Our Basis for Decisions!
How does post-modernity affect the way Christians should live and how does it affect the way we present the ethics of Jesus to a non-Christian world?
Pray
Have you ever thought about what is the basis of your decisions in life? How do you make decisions about what is right or wrong in a particular situation? For example, do you think it is alright to lie? Who would say No - never? Who would say Yes - always? Who would say – sometimes? Okay, put yourself in this situation … You are Chinese, and you are arrested for preaching the gospel in China. You are being questioned and you are asked whether you belong to a house church. You do – so what do you say? Do you lie to protect your church or do you tell the truth? We could dream up plenty of scenarios which would cause us all sorts of consternation about what is the right thing to do. But what I want you to ask yourself is what is your basis for making those decisions about what is right or wrong?
Does anyone want to suggest what their basis for making decisions is? - The Bible. Any other bases that people use? What we are taught by our parents? And if we are honest, some of us would have to say that what our peer group says is right.
Okay. Now I want to ask you what do you think is the basis for the decisions of Joe Bloggs and Mary Citizen out there in Gladstone today…. Get Responses
So what you are telling me is that there is more than one different basis for make ethical decisions. So which is the right one? Is there only one right one? And if we come to different conclusions about the same issue, what makes you so special that your decision is any better than mine? These are the questions that are being asked in our society today.
Truth is an interesting thing isn’t it. I mean we all subscribe to it and believe it is important, but it can seem to mean different things to different people.
We live in a postmodern age. Some of you may have heard that word before. But for many it will be a new concept. Let’s try to unpack it a bit and I think then you’ll begin to understand the dilemma we have as Christians living in a Post Modern society.
Characteristics of the Modern Age …
The name “Post modern age” implies that it is the age that has come after the “Modern age”. The Modern age began in the renaissance period about 1750 when the enlightenment and humanist movements were in full swing. It was a period when …
• People gained a confidence in human ability (Self)
• We believed that Self could solve all the world’s problems through reason or rational thought - we called this rational thinking - Science
• Science in the Modern age defined what we saw around us and did so by universal, eternal and absolute laws – the laws of science like Newton’s law of gravity. This we called Truth.
• And this Truth we believed would lead to progress and perfection e.g. Evolution In the modern age, people were optimistic
Society basically rejected the authority and tradition of the medieval church and said, by Reason I can define what is truth myself and this truth is transcendent (above us, existing in spite of us), objective (able to be seen and recognized) and absolute (relevant to everyone everywhere). There was a huge push to find out the truth and an almighty push towards order and structure. Mankind looked to Science for its answers and put it in place of God. “Science had all the answers after all.”
Characteristics of the Post Modern Age …
From this wave of optimism, the world entered the 20th Century only to find themselves in 2 world wars, a great depression, then a cold war filled with nuclear fears. We have emerged from that to be faced with environmental fears of global warming, AIDS and the like. It is obvious to all that care to look, that Science doesn’t have all the answers. It has failed to live up to its promises to bring about a perfect society. As people have recognized the failings of the Modern era, their outlook on life has changed. We have reacted against the previous beliefs of the Modern world and a new Post modern mindset has developed which today shapes much of what our society holds near and dear. As I explain some of these characteristics, you may find yourself relating to some of them yourself. Don’t be surprised, you live in a Post modern world..
• Post Modernism is Pessimistic: The Post modern society has rejected the confidence in Self. We don’t believe that science can really solve all the world’s problems. So we are looking to religion, new age philosophies, meditation. We don’t see the future being any brighter than today (e.g. Green house dilemma). There is a general feeling of despair which explains the growing suicide rate, particularly among teenagers. What hope can we as Christians give in a seemingly hopeless world?
• Post Modernism is Relativistic : For the Post modernist – there are no universal principles that apply to all cultures and all people. You just have to look at the supposedly absolute scientific laws being called into question by Einstein’s theories of relativity and chaos theory. There is nothing transcendent which is constant regardless of us. There is nothing objective either in the scientific world or the moral area. Everything is relative to our understanding at this particular time. As Christians, we believe we have absolute universal truths and guidelines on how to live our lives, but they can not be accepted by the Postmodernist because they are …
• Post Modernism is Subjective : The Post modernist believes that truth and all moral values are created by society and adopted by individuals. Every truth that we hold to is therefore subjective.
“Truth to the postmodernist is purely subjective; it is merely what happens to make sense to me. Something quite different may make sense to you; it then becomes your truth. Moreover there are no documents of law, history, tradition, or religion which can guide or unite us. For what is decisive in the interpretation of a text is not the identity and intension of its author, but rather the impact which it makes on each reader” (John Stott).
