Have you asked someone what a particular text was teaching? Perhaps he or she understood it perfectly but then added, "Oh, but that doesn't matter." And thus with a wave of the hand that person simply dismissed God's message as not being applicable or at least not being relevant.
How can people apparently respond so nonchalantly and passively to God's message? There are several possible reasons why a person might respond in such a way. First of all, as person may legitimately be aware that certain commands such as food laws in the Old Testament do not apply to Christians. But there is also a very different reason why some might say "this does not matter." Unfortunately, there is a growing attitude among many which says "you believe one thing, I believe another and it simply doesn't matter." Armed with such an attitude, it appears that many people simply chose to reject all biblical teaching and doctrine as just one more brick in the wall that does not really matter.
What is it that can create such a mindset? How can parents and friends help bring people back to responsibly submit to God's Word? Consider the following fictitious, albeit true to life story of one young person's voyage to the land of "It Doesn't Matter." Along with each step in her trip is a short "antidote" in italic type to illustrate the error in her thinking.
A Story
Perhaps it was in one of the elementary grades that she may have first heard someone ask the question, "But who can say that this way of living is any better than other possibilities?" The teacher, then proceeded to reject any student's position as being any better than any other student's idea. The class went home having "learned" all ideas are different but equal. (Of course the students lacked the sophistication to recognize that the teacher was guilty of violating her own principle. When she insisted that "everything is equal" she exalted this idea over the possibility that some ideas might actually be better than others!)Throughout her education the secular schools of "the street" and public education offered ideas which converged to undermine her faith in the Bible and cause her to regard it as "an old book out of touch with my life today." First of all, she was taught to believe that only science can provide real knowledge and real answers. This meant that the message of the Bible could not be relied upon as being useful knowledge. (Unfortunately, she lacked the informational skills to realize that the claim she was being asked to uncritically believe was not something that can be proven. Rather, it is simply one plank in an extensive secular philosophical belief system.)
Second, it was repeatedly pounded into her head thorugh the years that science supports evolution and those who reject evolution are simply ignorant since they refuse to accept the scientific evidence. Often this was phrased as "evolution is built on scientific fact while the story of creation is based upon religious faith." This had the crushing effect of directly calling into question the Biblical message since the stories of evolution and creation are contrary to each other. (Of course the mountain of scientific evidence against an evolutionistic interpretation of the data was never presented . She was never provided the opportunity to really use her own brain to evaluate all of the available scientific data to make an informed decision. Furthermore, although evolutionists would like people to believe that it is a case of "science verses faith," this distorts the true nature of the discussion of evolution verses creation since BOTH stories must rely upon interpretations of the scientific data. Some of the important questions are: Does one story or the other selectively ignore data which is damaging to its case? Does one story or the other depend upon something to make its case credible which has been shown to be unreliable? (e.g. radio isotope dating) Does one story or the other rely upon faulty reasoning? (e.g. circular reasoning in stratography) And finally, does one story fit the scientific data better than the other story?
Third, she discovered that even the supposed bedrock of knowledge produced by science wasn't as solid as she had been led to believe since new scientific theories were continually displacing old ones. This realization fused with other ideas she had heard about "everything is relative" and "it's just a matter of your perspective" merged together to create her emerging perspective of skepticism, quiet despair and a reduction of all ideas to the level of objective meaninglessness. Welcome to the postmodern thinking of your neighbors, to a world where nothing really matters because no one is believed to have access to real and ultimate answers. It is a world where pragmatism and technique reign supreme while morals and character are regarded as nostalgic trappings of an ignorant and either Victorian or religiously superstituous past. (The scientific method is based upon inductive reasoning and thus can not yield absolute conclusions. But this path to one source of knowledge has no bearing upon the nature of the knowledge which comes from God's Word. Not only does God's Word claim to present truth, but the nature of that truth is propositional and therefore deductive, not inductive. Also, the presence of relativity in such subjects as physics does not prove in any way that the truthfulness of God's Word is limited to the relativity of each reader's perspective and what each one might consider to be true.)
Her understanding of what she could really believe in as being True had shrunken to virtually nothing. As even the notion of Truth fled from the final corners of her mind, she found herself chanting the mantras of common secular Self worship: "what's true for you is not true for me," "oh, that's just your interpretation" and "it doesn't matter." The god of this age had anesthetized her to the message of God's Word. Whenever her incantations failed to quiet some "ignorant" person who still held to God's Word as revealing an absolute standard, she would respond by quoting the sacred and greatest of secular questions, "Who says your idea is any better?"
A Christian Response
How can a Christian respond to such thinking? There are at least two basic paths. One is propositional. With this method a Christian does not enter into arguing the evidence, rather he or she simply affirms the Biblical message as being true while allowing the fruits which come from a life lived in the Spirit to complement the message. The second method is confrontational. With this approach, there is the effort to expose the fallacies of secular thinking, as well as defend scripture against any attacks. Wisdom will suggest which approach should be used in any given occasion.
Proactively Raising Our Children in a PostModern World
As a parent, how can I be a family leader in helping safeguard my children against the secular effects of growing up in this Postmodern era?
1) Realize that although God can work through me, it is God's Spirit and His Word which can lead someone to change if they are willing to allow Him. This should not be understood in such a way that says "I'm not responsible" or "I can't do anything," rather it is the healthy realization of one's role. Although I am not the answer, God can work through me.2) I need to be the person God would have me to be. This means that I need to model my devotion to God. Genuine love for God needs to pervade my being as I strive to follow His Word 24 hours a day. As such, my life will be filled with many qualities and characteristics reflecting Christ. My children will see me treating them, my wife and others with love. I won't be simply putting on a face for Sunday, but worship will be the natural manifestation of who I am all of the time. I will have died to Self (my lifestyle will not be centered around what I want), so that I now live for him who died for me. My dependence upon God will be manifest in both the process of my decision making and how I decide to spend my time (serving others, praying, etc. verses self-centered entertainment). In short, I will be a disciple of Christ.
3) Pray for yourself and your children. Pray that God might bless you with wisdom in raising your children.
4) Be involved in your children's education. What our children believe will determine their values and behavior. Don't passively allow the street and our public school system to shape all of their beliefs. Although Sunday school is good, it is simply not enough. Confront false ideas and fallacious reasoning. This may require you to do a bit of studying yourself.
Barry Newton, Copyright © 2000