We see it all the time as Christians. People don't act like Christians even though they claim to be. We hear the all too familiar gripe from unbelievers that Christians are "hypocrites". Christians say one thing but do another. They say they believe this but they do that. The Church looks more and more like the world. How is it that we see so much Christian-less behavior from so many who claim Christian beliefs?
The answer is so multifaceted that this little article couldn't cover it all. I just want to cover one reason that I suggest contributes to the problem.
To understand the point we have to first start by reminding ourselves that Christians and Biblical Christianity are being increasingly censored in the public arena. Talking about Jesus Christ, the Bible and the Gospel are being restricted in more and more areas of our society. We are told we can have a belief but we can't talk about it or act on it. Keep it between our ears and don't let it go any further. We can't proselytize, we can't make our beliefs the basis for our decisions, etc. It seems that the engagement of ideas is becoming the exclusion of ideas in the public arena. "It's okay to believe what you believe just so long as you don't tell me what I should believe." We have been conditioned to think that we can have Christian beliefs but they are not allowed to effect someone else. The inertia in our culture is towards censorship of Biblical Christianity, not protecting it.
This has effect on us in several ways. Politically there is the erosion of protection under 1st ammendment to evangelize and engage in public exchange of religious ideas. Economically there is diminished freedom to make business and employment decisions based on one's Christian beliefs.
I would suggest too that because of the growing socio-economical-political censorship of Biblical Christianity, the Church has moved towards a re-shaped Gospel. It is a Gospel that is more politically acceptable and therefore allows the Church to speak more freely in the public arena without being censored. The attitude is that the Biblical Jesus and the Biblical Gospel that confronts man's sinfulness and man's need of salvation is losing popularity in our society, so therefore, the solution is to give it a face-lift to avoid being censored and keep the Church popular. Make it a self-help or a social-justice gospel. Since our society is eager for success in the midst of a bad economy, for affirmation in the midst of low self-esteem, and for purpose in a meaningless existential existence, these kinds of other gospels become appealing to many.
This is not the problem I'm getting to however. What I'm getting to is this: If over time the prevailing sentiment in our culture is that my beliefs shouldn't effect someone else, then my beliefs can't interact in my everyday relationships. After awhile, my beliefs will become so dislocated from my everyday living that they won't even effect me. Our personal beliefs have been required to have "no-effect" on others for so long that we have been conditioned to think that beliefs have no place in any real-life, everyday setting (social, political, economical and even religious and family). And the result of this is that now, through accepting the "no-effect on others" attitude for so long, our own beliefs are having "no-effect" on us personally. As Christians, our belief system is less and less influential on our own personal lives. What we believe has become dislocated from what we do every day.
That's why we always hear "How does this apply to me?" That's why so many are at a loss so often in understanding how the Bible is supposed to effect them as husbands, wives, parents, employees, employers, citizens, neighbors, etc. We may adhere to a Biblical belief system, but, do we act on it? That's the problem. We don't because we've been conditioned not to.
So what do we do? Personally, I think Evangelism is the key. Get your beliefs out into the public by telling others about Christ. Nothing, in my opinion, will make your beliefs more real to you than when you put them on the table in public. The "public" may be a lost family member, co-worker, friend. It may be strangers you talk to on the street, the waitress, the drive-thru guy, the coach of your kid's sports team or another parent. When your faith is rubbing up against the world rather than retreating you will see how much it grows. Don't let it be dislocated from "your world". Instead get it into the world.
The answer is so multifaceted that this little article couldn't cover it all. I just want to cover one reason that I suggest contributes to the problem.
To understand the point we have to first start by reminding ourselves that Christians and Biblical Christianity are being increasingly censored in the public arena. Talking about Jesus Christ, the Bible and the Gospel are being restricted in more and more areas of our society. We are told we can have a belief but we can't talk about it or act on it. Keep it between our ears and don't let it go any further. We can't proselytize, we can't make our beliefs the basis for our decisions, etc. It seems that the engagement of ideas is becoming the exclusion of ideas in the public arena. "It's okay to believe what you believe just so long as you don't tell me what I should believe." We have been conditioned to think that we can have Christian beliefs but they are not allowed to effect someone else. The inertia in our culture is towards censorship of Biblical Christianity, not protecting it.
This has effect on us in several ways. Politically there is the erosion of protection under 1st ammendment to evangelize and engage in public exchange of religious ideas. Economically there is diminished freedom to make business and employment decisions based on one's Christian beliefs.
I would suggest too that because of the growing socio-economical-political censorship of Biblical Christianity, the Church has moved towards a re-shaped Gospel. It is a Gospel that is more politically acceptable and therefore allows the Church to speak more freely in the public arena without being censored. The attitude is that the Biblical Jesus and the Biblical Gospel that confronts man's sinfulness and man's need of salvation is losing popularity in our society, so therefore, the solution is to give it a face-lift to avoid being censored and keep the Church popular. Make it a self-help or a social-justice gospel. Since our society is eager for success in the midst of a bad economy, for affirmation in the midst of low self-esteem, and for purpose in a meaningless existential existence, these kinds of other gospels become appealing to many.
This is not the problem I'm getting to however. What I'm getting to is this: If over time the prevailing sentiment in our culture is that my beliefs shouldn't effect someone else, then my beliefs can't interact in my everyday relationships. After awhile, my beliefs will become so dislocated from my everyday living that they won't even effect me. Our personal beliefs have been required to have "no-effect" on others for so long that we have been conditioned to think that beliefs have no place in any real-life, everyday setting (social, political, economical and even religious and family). And the result of this is that now, through accepting the "no-effect on others" attitude for so long, our own beliefs are having "no-effect" on us personally. As Christians, our belief system is less and less influential on our own personal lives. What we believe has become dislocated from what we do every day.
That's why we always hear "How does this apply to me?" That's why so many are at a loss so often in understanding how the Bible is supposed to effect them as husbands, wives, parents, employees, employers, citizens, neighbors, etc. We may adhere to a Biblical belief system, but, do we act on it? That's the problem. We don't because we've been conditioned not to.
So what do we do? Personally, I think Evangelism is the key. Get your beliefs out into the public by telling others about Christ. Nothing, in my opinion, will make your beliefs more real to you than when you put them on the table in public. The "public" may be a lost family member, co-worker, friend. It may be strangers you talk to on the street, the waitress, the drive-thru guy, the coach of your kid's sports team or another parent. When your faith is rubbing up against the world rather than retreating you will see how much it grows. Don't let it be dislocated from "your world". Instead get it into the world.
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