The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, January 18th: 1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19; 1 Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20; John 1:35-42)

CHRISTIANITY AT ODDS WITH ‘WHATEVERISM’

Christianity is directly opposed to our culture’s current popular faith: Whateverism. Christianity makes the claim that Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven. The Bible quotes Jesus as saying, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

On the other hand, Whateverism claims that whatever anyone thinks is right must be right. Whatever makes you feel good is good for you. Whateverism lets people decide for themselves how to relate to God—or even whether they want to believe that God exists or not. It doesn’t matter. If you sincerely believe that God does not exist, fine. You’re right. If someone else sincerely believes that God does exist, also fine. He’s right, too.

The most important facet of Christianity is truth, and I mean true Truth, with a capital “T.” Christians make bold statements about the nature of God and His dealings with humanity throughout history. They are not statements about personal feelings. These statements are declarations about historical facts, and they are either correct or they are incorrect. Christianity either proclaims the truth about reality or it is woefully in error.

The most important facet of Whateverism is tolerance. It doesn’t matter much what God has said or done throughout history. What matters most is that no one should ever try to “impose” his values or beliefs on another person. By the way, “impose” nowadays has nothing to do with coercion or force. It means simply either speaking your views out loud, or even silently, such as wearing a cross around your neck. Apparently, something that passive is considered an “imposition.” Go figure. Such behavior is considered intolerant, mean-spirited, and hateful.

This is why Christianity has always been, and will always be, in conflict with people who believe that truth is a relative concept. Those who reject the idea of absolutes—no firm definition of right or wrong—always bristle at Christian teachings. In past generations, these people were a small percentage of the population. Today moral relativists are in the majority and they set the tone for our cultural agenda.

In this week’s gospel reading, we see a clear example of the politically incorrect nature of Christianity. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold, the lamb of God.” As a result, two of John’s disciples left him and began to follow Jesus.

One of those disciples, Andrew, spent time with Jesus and then went to his brother, Simon Peter, and said, “We have found the Messiah.” The gospel then explains, “Then he brought [Peter] to Jesus.”

How rude was Andrew?! He had a personal spiritual experience—he came to believe Jesus was the Messiah. OK, no problem there. If that’s what he sincerely believed was true, then it was true for him.

But then Andrew went and shared his views with his unsuspecting brother. How intolerant! It reminds me of a situation many years ago when Bill Clinton was president. Just before Christmastime the president’s press secretary, Joe Lockhart, was asked about a new Southern Baptist campaign to pray for and share the Gospel message with Hindus, Jews, and Muslims.

Lockhart, speaking for Clinton (and speaking about the religious denomination to which Clinton belonged, by the way) replied, “The president has made very clear…how one of the greatest challenges going into the next century is dealing with intolerance, dealing with ethnic and religious hatred…I think he’s been very clear in his opposition to whatever organization, including the Southern Baptist, that perpetuate ancient religious hatred.”

See how it works? Praying for other people and politely sharing your beliefs with them is immediately labeled intolerant and perpetuating religious hatred. Nice, huh?

Paige Patterson, the leader of the Southern Baptist Convention at the time, had a great reply: “Apparently, because the president has very few convictions, he harbors deep resentment against those who do….the president or his press secretary or both have once again demonstrated that the one thing for which they have no regard is truth.”

The Southern Baptist’s evangelization campaign violated every tenet of Whateverism. But they followed to the letter the commands of Jesus. At the end of Matthew’s gospel, in what is called the Great Commission, Jesus said, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

All Christians who proclaim the Good News of the Gospel are going to be criticized. It comes with the territory. As long as Whateverism is the predominant religious belief in our nation, anyone who claims that Jesus Christ is the way and the truth and the life—and the only way to Heaven—is going to be branded as intolerant and hateful.

We need to understand and accept the reality of the situation. We need to ask ourselves who exactly are we trying to please, politically correct cultural nannies, or Jesus, the Savior of the world? The Southern Baptists asked themselves that question and did the right thing. They knew who they are destined to stand before at the final judgment (hint: it ain’t Slick Willy, nor is it the latest secular messiah, the gentleman who will be inaugurated in a couple of days, and for whom we all should pray).

Frankly, I don’t know the results of the Southern Baptist’s campaign. I suspect many thin-skinned secularists, just waiting for an opportunity to be offended, were in fact quite offended. And I suspect in isolated cases a few over-zealous folks practically pounded people over the head with Bibles and proclaimed they were going to Hell unless they repented and believed. But I also suspect many people, confused and hurting and wondering what life is really all about, entered into a saving relationship with Our Lord.

Although I have some major differences with the Southern Baptists on certain doctrines (and many of them, no doubt, would proclaim that I am surely going to Hell because I belong to that evil Roman Catholic cult), at least they have the guts to stand up for what they believe. At least they take the words of Jesus’ Great Commission seriously. Too bad more denominations are not as brave and bold.

©2009