Our culture is constantly preaching messages, through commercials, songs, movies, articles, and through the funeral the other day. The name of Jesus was referenced, heaven was spoken of, and yet the service closed with the message that, "We are the world," truth is relative, and let's accept all worldviews as equally valid (regardless of their correspondence with history, reality, etc.). Much else can be said, but my main concern is that the real, actual, living, historical Jesus is sharply misrepresented. The natural man affirms loudly and loves the big themes, for they make him 'feel' peace- "God is love," "We are all God's children," "Jesus gives hope and peace..." However, we detach these 'big themes' from the 'smaller' details, questions, and answers that make these big themes true! Jesus is peace! But how do we get that peace in light of our sin? God is love! But what does that love consist of, and what changes does it cause in our lives? The peace of Jesus & the love of God mean nothing if they don't answer questions and solve problems related to the plight of my soul and the glory of God. We want to affirm big, feel-good themes, but we want to detach them from reality, detach them from history, and therefore detach them from any real significance beyond a sound-bite.
I have thought of several biblical & Christian observations & responses to this example of a widespread issue that the church must face and engage in:
- Apologetics is a must-study for every Christian. You do apologetics on your couch.
- We are now a post-Christian society.
- We must have our minds ready for battle every day. Holy living starts with holy thinking.
- I'd rather ride a bumpy road to heaven with Jesus, than take a smooth one to hell without him.
- How does our Christian theology actually affect our morals? Does it?
- Is your day in, day out, faith based in history?
- What is your answer for the hope that is in you?
- Do all religions really lead to God?
- In our culture's worldview, who gets punished or goes to hell? Does anyone?'
- Can you explain what the "love of God" actually & practically means?
- What are your emotions when God & his word are disregarded? Are you hurt, heavy, & sad?
- Do you have love for the non-Christian? If so, how do you show it?
What other reactions do you have?
I loved reading this Ryan. I especially enjoyed the thought of you crying as a result of MJ's funeral. To your final statements/questions- how is the best way to practice apologetics in your opinion? Can you recommend any good books or resources? I've been noticing that I have a tendency to have an evangelism fail anytime my beliefs ate questioned; I revert to "well, I BELIEVE abc" when I really want to say "the TRUTH is abc", even at the risk of sounding arrogant. But I don't. Also, funny thing is that I have run into people (especially at work) who, when I quote the bible, actually say "You believe something just because the BIBLE says it?" I guess the best ter
ReplyDeleteto use for my emotional reaction was first offense, then forgiveness, and then sadness, for our country more than anything. I was talking with Russ the other day, and we discussed the evolution of ideas regarding the bible. I just can't believe that we once lived in a country where you could hardly suggest that the bible had errors with reprand (or worse) and as Russ stated, we're on the path that leads to the complete polar opposite. There may come a day when being a Kingdom Christian is even MORE unpopular than it is now. Saddening is an understatement for me.
Thanks for this post Ryan. Outrage has been expressed re the inappropriate amount of time, space, and money spent on the coverage of this poor man's death. But I have heard little outrage regarding the misappropriated themes of God being used to promote the Evil One's agenda. Thank you for drawing us back to the details that bring true dimension and color to the biggest picture.
ReplyDeleteFor those of us who are building real Jesus relationships on our couches, let me heartily agree with your comments and questions. At the same time, we remind our selves that the holy work and tasks that you call us to are not the responsibility of the individual believer, but the believer(s) coming out of our spiritually healthy, equipping, "loving the truth and one another" church. It is not just the world that is in disarray. We have a lot of work ahead of us. Isn't it great that God has called us to these challenges together?
Thanks for putting it in writing--there's so much to say about the whole MJ incident, not about him but about how society reacted.
ReplyDeleteWe all worship something or someone, it's just easier to see it come out on some days.
Hmmm... Someone was paying attention in How to Turn a Celebrity Death into a Sermon class.
ReplyDeleteRyan...awesome and Thank You! P.S. Jim is still "going at it" with his "Friends" Help a brother out! LOL....I love that you take the time to write what others feel!!!<>< Juliana Theory!
ReplyDeleteAmen.
ReplyDeletePost-Christian and Post-Sound reason. When the world as whole loses sight of Christian truth, they lose their minds along with it.
Hey Ryan,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, man. I have been reading and writing alot about the postmodern, even post-Christian society we find ourselves in today, and I found your thoughts extremely consistent with mine as of late.
On a slightly more funky note, I also wrote a blog in response to the death of the king of pop. It is less reflective and more snarky:
http://theologetics.blogspot.com/2009/07/foul-weather-fans.html
Enjoy,
james