The Post modernist doesn’t recognize the authority of the Bible as an absolute. Truth comes from what I perceive to be true, not from what an old book says is true. Therefore truth is in a constant state of flux. How do Christians communicate with people who don’t care one bit what the Bible says or what you say it says?
• Post Modernism is Experience Focused : The Postmodernist is focused on the present and on experiences. Experiences are far more important than logic or reason (Maybe this is one reason for the boom in the Pentecostal movement in the 20th Century). What I feel and what happens to me now is important. I don’t care about the past or the future, I live for the present. Life is seen as end in itself. There is no benefit to living a moral life, because there is nothing after death. Life is the prize, so enjoy it. “The old paradigm taught that if you have the right teaching, you will experience God. The new paradigm says that if you experience God, you will have the right teaching” (Gene Veith). So if we feel truth in Buddhism or meditation, then it is the right way to go – for you.
• Post Modernism is Personal : Because truth is based on my personal beliefs, ethical decisions remain within the sphere of my life only. They are a private matter and have nothing to do with society or corporate life. Society can not tell me what is right or wrong for me. We see this again and again in the legal system. Listen to these beauties
Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas, was awarded $780,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little toddler was Ms. Robertson’s son.
A 19-year-old Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 and medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Mr. Truman apparently didn’t notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor’s hubcaps.
Terrence Dickson of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he had just finished robbing by way of the garage. He was not able to get the garage door to go up since the automatic door opener was malfunctioning. He couldn’t reenter the house because the door connecting the house and garage locked when he pulled it shut. The family was on vacation, and Mr.Dickson found himself locked in the garage for eight days. He subsisted on a case of Pepsi he found and a large bag of dry dog food. He sued the homeowner’s insurance claiming the situation caused him undue mental anguish. The jury agreed to the tune of $500,000.
This is society we live in when people are concerned only for them self and not for society at large. They are able to justify their own behavior no matter what. Yet, somewhere down there is a belief in something absolute. No post modernist would accept that you choosing to kill them is right or good, regardless of what they believed about ethics being personal – though they say that ethics is personal, their beliefs don’t quite stack up. So how do we communicate to people like this that there is a standard of ethical behavior which is right and one which is wrong and it is based on God’s standard?
• Post Modernism is Tolerant : Post modernists demand tolerance. “Because truth and ethical decisions are based on what I hold to be true, and because they are personal and not open to comment from society, you must accept them. You must be tolerant of all truth claims”, says the Post Modernist. The only thing that can’t be tolerated is a superior “truth claims.” Anyone who claims to have an exclusive truth is branded as a fundamentalist and is denounced. This belief has led to Pluralism – an acceptance that all truths are equally valid and provide an acceptable path to salvation. When we talk to people outside of these 4 walls, we have to accept the fact that they are starting from a very different point of view than our own. How do we handle that?
How to live in a Post Modern World
Let’s spend a few minutes looking at some principles for living in a Post modern world? Paul says in Rom 12:1- 2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 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.
As Christians, living in the postmodern world, we need to live in this world, but be transformed by the truths of God. Need to be post moderns without being post modernists.
It is too easy for the Christian church to accommodate to the demands of Post Modernists and to water down our standards. We need to guard against that and live the hope that we have in Christ. Think about it …
• Postmodernism is pessimistic about the future, but the Christian has a wonderful hope of eternity. We can be live in optimism. Not a false optimism based on our limited abilities, but a real optimism based on what an almighty God can accomplish. We can offer an explanation of the hopelessness we see in the world today, but we can also offer the world real hope and real meaning, not just for this life, but for the next. We need to live our lives in light of the hope of heaven and offer this to the world.
• Postmodernism is relativistic and without any certainty. This will ultimately lead to confusion and despair when people realize that what they are trusting in doesn’t seem to be working. Christianity gives us certainty in our lives. We know that God is absolute, transcendent and universal. He existed even when creation did not exist. We have a foundation of faith that is bigger than ourselves and has stood the test of time. We can live in confidence of that and offer some certainty to those who are being washed around in the waves of this current age.
• Postmodernism is subjective, but we need to hold to the truth that God reveals in his Word. God’s Word is his revealed word. It is sharper than a two edged sword and useful for us in this very year of 2003. We’d be foolish to give up this revelation of God to go chasing some other belief. Let’s spend time in the Bible. Let’s learn it and study how God’s principles for life are to be lived out in our lives here in Gladstone. Let’s not pick and choose, what we apply and what we reject, let’s be serious about living out it’s ethical demands.
