I know this doesn't have much to do with history or social studies but it has been on my heart recently.
I recently did an in-service with the teachers at the small Christian school where I teach. One point I wanted to emphasize was the link between our thinking and our actions a la Francis Schaeffer's How Should We Then Live theme verse "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Why is there statistically such a small margin of difference between the way our churched students behave and the way unchurched young people act? Part of the answer, I think, lies in the post-modernist tendency to relativize truth to "what matters to me." In doing so, we can then justify our behavior that "I felt like God wanted me to do this or that." or I felt that what I was doing was alright." Worse yet, it's the student who gossips in the hallway right after the lesson I gave on how to show love by the way we talk.
I marvel at the tendency of modern American Christians to think that we can arrive at biblical truth through a kind of osmosis. Josh McDowell noted in a recent video that Bible studies for the over-25 crowd seem to start with the question "what does this passage mean to me?" without first asking "what does the passage say," followed by "what did the passage mean at the time it was written (interpretation).
Perhaps part of the problem may be what Os Guiness pointed out in his book "Fit Bodies Flabby Minds." In the US particularly, there has been the tendency since the Second Great Awakening, to allow everyman to be his own interpreter, cast off all past wisdom, and even become proud of his/her spirituality in doing so. It's when you ask a person "what does your church believe?" and are met with the response "Oh, we just preach the Bible." I don't think any of us can interpret the scriptures so objectively completely free from cultural or personal biases. At worst, such a belief invites arrogance. At best, it leads to sloppy thinking.
I know part of this seems to be disconnected. But does anyone else sense that our Christian students have completely different notions of what constitutes truth than do we?
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After suffering through countless "relevant" sermons/studies at church, I've come to the conclusion that many in our churches are essentially biblically illiterate, but have lots of information on how to live "successful" Christian lives ... I now have a new appreciation for exegetical Bible study, and have resolved to do much more of it.
ReplyDeleteOur students absolutely do! I have seen this over and over. They have been fed on a steady diet of postmodern soundbytes, and have synthesized them quite well. We always joked (when I taught high school) how we had 4 years to undo 14 years and still send them home at night. Sure, it was tongue-in-cheek, but It brings me around to the people who truly believe that we can tell our students that truth is relative, morals are whatever you want to make it, but still "be good for goodness' sake." Sorry, how can one be good if goodness is what one makes it? Even Hannibal Lector believed he was providing a service to humanity be eating annoying people. . .
ReplyDeleteWhen Christ is removed from Christianity, all that is left is I-anity. When civil is removed from civilization, what remains is I-zation; both of which are the antithesis of the First commandment.
What to do? Teach Christ. Pray. Teach the cross. Teach the students to move beyond themselves. Give them tools to think logically. The fallicies will slowly come into view.
Thanks, Orianna! Welcome to Jesus and Clio. I really appreciate Orianna's depth and her committment to the hard truths of Jesus.
ReplyDeleteBut I wonder if we could still eat annoying people? Does it come with Chianti:)?