By: Dale Weckbacher
Romans 12:2
And do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that
you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
NKJV
I was driving this past weekend and when I pulled into the
parking garage, I noticed that the car in front of me had one of those coexist
bumper stickers. You know the one that
has a cross, star of David, the crescent moon etc. I am beyond feeling offended by these sorts
of things and instead remembered what Jesus said in John 14:6 when He said, “I
am the way, the truth, and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through Me.”
(NKJV)
With this statement, Jesus was in essence saying that
coexistence is not a Christian virtue however, this does not mean that
Christians hate these other religions, just that they know that belief in Jesus
Christ is the only way to salvation.
There is no hatred among Christians toward these other religions, just a
desire to see people in these religions come to a realization of the truth that
Jesus is the only way to eternal life (John 3:16).
In addition to coexistence, conformity is also not a
Christian virtue either for as we see in the verse at the beginning of this
post, Christians are not to conform but allow the transformation their
minds. This transformation process
occurs as believers in Jesus Christ learn and study the Word of God, the
Bible. However, unlike those of other
religions, Christians do not hate those choosing not to conform to Christianity
but have a strong desire for them to realize the truth about Jesus and why he
came to earth.
As a Christian desiring not to participate in coexistence or
conformity, there are some things I refuse to participate in such as,
1)
Acceptance of gay marriage – This past weekend I
attended the annual Phoenix Comicon Convention, an event my family and I attend
each year. Unlike in the past, this year
the convention had numerous events catering to the gay community. Granted, these events were optional and my
family and I still had a terrific time at the convention but the addition of
these events to the convention demonstrate how our culture is attempting to
force people like myself to accept gay marriage by infiltrating traditional events
attended regularly by straight people like myself. As a Christian who is allowing God’s Word to
transform my mind, I refuse to accept or participate in efforts to make the gay
lifestyle part of the mainstream culture of the United States. Will I attend future Phoenix Comicon
Conventions? The answer is yes unless
they make the gay lifestyle the main focus of the event in which case, I will
not be attending in the future.
2)
The belief that the United States’ best days are
behind it – During the weekend of May 17, economist Tyler Cowen stated that, “we
might need to get used to the idea that the economy will continue to
underperform our expectations.” (1) Perhaps Mr. Cowen was not too far off in his
prediction of underperformance for in the first quarter of 2015, the economy
did contract by .7%. (2) However, I must disagree with Mr. Cowen’s
contention that we must get used to it.
During this weekend at Phoenix Comicon, I once again observed the tremendous
creativity of those in attendance. For
those unfamiliar with Comicon conventions, let me explain. One of the things many in attendance at these
conventions do is dress up as one of their favorite characters. As one that enjoys people watching, I enjoy
taking pictures of those that allow me to take their picture and trying to
figure out what character they are trying to be. I remember one person in particular that
allowed me to take her picture. After
taking her picture, I asked her what character she was portraying and her
response was no one. In other words, her
costume was totally original and something she herself created. This young lady, like many her age has
tremendous creativity, creativity that channeled towards solving the many
problems in the United States that are contributing to its decline can reverse
the downward spiral. I therefore refuse
to get used to living in a declining nation and instead want to do whatever I
can to begin unlocking the problem solving creativity now lying dormant in our
great nation.
3)
The belief that Christianity is in decline –
Recent polling has shown a decline in those claiming to be Christians in the
United States. (3) My knee jerk reaction to this was concern but
upon closer examination, I realized that most of the decline was among
Christian denominations attempting to coexist and conform to other religions
and the secular world. As Romans 12:2
reminds us, this is not what Christianity is about for Christianity is about
transformation, not coexistence of conformity.
The only recorded instance in scripture of Jesus being angry was when he
overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple (John 2:13-22). The event occurred during Passover and Jesus
directed his anger at religious hypocrisy on the part of the religious leaders
of His time. These so-called religious
leaders had turned the Temple of God into a place where people were
economically gouged by those selling sacrifices for Passover. Perhaps the reason for the decline in those
professing Christianity is a similar anger at religious hypocrisy in Christian
denominations attempting to coexist and conform rather than transform the
world.
As Christians, we have a calling, even a duty to share the
Gospel with the world. Christians are to
be leaders in the process of transforming our world into a better place. However, conformity and coexistence are not
demonstrations of leadership but are instead demonstrations of following and
compromise with the prince of this world, Satan. Instead of conforming or coexisting, I urge
my Christian brothers and sisters to allow God to transform their minds and
then to begin the process of transforming the world by sharing the Gospel of
Jesus Christ with a lost and dying world.
1. Upland, Myles. Economist Tyler Cowen says
the economy might be a disappointment for years to come — and we'll just have
to get used to it. https://uk.finance.yahoo.com. [Online] Yahoo Finance,
May 17, 2015. [Cited: May 31, 2015.]
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/economist-tyler-cowen-says-economy-143724190.html.
2. Schwartz, Nelson
D. U.S. Economy Contracted 0.7% in First Quarter. www.nytimes.com. [Online]
The New York Times, May 29, 2015. [Cited: May 31, 2015.] http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/business/economy/us-economy-gdp-q1-revision.html?_r=0.
3. Pew Research
Center. America’s Changing Religious Landscape. www.pewforum.org. [Online]
Pew Research Center, May 12, 2015. [Cited: May 17, 2015.] http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/.
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