Introduction: I started reading a new book a couple of weeks ago. It’s a book written by Bill O’reilly entitled “Culture Warrior.” O’Reily who is a News Commentator for The Fox News Network believes that the United States is in the middle of a “Culture War.” According to O’Reily, the battle is between Traditionalists (those who embrace the traditional Judeo-Christian values that this nation was founded on) and the “Secular Progressives” (who reject the traditional Judeo-Christian values and want to change America into a ‘Secular Progressive” country. It is a very interesting book and I tend to agree with Mr. O’Reily.
In fact I believe Traditional values have been under attack for the past 15-20 years. How many of you remember Dan Quayle? He served as Vice President under George Bush Senior and during the 1992 re-election campaign Quayle delivered a speech in which he made the following statement regarding the rioting that took place in Los Angeles in May 1992. He said, “I believe the lawless social anarchy which we saw is directly related to the breakdown of family structure, personal responsibility and social order in too many areas of our society.” Then he made several comments that supported that statement. As He closed his speech that day Quayle said, “It doesn’t help matters when prime-time TV has Murphy Brown – a character who supposedly epitomizes today’s intelligent, highly paid, professional woman—mocking the importance of fathers, by bearing a child alone, and calling it just another ‘lifestyle choice.’
Well in the weeks to follow the News Media crucified Quayle and did their best to portray him as an uneducated, intolerant, bigot. The controversy surrounding Quayle’s comments not only contributed to President Bush’s defeat, but it also cost Quayle his political career.
But that is ancient History. What about now? Well, the way I see it we are living in a nation that in many respects is as ‘secular and pagan’ as any nation on the face of the earth. Even though a large percentage of Americans still think of themselves as Christians, in reality they aren’t.
The Church in America today needs to wake up and realize that we are no longer living in the glory days of the 1950’s. We need to realize we are no longer living in a nation where the majority of people go to church 3 times a week. We need to realize that we no longer live in a society that respects and adheres to the basic tenets of the Christian faith.
In fact, we live in a society today that has very little respect for the Christian Faith or for those of us who call ourselves Christians. So, having said that how are we as Christians supposed to live and work in this kind of society? How are we supposed to be the Light of The World and the Salt of the Earth, that Jesus has called us to be? How are we supposed to make a difference in America today? Those are very important questions and I want us to take the next few weeks to discuss them. This morning I want to focus your attention on the world in which we are living…
Listen to what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NLT)
You should also know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money.
They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.
They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control; they will be crue and have not interest in what is good.
They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly...”
Is it just me or does that sound a lot like the kind of world we find ourselves living in today? The first thing I want to point out to you this morning is that we are
I. LIVING IN A POSTMODERN WORLD.
Some of you may have heard the term post-modern before. But chances are that many of you here this morning have absolutely no idea what it means. Consequently I feel like I need to take a few minutes to give you a little background information.
The Pre-Modern Era ended back in the 1500’s. This was the age of Enlightenment. Some of the characteristics of this period in Human history included:
The belief that God was the Center of the Universe.
The Belief that there were Absolute Truths and that God was the source of those Absolute Truths.
The belief that every area of a person’s life was influenced by their Faith in God.
The belief that all of the world’s problems could be solved if everyone would simply obey and worship God.
The Modern Era or Modern Age began in the 1500’s and lasted until around 1960. Some of the characteristics of this time period were:
People became much more self-confident.
The Center of the Universe shifted from God to mankind
Absolute Truth still existed although it was no longer found in God. Instead it could be discovered through Human reasoning and the scientific method.
The belief that mankind was evolving and increasing in knowledge so quickly that we would be able to make the world a much better place to live.
In other words that we would be so intelligent that we would be able to solve all of our problems ourselves. However, this belief was shattered by World War 1, The Great Depression & World War II.
The Post Modern Age began around 1960 and is in full swing today. Some of the Characteristics of the Post-Modern age include:
The Post Modern mindset is Pessimistic:
People no longer believe that science is going to be able to solve all the problems in the world. Most people longer believe that the future is necessarily going to be any better than today. Therefore a feeling of despair or hopelessness is prevalent among many people today, especially among young people. This has corresponded to a rise in the suicide rate among our teenagers.
Next, Post Modernism is Relativistic
This simply means that everything is relative. There are no Universal principles or Absolute Truths that apply to all cultures, to all people, and to every situation. Everything is relative and is based on our knowledge and understanding at this particular time. This means that if our knowledge increases in a certain area then our attitudes and beliefs are subject to change.
Post Modernism is Subjective
This is the idea that truth and all moral values are created by society and adopted by individuals. It is the idea that every truth is subjective to a person’s experience and personal knowledge. In other words, Truth is merely what makes sense to a person and how they perceive it through their personal experiences. Many Post modern men and women don’t recognize the Bible as God’s Word, or that it contains absolute truths. Instead they would argue that Truth can be found in many spiritual books including the Koran, and the Book of Mormon. They would also argue that Truth comes from what they perceive to be true, not from what an old-fashioned, irrelevant book says is true. This is why it has become increasingly more difficult in recent years to use the Bible when talking to someone about their spiritual beliefs.
