More problems with meme theology

Many memes that are meant to be pithy, and maybe even inspirational, end up ignoring biblical theology in their efforts to make a point. I often refer to such statements as "bumper sticker theology." My Facebook friend Tony Belarmino calls the "Christian clichés and Pentecostal platitudes." They're those soundbites that are very tweetable or memorable, but because they're so brief (to make them easy to remember and repeat), they frequently are very surface-level, and end up failing to go deep enough to really get at the truth contained in Scripture.

One example is something I saw posted the other day quoting California megachurch pastor Bill Johnson:

The obvious implication here is that if you voice a complaint, then you're inviting Satan in.

It is certainly true that many times—especially during Israel's wandering in the wilderness—God takes them to task for complaining against Him and the leadership He had put in charge of guiding His people. Complaining for the sake of complaining, or getting one's own way, is definitely wrong, because it's manipulative, using the logic of the old adage that "the squeaky wheel gets the grease."

Getting the metaphor wrong

I've seen this posted several times over the past week. And yes, I'm going on one of my pedantic flights of metaphoric correction here.

The tea bag is placed into the hot water, and the longer the bag is in the hot water, the more what is in the bag changes the water.

But the person being in the Word does not change the Scriptures (though there are plenty of people who try to alter and bend the Bible to match their own preconceptions and desires).

Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made Of

Last fall, I read a book by a Christian author on the subject of dream interpretation after seeing a lot of chatter on social media concerning the topic. My point in this post is not to call out a particular person, so I'm not going to name the book title or author. But I do feel that some of the assertions made in the book need to be addressed using biblical principles.

In the introduction, the author states that, while God definitely speaks our human languages, that it must really please Him when we make the effort to understand His "creative language of dreams." As someone who is fluent in Spanish as a second language, and has studied a bit of biblical Greek, I know a little about learning another language. Many people expect learning another language to be a simple matter of learning which word in the source language corresponds to which word in the target language, as though languages are just replacement ciphers. 

This misconception can lead to a lot of false starts and bad conclusions. Anyone who sets out to learn a second language quickly discovers that context is just as important as knowing a list. I've lost count of the times a native Spanish speaker has asked me, concerning an English word, "What does the _______ mean?" Probably 80% of the time, my immediate response is, "Can you tell me the sentence you saw it in?" because that one English word could have three or more Spanish equivalents, depending on the context in which it is being used. So, before we can think about learning the "dream language," we need to have an actual understanding of how languages work.

Misrepresenting Christ

I saw the following posted on Twitter (X) by SocialConserv. @bookkeepPLUS

I'm increasingly disheartened by the sheer volume of vile, disgusting posts I come across, only to check the bios and see phrases like "Christ is King," "Christian," "Reformed," and similar proclamations of faith. It's deeply troubling to witness such blatant carnality disguised under the banner of Christianity. These individuals claim to follow Christ, yet their actions and words betray a heart steeped in anger and hatred, done so under the guise of fighting for God. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, putting away the works of the flesh—anger, malice, slander—and embracing the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, and peace. When you declare "Christ is King" but your actions and speech reflect anything but His love and humility, you misrepresent not only yourself but also the God you claim to serve. This behavior distorts the Gospel. The world is watching, and when those who claim to be followers of Christ act with such carnality, it feeds into the narrative that Christianity is hypocritical and irrelevant. We are called to be the light. Unfortunately, politicians like Donald Trump and other prominent figures in politics who claim to be Christians have given many Christians a perceived permission to act on their worst impulses, believing it's justified. It’s time for a serious heart check. If one truly believes that Christ is King, then one's life should reflect His teachings, not the basest instincts of the flesh. We represent a God of love, mercy, and grace. It’s not just about what you proclaim in your bio; it’s about how you live your life every single day. If your actions and/or speech don't align with the faith you profess, it's time to rethink how you’re representing Christ to the world.

Like one of my pastors once said to the congregation, "If you're cutting people off in traffic, or yelling at people and making hand gestures when you get cut off, please don't put our church's bumper sticker on your car."

Revisionist History?

As best as I can recall, the only time I have deleted a comment on one of my Facebook posts was if the person used profanity, was abusive, or stated something that was outright false or heretical. I don’t believe I have ever removed a comment simply because someone disagreed with me, or even if they made an argument against my stated position that I couldn’t easily refute (in other words, I don’t delete comments to save my own reputation).

Over the past week, I was involved in a discussion in the comment thread on a political post. I had been in a back-and-forth with a few people, and after the 3rd or 4th day, I took a break from reading and responding, as I wanted to guard my spirit and not allow myself to get overly worked up or feel the need to adamantly defend my views. I took this break even though I had email notifications that this or that person had mentioned me in a comment, and I knew they were participants in that discussion thread.

Undeceiving ourselves about: politics

The following is my transcription of a segment of the Undeceptions podcast with John Dickson, who teaches at Wheaton College as the Jean Kvamme Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies and Public Christianity. You can listen to the origianl podcast here. 

There is an increasing movement of what is often called Christian Nationalism, or perhaps, more properly, theonomy—which just means, “God’s law.” The feeling is that God has given a law about what’s true and good in the Bible, so it makes sense that everybody should obey it, even those who don’t believe. A key text for this way of thinking about Christianity and the world is the so-called Great Commission at the end of the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I commanded you.” 

Those who hold this theonomist view say that Jesus has given us the mandate to make everyone obey the teachings of Christ. So this must mean through legislation, education, media, and so on. There are a couple of misunderstandings here in my view. The expression in English, “make disciples,” doesn’t actually in the Greek have the word “make.” There is no sense of forcing anyone to do anything. It’s just the verb meaning to “school” your students. This is then unpacked by Jesus in this statement as teaching people to obey the things He’s taught. This is key. For Jesus, persuasion—through teaching—is the principle means by which people become His students. We don’t “make” the world do anything. This actually rules out creating laws that force society to follow Christian doctrine and practice.