Once upon a time, everybody enslaved everybody else. Anyone could have slaves, and anyone could be a slave. It was inhumane, but it was equal opportunity. This system existed for thousands of years.
Then, a few hundred years ago, somehow the entire world decided one particular group made the ideal slaves. These people were dehumanized, abused, and oppressed for hundreds of years. And the church said nothing about it. When some Christians finally did come to their senses and recognize the horror of this state of affairs, other Christians opposed them, using the word of God to defend grinding these human beings under their heels. Otherwise godly and wise people were somehow completely blind to their sin. They simply couldn’t see it.
The question that haunts me today is, what are we not seeing? Is there something I accept that will cause my grandchildren’s grandchildren to view me with shame? Will future generations look back on our lives and ask, “How could you permit that?”
Why does it matter if there is a God? What difference does it make if Jesus rose from the dead? Why should anyone care that Christianity is true? So what? That’s what a lot of people are asking these days. The new atheists have come and gone; today we need to be able to answer the apatheists.
If you were sharing your faith with someone whose only question was “so what?”, what would you say? We would do well to borrow from an apostle who did exactly that. Paul’s speech in Athens provides a succinct answer to that question, one that can be used for apatheists and also the “spiritual but not religious” and those of other faiths.
A good campfire begins with a spark. That spark creates a small flame. If you work with it, that small flame can be coaxed into a roaring fire that will warm cold bodies and light up the night.
In my latest read-through of the pastoral epistles, a passage in Titus grabbed me by the shoulders and demanded my attention. I can’t say how many times I’ve read it, but this time I was struck by how well it speaks to our generation.
Occasionally we come across an old book that is so relevant and timely it seems like it must have been written last year. Here I will try to tempt you to read one such book.
This year is the 80th anniversary of CS Lewis’ most prophetic book, The Abolition of Man. You can find it on “best books of the 20th Century” lists. Philosopher Peter Kreeft includes it in his “books to read to save Western Civilization.”
This short book consists of three chapters and an appendix, 101 pages before notes. In those three chapters, Lewis examines the problem with moral subjectivism and explores where it would take society. Where it will take society is to today. He described the last sixty years, eighty years ago.
