themuzicman
April 19th 2004, 05:41 PM
One criticism of churches today is that they engage in so called "easy believism", which is interpreted as a "get out of hell free" card.
One thing that many critics don't take into account is our culture, today. The late-modern period has resulted in hedonism, secular humanism, and egoism. The problems of our modern culture aren't persecution and poverty, but the empty promises of wealth and prosperity to meet their needs.
The good news of the gospel to this culture, then, is direction, a purpose for life. Something to fil that need that money and posessions and the "me first" philosophy could not.
Thus, "coming to Jesus" isn't merely easy-believism or a 'get out of jail free' card, but it is an admission that the individual is not enough! It is a denial and a turning away (repentance) from the me first philosophy that the world embraces!
So, while it may seem to be "easy believism" from your perspective, from the perspective of the world, it is a turning from how they were living...
The most interesting thing is that modernism has found the truth, but could only discover it in it's own collapse: Post-modernism. Post-moderns embrace an amoral, truth deficient, nihilistic view of life, in which technology and all things that held promise in the enlightment era are viewed with suspicion. In short, post-modernism realizes total depravity!
The church, in response, should not be decrying post-modernism, but should be saying "Yes! Finally! You've arrived at where we've been for 2000 years!" The answer to man's problem is not found in the certainty or enlightenment of man by man, but by the good news of the gospel in bringing certainty and fulfillment to life!
In short, post-modern need the same message as the late-modern, except that you don't have to convince them that hedonism and humanism aren't the answer!
The post-modern is trying to find meaning and pseudo-truth by forming social groups and localized morality, and the church needs to address this attempt by pointing out that they are merely trying to localize modernity to their social group, and that they will ultimately arrive at the same collapse as the modern movement did globally!
The idea that we must somehow return to the cultural application of the gospel that worked in the last century seems a bit out of place in our present changing culture.
Michael
One thing that many critics don't take into account is our culture, today. The late-modern period has resulted in hedonism, secular humanism, and egoism. The problems of our modern culture aren't persecution and poverty, but the empty promises of wealth and prosperity to meet their needs.
The good news of the gospel to this culture, then, is direction, a purpose for life. Something to fil that need that money and posessions and the "me first" philosophy could not.
Thus, "coming to Jesus" isn't merely easy-believism or a 'get out of jail free' card, but it is an admission that the individual is not enough! It is a denial and a turning away (repentance) from the me first philosophy that the world embraces!
So, while it may seem to be "easy believism" from your perspective, from the perspective of the world, it is a turning from how they were living...
The most interesting thing is that modernism has found the truth, but could only discover it in it's own collapse: Post-modernism. Post-moderns embrace an amoral, truth deficient, nihilistic view of life, in which technology and all things that held promise in the enlightment era are viewed with suspicion. In short, post-modernism realizes total depravity!
The church, in response, should not be decrying post-modernism, but should be saying "Yes! Finally! You've arrived at where we've been for 2000 years!" The answer to man's problem is not found in the certainty or enlightenment of man by man, but by the good news of the gospel in bringing certainty and fulfillment to life!
In short, post-modern need the same message as the late-modern, except that you don't have to convince them that hedonism and humanism aren't the answer!
The post-modern is trying to find meaning and pseudo-truth by forming social groups and localized morality, and the church needs to address this attempt by pointing out that they are merely trying to localize modernity to their social group, and that they will ultimately arrive at the same collapse as the modern movement did globally!
The idea that we must somehow return to the cultural application of the gospel that worked in the last century seems a bit out of place in our present changing culture.
Michael