Christ and Culture - Being Controversial
Are we controversial today? I would say that Christianity is and always has been controversial. Why is that? There are a multitude of reasons for it, not the least of which is that in Christianity, principles are found that go against rational thinking. Thoughts like love your enemies, turn the other cheek, and unconditional forgiveness are not widely accepted in our world today. There are two different kinds of controversy in Christianity. Outside entities that feel the tenets of Christianity are controversial, and internal struggles between Christians who argue over issues of the faith.
Recently, Illinois senator and presidential hopeful Barack Obama said that Christianity had been hijacked by the leaders of the Christian right. He made the comment that
At every opportunity, they've told evangelical Christians that Democrats disrespect their values and dislike their church, while suggesting to the rest of the country that religious Americans care only about issues like abortion and gay marriage, school prayer and intelligent design.
A couple of words on this. First, most evangelicals don't need to be told that Democrats disrespect our values. We know that already. When you vote for or approve of abortion and gay marriage, two things that go against our faith, we don't need James Dobson or Pat Robertson to tell us you dislike our church. Most of us are smart enough to figure that out on our own. What evangelicals do need to be told is that most Republicans aren't any different. The government is not there to serve our faith, it is there to serve the people. When we became the silent majority, we turned over the reigns to those who wanted these things.
This thought in itself is controversial. Many people equate Republican with Christian and it just isn't true, at least not to a historical definition of Christianity. While our country was founded on Judeo-Christian ethics, what have we done to keep it front and center? We've shied away from controversy, preferring to sit back and let others take control. Now we complain about things not going our way. We've turned the chicken coop over to the foxes, and then act surprised when the hens get eaten.
How do we deal with the external controversies? We engage in them, head on. We don't shy away because it's the 'Christian' thing to do. Luke 39:40 says
"Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
We can't keep quiet about Jesus. If that brings us into conflict with those outside the church, then so be it. Better to be a fool in the eyes of men than a fool in the eyes of God.
However, controversy with external entities sometimes pales in comparison to internal battles. A few months ago I wrote an article about Dwight McKissic and his disagreement with the Southern Baptist Convention concerning speaking in tongues in private. Also, the most read article on this site concerns some controversial remarks made by James Dobson about presidential candidate Fred Thompson. I might have been unduly harsh to Dr. Dobson, but it shows how quick we are within our own community to pummel each other.
It seems that when we get into a theological tussle, it turns into a pro wrestling match. Before long, someone is going to break out the folding chair and the 2x4 and start swinging wildly. The only guarantee is that we make each other look like idiots when we do it. I disagree with some of the things taught by the Assemblies of God church, but that doesn't mean they are completely wrong. There are things in the Emergent church and the seeker-friendly churches that I think are diluting Christianity, but I'm not going to go scorched earth on them, at least not yet.
Controversy is at the heart of everything we do. Jesus was controversial. I'm sure Noah was controversial. Moses was controversial, as was David. Yet all of these were giants in our history. They stood up to Goliath, Pharaoh, and all the people who thought he was an idiot for building a huge boat and filling it with animals.
We do have to stand up for what we believe, but we have to pick our internal fights. When someone is preaching something obviously heretical then they must be corrected. When they are non-essential parts of the faith, then we must be able to let them go.
RC Sproul says in his book Essential Truths of the Christian Faith,
To avoid controversy is to avoid Christ.
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We are called to avoid godless controversies. One positive aspect of Christian controversy is that Christians tend to argue with each other about theology because they understand that truth, especially theological truth, is of eternal consequences. Passions rise because the stakes are so high.
Words to remember.