To live in Gomorrah and love it is our calling. But to live in Gomorrah and accept it is to accustom ourselves to gradual brimstone."