12-5-16<\/p>\n
Christianity as a Christmas tree: The consumerist culture of America \u2013 more generally, of the materialistic West — has brought us opportunities to choose. <\/p>\n
— Choose from among material goods. Once upon a time, Henry Ford reportedly said that his millions of Model Ts were available in any color you wanted, as long as that color was black. Yet his industrial miracle was a boon to middle-class America; and now customers can choose from many manufacturers, many makes, many models, many new designs and options. And many colors.<\/p>\n
— Choose among foods. Seasonal fruits and vegetables out of season. Varieties of ethnic foods. Fast food, and faster food. At home or in the car.<\/p>\n
— Choose between fashion styles. \u201cDo your thing.\u201d Dress codes mostly out the window. Cargo shorts at church. T-shirts at weddings. Jeans at funerals. Pajama bottoms in public; underpants on display; adornment of permanent outerwear \u2013 tattoos and piercings on every inch of bodies.<\/p>\n
— Choose amongst lifestyles, and change lifestyles at will. Choose to switch identities and genders. Declare to be a member of a different race. Let rebellion become conformity. Adopt moral codes \u2013 or none \u2013 depending on your whim, with no regard to long traditions, the effect on contemporaries, or implications for society\u2019s future. <\/p>\n
— Commit to any religion, or none; or all. Pick and choose. Dismiss that which makes you uncomfortable; accept those aspects that sound logical to you. Our contemporary world does not recognize that those who embrace all, believe in none.<\/p>\n
There is the Christian religion, with its hundreds of permutations and dogmas. And then there is Christianity, a very different thing. There are things we are taught, and believe; and then, sadly, things the Bible teaches that often are different. \u201cSad,\u201d that is, for us, not God. Through history, people have held to comfortable beliefs and doctrines that are at variance with scripture. Thus were denominations born. And breakaway churches. And schisms. And, sometimes, wars. <\/p>\n
These human tendencies are not exclusive to Christianity. The varieties of Islamic sects, practices, and beliefs are many, and have covered much of the Middle East with blood for almost 1500 years. The schisms have brought grief and terror to all parts of the world\u2026 and, still, most of us cannot label the factions, their roles, and their headquarters. One needs a scorecard, not the least to comprehend the ancient justifications for their fratricide. Factions within Mohammedanism can be so contentious that some of the faithful lose their heads. And others lose their heads for them.<\/p>\n
At one extreme we humans are contrary sorts of folks, or we have an attraction to wanting to monopolize the truth. Such is called Pride in the Bible \u2013 it was so called immediately in the Garden. Perhaps, ultimately, pride is humankind\u2019s greatest sin. At the other end of the spectrum, no less toxic to peoples\u2019 souls but merely quieter, are those who think there is NO truth. They exist is self-delusional bliss, but never knowing peace, forgiveness, grace, and elemental joy. <\/p>\n
One of the mordant by-products of a secular, pluralistic, \u201copen and welcoming\u201d democracy is that, absent a very strong ethos or a succession of inspired leaders through the generations, these positive values corrode. They rust and lose their strength. Moral codes grow brittle and they break; and eventually are forgotten. <\/p>\n
The fault is not in the rules of morality. Morals and ethics do not become less relevant: in a changing world they become better guides for us. But we know better, right? But there IS such a thing as Absolute Truth. Jesus declared Himself to BE the Truth. Truth is truth\u2026 and does not at all depend on our opinion of it.<\/p>\n
The Spirit of the Age would convince us that we know better than the Bible; that history \u2013 all the civilizations that fell because of internal corruption and the abandonment of morality \u2013 is no guide. Our \u201cprogress\u201d and inventions and science convince us that we know the truth\u2026 and God, up there? Jesus, over here? the Bible, over there? Hey, we don\u2019t need You any more.<\/p>\n
Blasphemies from Old Testament days, heresies from the days of the early Church, relativistic lies of our contemporary movements, are all the same, small group of lies that have seduced people through the millennia. We eat, drink, and are never quite merry\u2026 because one of those lies has just got to be true. Right?<\/p>\n
Relativism is the new religion \u2013 \u201cwhat\u2019s right for ME is right\u201d \u2013 and Pride is then same old god. We embrace this, spinning with its doomed promises in a dance of death, becoming insensible to the simple, pure, loving Message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
In God\u2019s order we are invited to accept Christ and live as a follower of Him. We are free, at our peril, to reject that invitation. We can avoid the Master, and ignore His loving invitation. But One whom we cannot avoid, nor ignore \u2013 nor escape \u2013 is the God of Judgment.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, be your own God. Everybody\u2019s doing it.<\/p>\n
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