• Postmodernism is Experience Focused. And guess what – we need to be too. One problem with the Modern age was that it focuses on man’s knowledge. If you could learn enough, you’d have all the answers. Knowing was the key, even if it could not be experienced. Head knowledge about God is not sufficient for a Christian, we have to live it out in the experience of life. Let’s be open to experience God’s power in our lives today and let it transform us.
• A Postmodern ethic only has to answer to individuals, but as a Christian, you are called to live life in a community. We are not Islands, our actions affect others either positively or negatively. Jesus calls his followers to care for each other – those in the church family, those outside the church family and even our enemies. By living a life which is others focused rather than self focused, we will be showing Christ to a world which is self centered.
• Postmodernism is tolerant of other beliefs. As Christians, we can easily fall into the trap of two extremes. We can be dogmatic and condemn other beliefs without a hearing which will just make people get defensive and reject anything we say or do. Or we can be accepting of all faiths. Both are equally wrong. We need to enquire what others believe with courtesy and engage them in conversation so that we may be given the opportunity to share our beliefs with them. But in doing this, we need also to stick to our guns regarding the uniqueness of Christianity. There is no other religion that can make you right with Jesus Christ, it is only through Christ.
How to share the gospel in a Post Modern World
And finally some ideas for sharing the gospel and its ethical demands in a Post Modern world …
Acts 17: 22 - Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
Paul found himself in Athens in a society that was incredibly similar to our Post modern society. The Athenians were very religious, much like people today. They sought God or the ultimate being to worship and were into everything. Every person it seemed, had a different belief and that was fine. The city was filled with altars – they lived with pluralism and were happy for it. They loved to talk about their beliefs and regularly gathered at the Areopagus (the court house and parliament building) to debate. They were open to hearing someone else’s point of view.
This is where Paul finds himself and he shares the gospel with them. How?
1) He got to know them. He saw, he walked around, no doubt he talked to them. We also need to get to know people. The best way to evangelize a person is to become their friend. Recognize that they will have a different definition of truth or what is right or wrong to you and so enquire what it is that they believe. Be open to listen without condemning. Ask them questions to try to discover why they believe one thing is right and another wrong. Recognize that they will have fears, needs and concerns about life, so ask them to share their fears. Work to understand them and their beliefs. Let them experience your acceptance of them and your love towards them. Let them also see you’re life and how knowing God has transformed you in the way you live, in how you think and in your attitudes. Invite them to come with you to a church social – let them see the love you share in church community.
2) But living a good life before them is not enough. Once Paul had developed a relationship with them, he began to talk to them. He didn’t begin with an exegesis of Leviticus 13 or a sermon on the ethics of the Kingdom. He began where they were at and addressed their fears, needs and concerns. He acknowledged their religiosity and quest for truth as commendable. They wanted to have all their bases covered, this is why they had the altar to the unknown God. People in this world are seeking the truth and trying to figure out what is right and wrong. We need to start at that point of need, by identifying their needs and their searching. Use the everyday conversations in the crib room as a launching pad to question about beliefs, get to know people and then talk about why you believe the things you do. You may be involved in a discussion about mandatory detention of boat people – use it to talk about what you believe, about the absolute worth of human beings, that you think we should be looking after each other regardless of race or circumstances. But don’t just explain what you believe, explain why you believe it – that this is what Jesus would stand for and because you are his follower, you ascribe to his standards. This means, of course, that we have to think about these hard issues before hand – what would Jesus have us do about abortion, genetic manipulation, stem cell research, reconciliation, etc. We need to work through some of these issues and be ready for an answer. We need to talk about God’s standard and God’s laws and be willing to stand up for it.
3) Once he has engaged them, Paul then offers them something that can satisfy their desire – God. It is not enough to live a good life, or just talk about what is right or wrong if we don’t talk about what the basis of our decisions and life is. If we don’t offer them God’s truth, they will make something up for themselves. People in a Post Modern society are more open to jumping ship with regards beliefs than possibly ever before. They are not locked into dogmatic beliefs and are willing to try something new. If they see that what we are offering makes sense and is real in practice not just theory, they will be attracted to it – wouldn’t you be. We need to start from where they are at and offer them the truth that God gives us. Note that I said offer. The Post modernist won’t accept being told that this is the truth, but if they can see that it works and is better than what they believe themselves, they will be willing to take it on board.
Our Post modern age is an age of rapid change, where just about anything goes. This could be seen as a threat to Christianity. But we don’t have to be scared. Christianity has survived centuries of attacks and will last this one easily. Rather than being scared and going on the defensive, we need to see the incredible opportunities that exist. People are open to the gospel and the discussion of what is right and wrong (Ethics) is a starting point for this. Ask God for the courage to take the opportunities that he is giving you every day and seek to give an account of what you
