tolerance for truth

"God created man in his own image. And man, being a gentleman, returned the favor."
-- Rousseau

Historians tell us that in the second century, there were certain hot-button issues that were particularly difficult for new Christ-followers to believe. They could handle a guy walking on water or waking up dead people, but they couldn't deal with the idea that Christ was physically crucified (or that God could inhabit a physical body at all). In fact, throughout the history of the church, it seems that every generation picks up its white-out and decides which parts of the Bible it will collectively ignore. It's important to note that these omissions aren't related to scholarship. They don't come as a result of a more complete understanding of the original languages or by new archeological findings that give us better historical context. They're driven by cultural sensibilities. Simply put, there are parts of the Bible which make us uncomfortable. I had the same attitude towards my Mom and Dad in 1983: I thought they were good parents, but I would have felt a lot better about introducing them to my friends if I could have made them more cool.

In this generation, we face a similar challenge. Tolerance has become the ultimate value. When I was a Youth Pastor, I saw hundreds of students make commitments to Christ. Many showed devotion to God, a desire to learn the Bible and a hunger to serve others. But there was a disconnect when it came to the idea of absolute truth. Students could easily affirm the truth of the Bible and Christ's Lordship, but became very uncomfortable if that truth had to apply to others. This becomes especially clear in conversations about homosexuality and the uniqueness of Jesus as Savior.

We don't have to look very far to find the source of this tension. Our media and educational system in America have very openly and aggressively promoted acceptance of every lifestyle and belief system. Today's 20 year old has heard these messages consistently in the classroom, from TV, the radio and internet his or her entire life.

Unfortunately, this influence has begun to affect some influential voices among young evangelicals (Jay Bakker -- "one punk under God" and Spencer Burke -- TheOoze.com). These guys would never claim to be scholars; like many of us, they're just uncomfortable with certain parts of the Bible. But instead of trusting God's Word, they change it.

This reaction is as old as the Bible. Thankfully, the Apostle Paul gave us a warning and some good advice regarding this tendency. 2 Timothy 4:2-5