Some thoughts as I read...

I am back at Peet's coffee here in Happy Valley, yes I am starting to really love this place, and I am reading through a couple of books that I must have read by the start of my summer class next Monday. One of the books I am reading has really brought up some interesting thoughts relating to the topic of communicating the Word of God to a postmodern culture that is ours today.

The author of this book precedes to speak of the subconscious relativism that has crept into the minds of people within the church. Simply put, the culture has created a mindset that the modern day preacher must learn to speak truth to.

For example, the following conversation is a well-formed example of what I hear so often from people today...
"I feel that I am faithful to Christianity, but I've done some things that people around me, I guess, would consider immoral, sinful, and they still have trouble embracing the things I've done. In fact I don't think my mother visits me too much because I am living in a situation in which I am not married and stuff like that. But I don't share her views on that, and I know her views are rooted in her religion. But it doesn't work for me that way."

This is a wonderful example of how morality, like belief, becomes a matter not of truth or principle, but of "whatever works best for me." As Tim Keller says, "We live in an amoral society - one in which 'right' and 'wrong' are categories with no universal meaning, and everyone 'does what is right in his or her own eyes.'" This sounds an awful lot like the Israelites during the time of the Judges...talk about applicable.

The hard part of this thinking is that the truth is up for grabs, supposedly tainted by one's experiences and worldview. Thus, there is no way to know for certain what God is saying or what the interpretation of a certain Scripture could mean. This is where we have to combat this superfluous notion, and replace it with the fact that God has revealed Himself to us, and yes, there is a tangible way to know this God! Although claiming to not being able to know God may seem like one is acting in humility, it is actually the exact opposite, a subtle hubristic attitude. This is an epistemological shift, claiming to not know is actually settling into a position of knowing!

Johnston puts it succinctly when he states that, "the church must understand that its aim cannot be to silence other beliefs but to uncover opportunities to present the message of Christ."

This is truly the challenge. Remaining completely true to the Word of God as he has revealed it, yet bringing an attitude of humility and love as one presents the Jesus of the Bible to a culture so far from embracing morality and truth.