A dark view of human nature?

Human nature, without fellowship with God, is ungodly. And human nature, without fellowship with each other, tends to the inhumane. 

Sometimes I hear the objection that the Christian view of humanity is too dark. We dislike the idea that we struggle with our own natures, that there are intrinsic problems with our natures. That raises a lot of questions, not least of which is: what good could it possibly do to focus on that? We'll get there before the end of this post. But let's start here: Is that view unique to Christianity? 

Another world religion

Do other religions see humanity as struggling against evil? Buddhism's quest for enlightenment implies that most of us spend our lives in the dark. The eightfold path includes (among other things) right intention and right action, implying that naturally our actions and intentions are not right. The other points of the eightfold path also show that we struggle to have the right understanding or view, right speech, and so forth for all the facets of ourselves. 

Academics

Outside of religion we find the academic realm colliding with the same reality. History can be a general way to understand the human story, and is full of dark episodes. The same can be said of literature, where many stories show a struggle with either unjust opposition or, more humanly, with our own character flaws. 

Psychology

In psychology there are different ways to understand our human condition. For example, Jungian psychology speaks of our shadow, or dark side. Evolutionary psychology places our behavior firmly within the animal realm, where "morality" may not even be a legitimate rubric to apply to humanity. 

The point

We can look at the problem from any angle we wish; we are still looking at the problem. 

It is tempting to avoid recognizing the dark, unenlightened, or shadowy parts of ourselves. Though the struggle is universal, is it humbling. But those are the two biggest gains from recognizing those parts of ourselves: humility, and universal fellowship. What good could it possibly do to wrestle with the reality of the darkness within us? On the other side of facing that unpleasant truth is a warmer regard for the human condition, a lessening of hostility, a growth of compassion. All the serious methods for understanding ourselves insist on facing the problem: without understanding that about ourselves, we still have that peculiar fatal flaw that hinders humility and fellowship. This kind of enlightenment prevents any pride in its attainment. 

With our words we will be acquitted

There are times when Jesus was clearly using figures of speech, and others when I expect it's wisest to take him very literally. One situation where I take him entirely literally is in his cautions against dealing harshly with each other: 

By your words you shall be acquitted, and by your words you shall be condemned. - Jesus (Matthew 12:37)

I want my conversations to have words that I might be glad to hear said back to me on the Last Day. With that in mind, here are some Bible verses that speak to the topic of forgiveness. The first 3 are verses that are suitable for quoting either as as-is or with slight modifications for the situation. The fourth verse records accusers leaving in silence, where below I give voice to some words that might be fitting instead of an accusation. 

• "Forgive them. They didn't know what they were doing." (Luke 23:34)
• "Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me, but God meant it for good." (Genesis 50:19-20)
• "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jeremiah 31:34)
• My own conscience isn't clear. How can I condemn you? (suitable words based on John 8:9)

Related: a prior post on the topic. Even after 2 posts, my thoughts are not as well-developed as I'd like. I'd rather be fluent in forgiveness. Here I struggle, yet I hope for God to forgive me. 

Struggling Saints

The hymn "For All The Saints" is traditionally sung on All Saints Day, coming soon on the calendar. I have an additional verse that I wrote and privately use in devotions in memory of loved ones now gone. I'd like to share that verse here: 

For all the loved ones lost throughout the years

The struggling saints, their mem'ries washed with tears

Your steadfast mercy banishes our fears

Alleluia! Alleluia!

This year's "loved ones, lost" includes fellow blogger Joseph Hinman. 

How much should Christians accommodate ourselves to the culture?

I plan on material of a more spiritual nature next week. These thoughts on the intersection of faith and culture are possibly specific to modern Western culture -- which is where I live, so no apologies there, but not as timeless as I'd rather.  

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Whatever the changing cultural understanding may be, it is by definition not timeless truth. 

Each person is part of surrounding culture. We will each be immersed in it, possibly have the culture's definitions of right enmeshed with the Biblical view. Yet it is not our Biblical calling to promote a specific culture, justify it, or entrust our judgment to it, much less award it the same standing as the word of God. We are to be in the world but not of the world: ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven. 

Becoming apologists for the culture surrenders our ability to transform that culture, to be "salt and light". Christians cannot lose our awareness that we live in a fallen world in need of guidance and grace, and that our own culture is no different in that need for redemption. It has always been so, and will be until our Lord's return. Those most devoted to a particular culture are those most at risk of mistaking their culture's values for those of God's kingdom. 

