How Did Defenders of Absolute Truth Become Post-Truth Ideologues?



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My goal as a Christian...

is to be a "classical Christian"; to gain an understanding of what Christianity is really about before it became labeled as conservative, traditional, fundamental, liberal, progressive or whatever. As far as I am concerned what John Wesley did in the 1700s is the best model we have for classical Christianity in a more modern context! With his blend of what he viewed best from multiple long-term faith traditions and the way he was able to blend all that together and produce a "practical Christianity for a plain people"--he was most definitely on to something. And hands down, the group that is currently doing the best job of reclaiming what he did is Seedbed out of Asbury Seminary; they are the best hope for a revitalized United Methodist Church one person at a time--the exact same way Wesley revitalized the Church of England, in England and America! There is absolutely no reason to re-invent Christianity--Wesley already has.

Betsy more than 2 years ago

How I view the election of Trump

a refreshing break from the government meddling in social justice minutia that we are currently drowning in. The government was never designed to make the lives of individuals "perfect". It was designed to provide a relatively safe space for people to pursue their lives; the establishment of the government allowed room for the fact that the church would be the moral compass as individuals lived out their lives on a daily basis. Unfortunately, mainline Protestant Christianity stopped being a moral compass for individuals and opted for sweeping legislation instead. Prohibition and to some extent the Civil Rights movement proves how ineffective the government is in legislating how people are supposed to behave. The kingdom of God cannot be legislated into existence!

Betsy more than 2 years ago

You make some valid points ...

That are backed up by this quote from Philip Yancey in "What Is So Amazing About Grace?":

"Christians [in America] have spent enormous energy over the years debating and decreeing truth; every church defends its particular version. But what about grace? How rare to find a church competing to 'out-grace' its rivals."

Where conservatives messed up is they took their battle to the government to try and legislate their particular version of the truth; Hillary Clinton was representative of the "other side" trying to do the same. Problem is, morality cannot be legislated. As Yancey stated elsewhere in the same book, legislation only requires a change in external actions; the grace of God requires a change in how we view each other.

As far as I am concerned the real problem, the real universal truth [is that] Christianity in America has lost hold of what will knock the wind out of everybody's sails. Ellsworth Kalas states it in his exposition on the 2nd chapter of Genesis in his book "The Grand Sweep:"

"Here is both our dilemma and our glory--that we are a bit of sod and a breath of God."

For too long the church in America has been claiming salvation and insight without acknowledging our brokenness. And it is our sod-like qualities that led American Christians to try and "fix the world" through legislation. As someone recently put it, through Jesus, God showed his unfathomable love for us without endorsing our sinful/broken nature. We are in the mess we are in because everybody grasps at their God's love and ignores the part that his love does not endorse our sinfulness.

I leave you with these quotes from Yancey that apply to both sides of the political divide that not only affects the country but also our churches:

"The world runs by ungrace. Everything depends on what I do. I have to make the shot. Jesus' kingdom call us to another way, one that depends not on our performance but his own. We do not have to achieve but merely follow. He has already earned for us the costly victory of God's acceptance.

"Ungrace plays like the background static of life for families, nations, and institutions [including our churches]. It is, sadly, our natural human state."

Betsy more than 2 years ago



Thank you!

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