POG (5) Samuel Moment
This is the last of my notes on the talk by Os Guinenss called The Power of the Gospel
Transparency
The young generation talks about transparency, authenticity and accountability, as if they are new.
In a fallen world, morality is accountability through visibility.
People in the modern are more anonymous than any generation in history. Two Christians brother agree to hold each other accountable. They meet on a Tuesday night. They only know what they say about as happened since the last met
This is a little distorted
There is no real transparency.
Preferences
The modern world shifts us from authority to preferences.
Traditionally, God’s authority bound behaviour.
Now anything goes among evangelicals
This is the effect of consumerism, which expects us to pick and choose from among multiple offerings, depending on preferences.
Everything is a choice. This powerful cultural influence erodes authority.
Samuel Moment
The Western world is at a Samuel moment.
When Israel wanted a king, God said to give them what they want. but warned them of the consequences.
The Christian message to the modern world must be
“This is your choice; but there will be consequences,
and we will live differently, whatever you choose to do”.
1 comment:
True, absolutely, and Christians need to apply Samuel's warning to the evils that exist in an era of individual choice. It's not enough to say, "Yeah! Right on! You tell 'em, Sam! The politicians in our nation's capital ARE bad and our taxes ARE too high!" When worldly power is redistributed--as it has been redistributed from kings and potentates and all-powerful Popes to millions of ordinary voters and consumers--the sins associated with it do not go away. They are democratized and occur on a smaller scale and are less noticeable on a case-by-case basis, but they keep right on going. Christians today are perilously close to accepting wholeheartedly the democratic assertion that real evil comes only from big-shots and people in special positions. They are like generals preparing for a war that was fought long ago with different tactics, while doing nothing to prepare for the war now facing them.
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