They just don't get it....
It surprises me that the amount of press that evangelical Chrisitans are getting these days. One whould have thought that there were not very many Christians in the United States over the past ten to twenty years and suddenly there has been this renewed interest in the Christian faith and that people are joining churches en masse and new churches are springing up on every corner.
It's a shame that this is not the case. I would love to see another awakening in this country and believe it could happen, but I am quite skeptical of the notion that is being put forth by the culture that Christianity is getting more popular.
After, or maybe it was before, the 2004 election, I was watching a program on CNN which was discussing the rise in power of Christians in this election season. To hear some of the secularists reactions you would think that if Christians had their way, we would all be wearing chasity belts and there would be daily crucifixions for anything deemed non-Christian.
And yesterday, there was a story of bewilderment on Good Morning America concerning so-called mega-Churches. People are actually worried about these things popping up because it represents a message that there is an exclusive way to eternal life, that is, only through Christ.
Now to my point.
We read and watch these stories, editorials and pundits and most Christians say, "why don't they understand us????" Well, I have good news. "They" are not supposed to. There is a dichotomy of worldviews here and they are supposed to stand at polar opposites. 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 gives good insight into this. Why? Because it shows that the person who is "in Christ" is a new creation. You see that's the cultural battle. It's not the "old" Christians and the "new" secularists. It's not the old trying to take over the new. It's the new creation of God that is shining through the old system of doing things, that is secularism. It was this way when Paul wrote this passage and it's the same way now. The old way, the fleshly way, is the old way and those who have not experienced the creative work of God upon their lives will never be able to understand Christianity. We shouldn't expect them too. But while this conflict of worldviews continues, we must be vigilant in the ministry of reconciliation.
Book of the day, 2nd Corinthians, NICNT, Revised, New International Commentary on the New Testament by Paul Barnett.
It's a shame that this is not the case. I would love to see another awakening in this country and believe it could happen, but I am quite skeptical of the notion that is being put forth by the culture that Christianity is getting more popular.
After, or maybe it was before, the 2004 election, I was watching a program on CNN which was discussing the rise in power of Christians in this election season. To hear some of the secularists reactions you would think that if Christians had their way, we would all be wearing chasity belts and there would be daily crucifixions for anything deemed non-Christian.
And yesterday, there was a story of bewilderment on Good Morning America concerning so-called mega-Churches. People are actually worried about these things popping up because it represents a message that there is an exclusive way to eternal life, that is, only through Christ.
Now to my point.
We read and watch these stories, editorials and pundits and most Christians say, "why don't they understand us????" Well, I have good news. "They" are not supposed to. There is a dichotomy of worldviews here and they are supposed to stand at polar opposites. 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 gives good insight into this. Why? Because it shows that the person who is "in Christ" is a new creation. You see that's the cultural battle. It's not the "old" Christians and the "new" secularists. It's not the old trying to take over the new. It's the new creation of God that is shining through the old system of doing things, that is secularism. It was this way when Paul wrote this passage and it's the same way now. The old way, the fleshly way, is the old way and those who have not experienced the creative work of God upon their lives will never be able to understand Christianity. We shouldn't expect them too. But while this conflict of worldviews continues, we must be vigilant in the ministry of reconciliation.
Book of the day, 2nd Corinthians, NICNT, Revised, New International Commentary on the New Testament by Paul Barnett.
posted by Bobby's blog at 1:59 PM
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