I’d like to call your attention to a blog called ‘Mind if I Say Something’. The subject of Marty Colburn’s 2/24/08 blog is You Say You Want a Revolution?
Marty appears to be arguing for the same things I do when it comes to fundamentalism and personal discipleship. I recommend it to you. Here is a taste…
There is also the trend to throw out much of what fundamentalism has been known for. While I am not necessarily speaking out for the movement itself, such an attitude exemplifies a revolutionary spirit that calls all that is old “wrong”, and all that is new “right”.
Read the whole thing! (HT: Ellis Murphree)
The piece reminded me of something I saw over at the 9marks blog today…
Blogger Jonathan Leeman is answering a question from Thabiti Anyabwile essentially to the effect of “why pay attention to these emerging people”. Jonathan argues that the angst of the emerging crowd resonates with people of his generation for several reasons, including this one:
But third, most significantly, it resonates because it embodies the deep suspicion our generation bears toward all authority, just like postmodernism. That’s really all the quotation I posted said: “We don’t trust authority. So nobody had better answer our ‘questions.'”
I am not particularly addressing this question here. What I am thinking about is the mindset Leeman describes and attributes to ‘our generation’. I think he is right in attributing this attitude to the current generation of young people. There are a lot of factors in why this is so, but isn’t it true that it is so?
Many of the ‘young fundies’ and those who are still deciding what they are seem to be in this argumentative mood where no one more than five years older than the young can tell them anything. There is great pressure in our educational institutions to back down on authority. We had better have a Bible reason for any rule, or you will reap the scorn of the young. Just because the authorities say so is no longer a good enough reason.
If we operated our society that way, we would end up with anarchy and chaos. Our lawmakers ‘say so’ all the time, and you and I must obey or face consequences.
Why is it that pastors, deacons, college presidents/deans, etc., no longer are allowed to speak authoritatively to those under their care?
Could it be that we have a lot of professing Christian young people who are thoroughly infected with the spirit of this age?
As much as they say they care about the gospel, the gospel, the gospel, they love the world, and the gospel and the world are incompatible. So what gives? There’s something missing in their gospel understanding, I believe, and it relates to the purpose of salvation—true worship.
The doxological purpose of God in the gospel is often completely lost to most modern evangelicals. They have accepted Barthian inspiration and do not even know they have done so.
In understanding God’s eternal purpose in the gospel, we need to look to the protevangelum of Genesis 3:15. Study it carefully, for there are many answers to many of evangelicalism’s theological and methodological quirks within this single verse of Scripture.