The "cultural understanding" method of accommodating our fallen world carries the temptation to have the world's approval, or to validate ourselves with the approval of those we are called to serve and to guide -- and to challenge, when necessary. One example is in discussions of the beginning of human life, where Christians on both sides have failed to address why there are so many unwanted pregnancies in the first place. This includes our failure as people of God to uphold sustainable lifelong relationships. The culture of hookups is part of the culture of not only self-centeredness but also a culture of loneliness, where relationships are not meaningful or lasting, and "catching feelings" can be an awkward disruption in a shallow existence. The people of God cannot be true to our calling and at the same time enable a stream of tragedies by providing justification. Those at abortion clinics, like those at drug rehab centers and those at homeless shelters, are refugees from a cultural disaster. That cultural disaster, played out in millions of single-life tragedies, was caused largely by Christianity vacating its place in standing opposed to our fallen natures, which always seek to justify ourselves. As people of God, we are not called see our moral imperatives in justifying this state of decay, or to see the ruin as other than tragic and fallen. Our power to transform comes precisely from standing outside the broken system. 

 

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for ...

So many of us spend time online these days. On a hunch, I checked what is the top traffic website in the world. It's google.com. Runners-up are youtube, facebook, instagram, and chatgpt to round out the top 5. The point? We're all searching for something. (The next 10 most-popular sites just confirm that.) 

We're looking for information, looking for a way to pass the time (or fill it meaningfully), looking for friends or family or connection, looking for conversation. 

I think St Augustine had it right: our souls are restless until they rest in God. 

There is a lot of information, but not much wisdom. A lot of people, but not many close friends. A lot of art, but not a lot of beauty or meaning. A lot of dating, but not a lot of love. A lot that we see, but not much that we find worth remembering. 

Christ is content worth finding. Faith, hope, and love are the connections that are worth remembering. Loving God and loving our neighbor, those are goals worthy of our dedication. 

Peace about the unknown future

There is a lot of anxiety in the air about the future. In some ways this is expected because we live in troubled times. Here are some anchors that can help us either see the future or shape the future: 

Trustworthy promises

Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart: I have overcome the world."  This is among many promises he gave us. He promised that he would be with us always to the end of the age, and that his life was given as a ransom for the multitudes and as a new covenant for the forgiveness of sins. He promised that he would return after a troublingly long absence to judge the world. 

Planting seeds that grow

The Bible often compares the word of God to a seed that grows and bears fruit, reproducing and multiplying itself as it goes. It is the same for human words too. If we speak the truth with love, there is more truth and love in the world. If we mostly comment on the faults of those we look down on, then by propagating meanness and arrogance we will see an increase of meanness and arrogance. It is not idly that Jesus reminds us that we will give an account for our words, and that we will be judged by the things we ourselves have spoken. There is a proverb that praises someone who speaks kind instruction. If all of Christ's followers join together in this, the change in our culture would be profound. One of the most profound effects we have on the future is the words we speak, along with the spirit in which they are spoken. 

Building what lasts

Another way in which we shape the future is by what we build. This is not limited to buildings. It includes friendships, families, and ties of fellowship. It extends to art, literature, and songs. Some of the songs we sing in our churches have lyrics that have endured for thousands of years. There is art which outlasts nations. 

Whenever the uneasiness of the world casts a shadow that we live in a time that is fading, let me lay up treasures in heaven that last. 

The question "Politically, what side should a Christian take?", carries some traps

I once saw a Christian asking a political question of someone he looked to as spiritual leader. (I would add a disclaimer that the spiritual leader had no official capacity in any church, as far as I know.) He was asking in good faith, trying to discern his way through complicated times, concerned how a certain conflict was being handled by the then-current president. (Nevermind which president that was, so that the scenario could be relevant to anyone.) The answer was another question: Do you support the president? 

Accepting that question into the conversation was a misstep; I'll come back to that. 

The questioner said Yes, he supported the president. And the responder moved on as if that answered the question about the conflict and its handling. In a way it did: unconditional support for a worldly leader, or party, carries risks that people have not always thought through. 

When the question became, "Do you support the president?", the question stopped being, "What is the faithful Christian stance?" A better answer to "Do you support the president?" would be "When I think he's right." That response would have guided the conversation back to relevant territory. I've heard similar questions over the years where "Do you support the party?" was the question that moved the conversation off of meaningful spiritual ground. And many worldly calls to pick a side are baited with pride. 

The question of which political party should guide our spiritual discernment is already on faulty premises. It "looks past the sale," as some would say, about whether a political party should be guiding our spiritual discernment in the first place. Our support of a political party can never bring light to the world. Our insistence on bringing light to the world -- if we seek it first -- might. 

If we try to tie two things together -- faith and politics -- whichever one is more flexible is going to bend.