Post Modernism is Experience Focused
The belief here is that the Experiences a person actually has are far more important than theory, logic or reason. The Post Modern man or woman is more concerned with what they feel and experience in the present than they are with the past or the future. This must be where the philosophy, “If it feels good, do it” came from. Many of these individuals see absolutely no reason to curb their fleshly desires because they don’t believe in Heaven or Hell. To them, this life is all there is and they want to get the most out of it.
Post Modernism is Personal
Post Modern individuals believe that truth is based on their own personal beliefs, which essentially means that anything goes. How many times have you heard something like this; what a person does in his or her own home is their business, and shouldn’t concern anyone else. This is the idea that no-one can tell anyone else what is right or wrong for them. In fact they would argue that it is wrong for Society to dictate what is right and what is wrong, because that should be left up to the individual. Thus they are able to justify their own behavior no matter what. Everything including drugs and alcohol, gambling, child pornography, Gay marriage and Polygamy would be legal if people who believe this way get their way.
In his book, “Culture Warrior” that I mentioned earlier Bill O’Riely lists what He refers to as the 10 Commandments of the Secular Progressive Movement. The first is… “Thou Shalt Not Make Any Judgment Regarding Most Private Personal Behavior. Man/Woman Is The Master/Mistress of the Universe and His/Her Gratification Is Paramount.”
All of this reminds me of a passage of Scripture found in the book of Judges. Judges 17:6 says, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” NKJV
The New Living Translation of this verse says, “In those days Israel had no king, so the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.”
The Message paraphrase says it like this: “In those days there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing.”
This is the society we are living in today in America. People are only concerned about themselves and what they want, and not what is good for the society or country as a whole.
Post Modernism is Tolerant
Those who adhere to the Post modern way of thinking demand tolerance. They argue: “Because truth and ethical decisions are based on what each individual holds to be true, and because they are personal and not open to comment from society, everyone must accept them.’ In other words not only are we supposed to be tolerant of Gay marriage but we should accept and legalize it.
Tolerance has led to the idea of Pluralism – Which is the belief that all religions, faiths and truths are equally valid and provide an acceptable path to salvation.
When it comes right down to it the only religion that cannot be tolerated is Christianity. Post Modernism teaches that those who claim to have an exclusive truth are extremists or fundamentalists and should not be tolerated but instead should be condemned.
Okay, that’s the world we find ourselves living in today in America. The obvious question then is how do we as Christians live and fulfill our God given responsibilities in a Post Modern World.
Let’s spend a few minutes looking at
II. Some principles for living in a Post modern world?
In Romans 12:2 the Apostle Paul says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
What does Paul mean when He says “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world?” I believe it would be helpful for us to look at a more modern translation of this verse to help us understand what Paul is really saying.
The New Living Translation says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”
So our Behavior and our customs should be noticeably different from those in the world. We should continue to live by God’s standards instead of lowering our standards to make the church and the gospel message more appealing to the world.
I personally believe this means that we should continue to stand up for what we know is right and oppose that which we know is wrong, even if the rest of society says it’s okay.
We may need to change the method or way we deliver the Gospel message but the message itself should never be watered down or changed in any way.
Secondly, the way we think should be different than those who are in the world. Post Moderns tend to have a very pessimistic outlook on life. As Christians we should be optimistic, after all we know that our Hope is in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that He and He alone has the answers to the problems that the world is currently facing.
But that’s not all. We also know that Post Modern people think differently than we do on just about every issue, whether its abortion, the legalization of drugs, or homosexuality. As Christians we must be vigilant that we do not allow Post Modern Thinking to infiltrate the church. But unfortunately some of it already has.
In June of 2003 members of the Episcopal Church voted to elect a Homosexual man as Bishop in New Hampshire. Other Christian denominations have also been influenced to some extent by the Homosexual community including the Catholic Church, The United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church.
In addition some churches and Denominations have watered down the issue of Salvation. A poll of the Presbyterian Church USA was conducted recently and one of the questions had to do with the belief that Jesus is the only way a to get to Heaven. Only 43 percent of laypeople and 39 percent of their clergy responded by saying they agreed with the statement.
Another example is how some Christians today have been influenced by Post Modern thinking when it comes to experience. Many people today are more concerned about having a ‘religious experience’ when they come to church than they are about actually worshipping God. They have fallen into the trap of thinking that worship is all about them instead of all about God.
III. The way I see it, we As Christians, have a couple of options when it comes to dealing with the Post Modern World.
(1) The first is to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world so we will not be enticed or influenced by it. But all we have to do is look at the recent school shooting that took place in Pennsylvania among the Amish people to realize that this really doesn’t work.
(2) Secondly, we can learn how to more effectively minister to and share the gospel message with people in the Post Modern World we are living in. Which is what the subject of next week’s sermon will be about.
