A little over 18 months ago I was approached by some dear friends of mine to begin exploring the issue of "Division." Prov. 6:19 states that God hates... a person who stirs up dissension among brothers. If we know this is true then why do so many "Religious, supposed god-fearing people" engage this practice? James 3:16 tells us, "For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." Here's a great verse that explains it all James 4:1 "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Aren't they caused by the selfish desires that fight to control you?" I don't know about you but the political squabbling in the house and senate, in the media, education, business field, and especially in the church world is unnerving. I think in the Western hemisphere one of the major reasons we have so much strife and turmoil has a lot to do with the shift from modernism to post-modernism. It also has to do with moving from relativism to Sophism. Let me explain.
According to Wikipedia "Conceptually, modernity relates to the modern era and to modernism, but forms a distinct concept. Whereas the Enlightenment invokes a specific movement in Western philosophy, modernity tends to refer only to the social relations associated with the rise of capitalism. Modernity aimed towards "a progressive force promising to liberate humankind from ignorance and irrationality" (Rosenau 1992, 5). with new social and philosophical conditions. The era of modernity is characterised socially by industrialisation and the division of labour, and philosophically by "the loss of certainty, and the realization that certainty can never be established, once and for all. It's 20th Century thinking was all about massification, centralization, standardization, and classification. Central to this loss of certainty is the loss of religion. C.S. Lewis expressed concern about how the modern state could undermine human freedom and dignity if policymakers adopted the approach of modern social science. At the same time, he also doubted the ability of any government to permanently reshape and subordinate a nation’s citizenry. CS Lewis saw "modernism" as the greatest threat in the 20th century to the church. Why?
I think Dr. Leonard Sweet in his highly acclaimed book, "So Beautiful" says it best. The Church has become "colonial in nature" meaning it demands standardization, conformity, and sees success through massification. The bigger the crowd is, the buildings, cash, and assets are defines success and anointing. The sad point however is many "modernist" Christians think that their world-view which was shaped in "modernism" is a christian worldview. CS Lewis fought with all his might to stop this from happening. Now as post-modernism has taken root in American culture, "modernist" Christians fight it's influence in favor of modernism as though it's the gospel. This is one major cause of division in the Body of Christ today.
Post-modernism begins with deconstructionism. GenX is a deconstructionist generation. They are remaking the culture. They are a part of a generation that where decentralization, demassification, standardization and conformity are out. Relational needs are forging celebrating diversification, collaboration, individualism. My concern has become that because of the blow back resulting from deconstructionism that many who are holding the views that "My truth is my truth and your truth is your truth and as long as we can agree to disagree we can be friends has now moved the culture further to a different position called,Sophism. This means "My feeling's about my truth should be regarded by you and if you don't regard my personal feelings, or hurt them by not accepting my view then we can't be friends. "The best we can hope to do is convert someone from their set of beliefs to ours. This is persuasion. It has nothing to do with transcendent truth or knowledge. It is an art, as the old rhetoricians knew. Fortunately, our belief structures contain within themselves the possibility of alteration, of adopting a new opinion." -- (Stanley Fish, Atlantic Monthly, March 1991) Wow. Now that is division and the church is full of this thinking. The fruit of deconstructionism has now moved us from fragmentation to postmodernism. Propositional truth is out. Words do not convey meaning. It is interesting to note that Dr. Francis Schaeffer may have been the first to write in-depth about post-Christian culture. It is important to understand Schaeffer’s view on culture in order to understand his position on the church in these perilous times.
Postmodernism essentially posits the view that there is nobody in the universe. There is “nobody to love man, nobody to comfort him, even while he seeks desperately to find comfort in the limited, finite, horizontal relationships to life (Death In The City, 215). The result is that “God has turned away in judgment as our generation turned away from Him, and He is allowing cause and effect to take its course in history” (Death In The City, 216).
The postmodern generation is inherently humanistic. Schaeffer mentions six key planks of the humanistic world-view including:
A rejection of the doctrine of creation.
A rejection of total depravity.
Sees human nature as part of a long, unfolding process of development in which everything is changing.
Casts around for some solution to the problem of despair that this determinist-evolutionist vision induces.
Can only find a solution in the activity of the human will.
Therefore, encourages manipulation of nature and tinkering with people (Whatever Happened To The Human Race, 288).
This is why I believe what Dr. Leonard Sweet said in to my co-hort one day during Dmin program. George Fox and Quakerism will be rediscovered in the 21st Century and may be the best answer to the post-modern mind. I now agree. That's why I am working to bring attention to Quakerism, George Fox, and even William Penn. It gives Americans a hope. It represents the Christian faith in a way that can be embraced by the post-modern mind. It ends all this fighting in the church world... and gives us the opportunity to become missional, relational, and incarnationational in our thinking. Ghee, is it possible that we could exemplify Psalm 133:1 to the nation and stop throwing rocks at each other?
To all those friends of mine who are looking at William Penn and his relationship to the Leni-lenopi's as an example provided us on how to behave with each other- may I reintroduce you to I Cor. 13 which defines love? Love is PATIENT. Love is KIND. It doesn't SING ITS OWN PRAISES! It doesn't THINK ABOUT ITSELF. Love isn't RUDE! IT doesn't KEEP TRACK OF WRONGS. It especially never gives up on people....... I am no longer interested in hearing "What love can do." Or talking about "coming with hands free of weapons" when I Cor. 13 is ignored. I'm tired of all the shouting, accusations, and ungodly behavior - that the church tries to justify. The Church has nothing to say to Washington DC or this nation until it comes to grips with II Chron 7:14.
On an individual level I don't need to be worrying about everyone else's sin... I need only look inside myself and ask "How can I get get rid of the dissonance between what I claim and how I act."
Penn treated the native Americans ("Indians") with respect. He came among them without guards or weapons. He learned their dialects so he could negotiate with them without interpreters. His peaceful policies prevailed for several decades, after which those who opposed these policies came into control of the Pennsylvania legislature. Maybe Penn could provide us a political framework to return to our real American foundation... However, until the church learns how to be who God called her to be that nation has no chance of being influenced by her.
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