Christianity and Society in 2011

Back in 1951, H. Richard Niebuhr wrote a book titled Christ and Culture in which he looked at different views of how Christians should face culture. One of the views was that Christians should completely isolate themselves from culture; another was that Christians should embrace culture as it is and accept it completely; a third was that Christians should live in culture but work to fix it; and the final view was that Christians should live in culture but accept they can do nothing about it. Each of these views has been lived out at some time or another by one denomination or another of Christianity. In todays world you see the Amish living out the first view, cutting themselves off from technology altogether. We see other groups, such as the emergent church, completely embracing todays culture and incorporating it into their worship. I think most churches fall under the third category, with programs for every societal problem. Few churches have the perspective of the fourth option, feeling helpless to do anything. Let us look at Christianity and culture for 2011.

If we look at Scripture, and use Jesus as our basis for interaction, we see that he did not isolate himself from society (with the exception of going into occasional solitude for his own spiritual well-being) but instead went to wedding receptions, attended community feasts and holiday gatherings, and even engaged people casually at wells. Jesus did not shun society and he never asked his followers too. We know that Jesus did not embrace every facet of culture either. If he did, he would have followed the exact same hypocrisy as the other teachers, because that was a societal norm back then. Jesus did not get married or have children (despite what popular media claims), and we know that he was without sin. We do know, however, that Jesus did not withdraw from certain social situation in order to uphold his clean reputation, but gained the reputation of a drunkard and glutton, as the Pharisees called him, because of the people he hung out with and perhaps because of his own behavior. So again, though Jesus did not embrace everything about culture (he himself preached for repentance) he did not shun it. Jesus also did not see culture as something to fix. People do not like to be approached with the attitude that they are broken and need fixing. Nor did Jesus approach culture with the attitude that he was helpless. Jesus, instead, approached culture with the attitude that with love and compassion, he could lift people to a higher potential. Jesus did not see the brokenness or sinfulness in people, he saw their need for love and compassion, and a potential higher than they saw in themselves. Jesus approached each person, no matter what their background (some were tax collectors others were adulterers and prostitutes), no matter what their religion (some, like the centurion and the Gentile woman, were of a different faith than Jesus), no matter what kind of lives they lived at that moment (one woman had had multiple husbands and was now living out of wedlock), with love and compassion, and with the attitude that that person had tremendous value. He never criticized a person for their behavior, he never condemned them for their sins. Jesus came to each person with a full acceptance of them for who they were.

I want each reader to take a serious look at the condition of the world today. Christians ask, if we do not condemn people for their sins, or judge certain behavior, how can we stand out as separate from society? My is that there is enough hatred, judgment, and criticism going on. If you want to be different, and if you want to make a difference, show unconditional love and acceptance, show extreme compassion for everyone regardless of their faith and background. If you want to be different from everyone else, turn the other cheek, be blind to other people's sins. If you want to stand apart from society, show other people their true value as God sees it. Make everyone you come into contact with feel worth much more than they value themselves. My resolution for this year is to make others feel more valuable after coming into contact with me than they did before they came into contact with me. I pray that that is your resolution also. It does not matter if a person is gay, has had an abortion, has gotten divorced, or has used God's name in vain; what matters is that they are worth an infinite value in God's eyes and they should therefore be worth as much in our own eyes. Bring Jesus' love to others today and you will be surprised how you might change the world.