Of Ideological Dissidents and Prophetic Voices

If our life-style, values and 

narrowed theological emphasis
Are all affirmed by Pop Culture, 

Secondary and Higher Education, 

the Mainstream Media
And half of the Political Establishment

Then we are not an ideological "dissidents," 
Nor do we have a true countervailing "prophetic voice."

We are simply a collection of millions 

of mirrored images - facsimiles... 

affirmatively reflecting back...

Post-Modernity and Relationships

One of the great tragedies
That will be forever
Associated with Poster-Modernity 
Is the assumption 
That to know one another "intimately" 
Necessarily means
To love one another well.

Relationally speaking...
Polite voyeurism should never be
A legitimate substitute
for one's innate desire
to know and
to want to be known.

The Way Worldviews Work: "There Can Be Only One!"

Reductionism of Worldviews, (particularly the Christian Worldview) is very much in vogue today - especially among social progressives. Some do this motivated by a desire to minimize potential conflict. Others engage in Worldview reductionism because their Worldview informs and gives them permission to do so... 

Thus... 

One of the great myths often associated with "tolerance" (democracy) is that all ideological people groups (along with their unique distinctives) can be represented equally. This is not, nor ever can be, a true reality. 

For one ideology to express it's distinctives freely and fully, necessarily means the suppression and minimizing of competing distinctives in other ideologies. 

Some Examples are: 1. The supercessionism of Jesus Christ (Isaiah 45:5; John 14:16), 2. The Practice of Islamic Sharia Law, 3. Hinduism and Karma as a form of "Justice" 4. Pantheism's view of God and physical reality. 5. Capitalism vs. Communism as competing socio-economic theories. 6. Nietzschean Übermensch philosophy. 7. Humanism and it's optimistic view of the intrinsic nature of humankind. 8. P.E.T.A. and Peter Singer's philosophy of "Animal Liberation." 9. Science's view regarding the random evolution of humans as a biological machine.

At first blush, one might assume that for peace to reign, the only recourse is to strip all ideologies of their unique distinctives, and irrationally declare by political fiat (in the spirit of "tolerance"): THAT THEY ARE ALL NOW THE SAME (sic).

Whether we want to acknowledge it or not, innate in the DNA of all ideologies and worldviews*** is the irreducible and primordial cry: "There can be only one!!!"

***Worldview Questions:

1. Where are we?

2. Who are we?

3. What is wrong?

4. How do we fix it?

Relativity and Make-Believe vs. Truth and What Is Real

One of the unique distinctives of our contemporary society is:

Our sincere resolve to think RELATIVELY, 
while in the presence of  TRUTH; 
in conjunction with, our almost god-like capacity 
to CREATE and experience "make-believe" as almost REAL... 

These are astonishing in their similarity...

They in fact share much of the same DNA ideologically...

Personal Freedom As Idolatry

There isn’t anything more revered in our culture 
     Than the individual’s freedom and exercise of “Personal Choice”

All ethics, laws, worldviews and theologies (Truth)
     Are measured by it and placed in subjection under it -

Ironically, lacquered by a very thin veneer with
     What we have learned to call “justice”
And firmly established on the simple pretext that we might offend

The disintegrating nature of The Fall is to make us
     Faithfully Hell-bent, on a kind of autonomous* antinomianism**

Truth and Justice relativized makes despotic gods of us all

*Autonomous = “Self-Rule”
**Antinomianism = “Against Moral Laws”

Words of Truth, in Addition to The Sermon on the Mount

1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--

5 having a form of godliness but denying its power... 7 always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. deceiving and being deceived…

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:1-7; 13-17