A friend of mine is a missionary in Europe. We met for lunch last week while he's home on furlough and had a great time talking about God's work, our ministries and what's going on in the world. It was really interesting to hear him talk about faith in Europe today. He said, "It's no longer "ok" to be certain about what you believe. That is the new politically incorrect thing- certainty." I have been thinking about this for a week now and so tonight I looked up the word. Here's what it means:
...Certainty-the mental state of being without doubt.
...
This is political correctness taken to it's logical end. You can believe whatever you wish, and that's fine with those around you, but you dare not be certain of what you believe. To be convinced that your belief is correct is no longer acceptable in Europe.
This makes sense in a postmodern world. The last thing to be destroyed is the certainty of faith. Once your faith is undermined, then your certainty of that faith would be an insult to the culture that says all views are correct, no one religion has a claim to absolute truth. I can see the first signs of this in our country. It will take a while for us to feel the pressure on our certainty, but if history repeats itself then we will soon feel the ridicule of culture for the certainty we cherish. But even if my friend is right I will not abandon my faith or my certainty to a culture that has neither..
Hebrews 11:1- Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
...
3 comments:
Mikey, we went over this in your office the other day: It's a post-post-post (and maybe one more post) modern world.
And Paul puts the possibility of ridicule out there for us: "IF" He has not risen, then we're to be most pitied. It's been this way for nearly 2,000 years--and it's really not a surprise that this is one of the results of Europe's slide away from absolutes that began with (if Francis Schaeffer's calculations are correct) Hegel and spread throughout Europe, eventually to the USA's West Coast and into popular culture.
I personally think that the Internet has made the "flow" or "spread" of ideas nearly instantaneous as well as with more "exchange" of ideas (as compared to a more direct flow as Schaeffer suggested)...
...so I don't think the sky is falling. This particular "IF" happened. So, we preach Christ and Him crucified and the propositional truths of Scripture. It's always been this way.
Don't worry, Mikey. The dead are raised. I can say that with certainty! :)
I agree. These were some thoughts from a few days ago from a visit I had with Danny. Just thought I would post them. I do agree with your comments and observations the other day. thanks.
Doubt is natural, it shows you are not psychotic in the proper sense. Paul Tillich was a Christian theologian in the early 20th century who spoke to this a great deal. His book, "Dynamics of faith," is good read for anyone wishing to understand more.
john
Post a Comment