FOLLOWING CHRIST FAITHFULLY

Christians in Culture

The Path We’ve Traveled

We’ve discussed terms that are changing Such as move to the

“spiritual” Impact on our children Erratic ways our faith

works out How we use faith well

and not so well under stress and in suffering

Seen the importance of the Church

For Our Last Time Together

Will consider the changing relationship of Christians and culture

See how good religion shapes culture

Note some ways culture and religion conflict

Look at the conflict between tolerance and love

Faith and Culture Each affects the other Culture impacts religion

“Contemporary Christian music”

Casual dress in church Individualism values

spirituality over religion Prosperity subdues religion

Culture can BE religion Christian Rome under

Constantine Muslim nations now Or subgroup cultures like

Mennonites And wonder if the whole

Church should be more like that as the world changes

Disparity in Values

1950 NOW

Christians

Western Culture

Christianity and Culture in the US

While we may romanticize how Christian America used to be

There is no doubt American culture has shifted away from Christian faith and values Even in psychology, “pathology” moved from

homosexuality to homophobia Christian values are increasingly at odds with

American culture With culture often dragging faith along with it.

HOW to be true to faith in such a culture Major shift from seeing this as “Christian nation”

Christian Contributions to Culture

Major organizations Hospitals Welfare agencies and charities

Arts and music (though now mimic more than create) Education Diversity of services to people

in the community 60-90% of churches provide

some community service 74% of congregants help at

least once a year Moral conscience (“salt” and “light”)

Conflicts with Culture

As culture liberalizes, Christians who don’t go along will conflict with culture

Especially fundamentalists And more so those

who are right wing authoritarians (who believe in aggression to enforce values)

What are some areas?

Conflicts

PREJUDICE SEXUALITY

Though Mark 12:31 calls us to love our neighbor

Christians have sad history of prejudice – especially racially

The in-group gets defined by more than Scripture to be only people like us demographically E.g., heaven will be more

diverse than FPCC

Sexual freedom Christians often look like the world

here E.g. modesty in attire

Non-heterosexuals As we saw, may come up short

sometimes in loving the sinner and hating the sin

Note how we are angered by same sex marriage but say nearly nothing about increases in cohabitation

Views of prejudice spread from categories of people (ethnicity to behaviors of people (sexual sin)

Women’s rights

Conflicts in Family

Education Secular versus

Christian Family roles Discipline Children’s activities

Video games What to watch Social networking

Conflict: Religious Violence

Can’t say Christians are innocent And culture vs. religion accounts for

much of Mideast conflict E.g. US enforcing “democratic” government

on people who see faith as extending to government, not separate from it.

Yet political aspirations recruit religion to justify and legitimize E.g. ISIS breaking so much of the Qu’ran

The Shift In Christians in Culture

Despite the contributions we’ve made

Christians are a “threat” to secular culture

So no longer want to tolerate us

But to marginalize us Yet, used tolerance

to get us quiet

Tolerance versus Love

Some thoughts, with thanks to D.A. Carson’s, The Intolerance of Tolerance

Recent change in the meaning: Old tolerance: accepting the existence of different views

Tolerate the person; debate ideas New tolerance: accepting different views and not debating Moves from admitting the right of people to differ to seeing

the differences as unimportant, with other views being as true (or untrue) as one’s own

So, saying Jesus is the only way to God is tolerant in the old view, but INTOLERANT in the new

Historically, Christians could differ with others on beliefs but honor them as humans made in God’s image

Intolerance is now being used to silence speaking out on faith

Examples of “Tolerance” Universities, historically bastion of

free speech, now limit one’s freedom to speak out. E.g. professors have been fired for

saying something that offends others … even if it is not hate speech

Media: OK with, say, Catholics reaching out in charity, but shun them when stand on issues like abortion/birth control

Sexual issues: while Christians have to an extent asked for it, to disagree with gay marriage is not a position of tolerance, and may be equated with homophobia, even if the person saying it genuinely shows Christian love ON BOTH SIDES, CALLING NAMES

IS NOT TOLERANT

So, increasingly it is intolerant to say anything is right or wrong that violates “intolerance” Though doubtless promoters of

tolerance are intolerant themselves Homeschooling Christian

fundamentalists the “mock attackers” in terrorism drills in in NJ and Michigan WHY? Simply because of

convictions, they are seen as intolerant and thus a suitable “enemy”

While releasing illegal alien criminals, US government deported German immigrant homeschoolers who came here for religious freedom to educate their children

So, increasingly those in power are silencing opposing views

Roots of Tolerance

Based on the notion that there is no true truth So, your personal truth is OK as long as you leave

mine alone…and don’t try to influence public policy Discourages discussion No discussion of WHY tolerance is a virtue; it is

assumed to be the ONLY virtue, or the greatest of all However, if no rational discussion, power becomes

the key to enforcing your opinion Interesting, as tolerance now is Intolerant of those

who differ with it (thus homeschoolers are seen as likely target for terrorist attacks and thus vilified)

How does EXCLUSION promote INCLUSION???

Impact of Tolerance

Privatizing our religion No place for it is the public domain

Interpreting Christianity in light of tolerance Arguing that God/Jesus are examples of tolerance Yet Jesus was quite intolerant of the Pharisees, and spoke of

condemnation for those who seek God apart from Him Buddhist ideas are popular because they don’t claim a

right and wrong Good thing! Their founder deserted his wife to pursue

spirituality GK Chesterton reportedly said; “Tolerance is the virtue of

a man without convictions” Though now tolerance is used to push certain convictions.

If believers had all been tolerant in today’s sense, there would be no martyrs

Post-Modernism

Taming Christians by tolerance, now reason and discussion do not dictate right and wrong

Only power does So no more discussion

Losing freedom of speech Assertion of power to enforce views of those

who have power Innumerable examples in the US these days

So, while culture moves on, Christians trained to be tolerant watch on the sidelines all too often

A Word on Differences

Summary of American tolerance: Rooted in postmodern disbelief in truth Indifferent to right or wrong Or enforces opinion by power Cynical disregard for truth Distances from others Silences Christians

IN CONTRAST, Christian love: Cares for the other Including that persons of all beliefs are

made in God’s image Discussion of differences is loving,

drawing closer to God/each other within the Church

The “meekness of wisdom” Jas 3:13 And invites us to speak up to those

outside

Our Challenges

How do we become our own subculture? E.g., even in how we handle Halloween!

What should we do to protect our right to make our faith public?

How do we avoid being like the frog in the kettle as culture drifts from Christian influences?

How do we speak up, but speak in love? And show love to others in our deeds And learn from Jesus’ example as he

challenged leaders yet was loving

Augustine on Love

"If you keep silent, keep silent by love: if you speak, speak by love; if you correct, correct by love; if you pardon, pardon by love; let love be rooted in you, and from the root nothing but good can grow.Love and do what you will.

Love endures in adversity, is moderate in prosperity; brave under harsh sufferings, cheerful in good works; utterly reliable in temptation, utterly open-handed in hospitality; as happy as can be among true brothers and sisters, as patient as you can get among the false ones. The soul of the scriptures, the force of prophecy, the saving power of the sacraments, the fruit of faith, the wealth of the poor, the life of the dying.Love is all.”

Saint Augustine of Hippo