How is that working out for you?
Posted: April 7th, 2009 | Author: James Duncan | Tags: Culture, Evangelism | 3 Comments »Although I reject the premise that we can draw people to Christ by changing their opinion of the church, let’s look at what a culturally contrite approach has wrought in the church.
- It entertains error.
- It advocates assault.
- It sexually stimulates.
- It castigates Christians.
- It secularizes the sanctuary.
- It fouls with f-words.
- It lessens learning.
- It diminishes discipleship.
- It patronizes parents.
- It finds hell hilarious.
- It abandons alliteration.
What’s not to like?
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Now why couldn’t you have used that sort of aliteration in Singapore? – Would have saved me listening for the points!
I did. Perhaps you weren’t listening.
Forgive me for having ‘two bites at the cherry’ but I’m hungry.
I think you have exposed one of the foundational weaknesses of the line of thinking behind those who would seek to draw people to Christ by changing their opinion of the church and that is: a lack of thought.
It’s not as if these well-meaning people don’t *think* they’re doing the right thing or that they don’t *think* about what they’re doing, but that they’ve unconcousily reduced man to an *unthinking* beast that will respond correctly given the right ‘stimulus’ or re-conditioning their thinking about Christ.
Like Pavlov’s dog salivating at the ringing of a bell, these well-meaninging Christians ‘think’ that all (well, perhaps not ‘all’) that’s required is to re-condition people to the church through ‘re-imagining’ or ‘brand re-staging’ Jesus, the Church etc and un-regenerate sinners will flock to Christ.
In concentrating on stimulus or environment or even modern branding techniques rather than message they reduce man to little more than an animal having a body/soul, but not a rational mind.
Your blog post – or at least clever aliteration – exemplifies the kind of rational thinking that too many have abandonded in their well-meaning desire to see people won to Christ.