Resisting the Tide
Posted by: ba <ba@...>
http://www.forthright.net
Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: Hands-on Faith
Resisting the Tide
(When Tolerance, Affirmation and Inclusion Become
Everything)
by Barry Newton
"How could those who were claiming to follow God
do such a thing?" Such musings have often been
associated with reflections on the history of the
Crusades or how the majority of Christendom within
Germany simply went along with Hitler. Closer to
home, we find ourselves shaking our heads in
disbelief at the previous racist policies of
certain Christian universities.
It is easy from our vantage point beyond the
cultural pull which created those events to
proclaim, "such things should never have
happened!" Although we would be right for saying
so, such pious observations are not enough.
If we grasp the lessons of history, the more
responsible position is to ask, "what cultural
currents are seeking to drag us down through paths
of darkness?" Is our sense of right any better
attuned to God's ways than those previously caught
in culture's undertow? The good news is it can be
if we so choose.
Turn on prime-time TV. What constant drumbeats do
you hear regarding how people ought to live? Much
of the postmodern spirit driving our age is
organized around exalting tolerance, affirmation
and inclusion. These sound like good values,
perhaps even Christian values. Instead of being
hateful and mean-spirited, is not tolerance the
high road? Instead of caustic derogatory attacks,
is not affirmation the right path? Is not the
equality of inclusion a more noble way than the
discriminatory policies of exclusion? Such
questions can easily represent how the prophets of
our age might present their case. How should those
who claim to follow God respond?
My previous dualistic questions obfuscate several
items, but most importantly they obscure our need
to answer the question, "What is the highest value
we should be pursuing?" The postmodernists would
answer: In the absence of any absolute truth, the
best any of us can strive for would be to accept
and affirm the personal validity of each other's
ideas and lifestyles. There you have it -
tolerance, affirmation and inclusion all wrapped
up together. The package is then gift-wrapped with
a bow claiming, "this is what it means to be a
loving person."
On the other hand, those who faithfully follow God
have an entirely different answer to what is most
important. Because God has revealed truth to us,
the disciple responds that the highest value
entails loving God with all of one's being (Matt.
22:36-38). This includes obeying God (1 John 5:3).
Unfortunately humanity has not loved and obeyed
God as it ought. The cross of Christ proclaims
that Jesus' death was required to atone for our
sinful actions, words and lifestyles. Fortunately,
those who will rely upon Christ through obeying
the gospel can become a part of God's redeemed,
saved and holy community.
What does all of this mean? Everything is not
equally valid. Everyone is not included in God's
community. There should be remorse for wrongs, not
affirmation. God is calling everyone to repent.
The good news is that God has made the salvific
blood of Christ available to all of humanity.
If tolerance, affirmation and inclusion are not
the ultimate values, in some manner does this mean
that the path of loving and obeying God justifies
mean-spiritedness? Never! To obey God includes
seeking the well-being of others in the same way
you seek your own well-being (Matt. 22:39). Thus,
if loving someone might require confronting that
individual with his or her sinfulness, such truth
should be presented in love, not caustically (Eph.
4:15).
To avoid looking like foolish 21st century
Christians who were swept away in the undertow of
our secular culture, we need to proclaim Christ
crucified and its corollaries. The necessity of
Jesus' death upon the cross on our behalf
testifies that God does not tolerate sinfulness,
that those outside of Christ stand condemned and
are excluded from fellowship with God, and that
everyone is in need of transformation. The message
of Christ crucified undermines the driving secular
values of postmodernism.
The tide is powerful. God, however, is greater.
Those who profess to follow God need to be in step
with God, not drifting with the world. Will we do
any better in living for God than some who have
gone before us?
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