In the age of information, we are
far beyond the point where the church could simply place a chastity belt around
the minds of the sheep to maintain a people with virgin ears and virgin eyes.
But it seems that Christians pretend this is so. The safe preaching that comes
from pulpits in America today resembles the very plain Corn Flakes which were
created by John Harvey Kellogg to prevent masturbation (yes, you read that right). There is a
mentality still present today in American churches which is parallel to the
mentality which regarded spouses sleeping in separate beds as holiness. This is
the same mentality that has most Christians in America believing grape juice to
be the holier option for communion over wine, and helps prevent drunkenness.
Unlike Socrates, the Greek
philosopher who had to drink poison and die in order that his influence in
Greece was muffled, elite evangelicals in America only need to place their
opponent’s name under a ban and their followers will follow suit.
Indoctrination without examination is the safest route to remain accepted in
our culture. Once you begin to question the traditions and presuppositions you
are taught to believe, then like a Cretan you must be silenced. But this
actually makes it is easier for atheists and secularists to prey upon
professing Christians, since God has designed us to be critical thinkers rather
than remaining in dependency on our mother’s breast for the rest of our lives.
It’s not that the conclusion that
atheist arrives at is correct, but it is their attempt to put off infancy and
put on adulthood which attracts men and women who feel weighed down by doubts
that they are not allowed to have in the church setting. Many carry the burden
of always having to cover our eyes and plug our ears when an opposing worldview
is presented, out of fear of inevitably falling away. Many churches are
presented as a safe zone in which you need to stay, and only go out for a brief
moment to pull maybe a few others inside. Although apologetics is paraded among
many Christian circles, there still seems to remain a patronizing attitude and
safeguarding that does not line up with what Paul means when he says, “guard
the flock.”
I am unsure how it is reasonable
even to have a conversation about apologetics without the sheep being exposed
to oppositions that actually challenge a Christian’s faith. I respect those who
engage in public debates with opposing worldviews as it allows believers to
hear the opposing worldview from the horse’s mouth rather than simply explained
by another Christian who agrees with them. While it is important that
Christians be taught by their teachers what other worldviews believe, hearing
it from the other side itself leaves no room to think the presentation is
biased or an unfair representation.
Even homeschooled children who
are not allowed to play with unbelieving kids in the neighborhood, restricted
from television, and are confined in corners at church and family functions
away from the mischievous children, will one day grow up and being exposed to
the world outside. The same is true for all those whose whole lives are
confined within the four walls of their local Christianity: they too will one
day be exposed to a darkness that their discipleship did not prepare them to
handle.
Too many Christians carry an
attitude of naivete, or even arrogance, in which they act as if that as long as
they indoctrinate their children or disciples, catechize them, and keep them on
their hips all day that there will be nothing to shake their faith. Parents who
withhold information concerning sex from their children will find out later on
that someone irresponsible has taught them a perverted view of it. Churches
which mock evolution and mock atheism without exposing their flock to the
detailed claims that are made by them fail to prepare them for the real
battlefield. Churches that teach church history in a sanitized way open the
door for their flock to find out the whole truth from someone who will use that
as leverage to draw them away. Churches who tell their flock that the bible is
infallible and inerrant yet make it seem as though the bible came together in a
nice package from God fail to help their flock understand the providence of God
through a peculiar history and leave the door open for opponents who proclaim
our faith is rooted in perversion and uncertainty. Churches who speak of the
victories of the Church in America, yet fail to tell them about the “Jesus of
Lubeck,” a.k.a “The Good Ship Jesus,” and the ministries and denominations
which were funded by the slavery of Africans, present the perfect opportunity
for black cults to make disciples. Churches who neglect to deal with Old
Testament scriptures such as in Exodus 21:7–11 which allow for a man to sell
his daughter into “slavery,” leave believers as an open target for unbelievers.
Many are told to abandon their
families and friends to avoid outside voices that could influence us. They
present this as a command while misinterpreting our Lord’s statement; “If
anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and
children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my
disciple” (Luke 14:26). This makes Christianity seem like
a secret society or just another cult that needs to confine you in order to
brainwash you. Many churches use this type of mentality as a form of control.
Although there may be a sincere desire from leaders who want to see their flock
grow in holiness and to be protected from being deceived, this actually is
counterproductive. The Pharisees added such extraneous boundaries to God’s law
with the same motive, and it resulted in a religion which was burdensome and
hypocritical.
The church in America is
preparing people to be sheep that simply live amongst other sheep, but Jesus
tells the disciples he is sending them as sheep among wolves (Matthew 10:16). We must remember that one form
of persecution is mocking. This mocking is not always from the mouth of an uncivilized,
unruly, unintelligent person which actually helps the Christian psychologically
feel more confident in their faith. Some of it is sophisticated, thoughtful,
intellectual, and challenging. This is why it is important that church does not
breed any more generations that only know how to repeat cliché answers to
opponents. Rather people must be forced to think and decide for themselves if
what has been presented is accurate. We must depend upon the Holy Spirit to do
His work in opening the eyes of the blind, and we must trust that there is
power in the truth that has been revealed to us. But we must also be able to
present that truth afresh, custom-fit, and adapted to answer any and all unique
circumstances.
Censorship is a snowball rolling
down an unending hill. Once you attempt to censor the flock from outside
influences, it eventually becomes a problem that happens within as well. Subtly
we see in many churches the echoes of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum
(List of Prohibited Books)—the list of books banned by the Roman Catholic
Church, which resulted in no book being printed or sold unless permitted by the
church. The Catholic Church ended up controlling universities and publications.
Because of a score of its hang-ups, taboos, fears, and self-righteous
objections, even the church in America today cannot consistently praise people
like Martin Luther and William Tyndale and promote its censorship at the same
time.
I think it is interesting to see
the attitudes of many ministers in America towards the Abolish Human Abortion
movement. Even if they were right in some of their assessment, their approach
to cover the eyes of their flock when AHA passes by is suspect. I also find it
interesting from my observation that controversial topics in the church are
only allowed to be discussed if the traditional view is upheld. Once someone
opposes a traditional view, the debate usually does not end in a civilized
manner; rather it seems those who hold the traditional view seem to get
hostile. I don’t mean that when defending the faith or biblical standards we
aren’t allowed to be passionate. The passion I see amongst many, however, is a
result of not having a response that they confidently say is Sola Scriptura.
I also have heard many pastors
forbidding their congregations or other Christians from reading or listening to
certain material. There is a difference in warning someone about something
rather than forbidding them. I think this is a result of the mentality that
many pastors have that “sheep are dumb.” Since they believe sheep are dumb,
they apply it to their congregation as if they are not responsible enough on
their own to do their own research. This attitude makes ministers come off as
if they are the only ones competent enough and strong enough to examine things
before it is filtered to the flock.
We don’t need flocks who accept
everything their pastor tells them; we need flocks who question everything
first. I don’t mean that they ought to question everything in a manner that
results in extreme skepticism, but in a responsible way that allows them to
think critically through why they believe what they believe. God actually used
my skepticism to save me and has used it to bring me to experience some of the
most intimate times with the Lord. Censorship does not sanctify. Holding one
another accountable does not mean we ought to control what others do, see, or
hear. Rather we ought to encourage one another and exhort one another to guard
our hearts and not be deceived. This moves us all toward greater sanctification.
This exposes the fallacy of censoring the flock to protect it: censorship
actually does not allow the church as a whole to be sanctified. If we believe
we are “reformed and still reforming,” we must recognize that reformation will
continue to come by the Spirit of God outside man’s attempts at organized
control.
I am truly thankful for those
ministers of God who are being faithful to the call to equip the saints for the
work of the ministry. I am thankful for all of their labor in studying,
defending the faith, and providing resources to challenge the body. I am also
thankful for those who will not be muffled by the majority and continue stand
up against legalism and unrighteousness.
