One challenge we continue to face, as a church, is changing culture. How we adapt to the changing tide and differing ideologies affects our ability to minister. Just as Luther’s Small Catechism was really about unlearning the Catholic faith to learn the Lutheran faith, we need to develop ways to unlearn what our culture is teaching in order to teach anything different. The purpose of this paper is to refute, with Biblical evidence, the four Ideological Truths emerging from our current culture as outlined by Dr. Timothy Keller.
As our culture slowly drifts into a post-truth era, the ideologies taught are slowing deconstructing our ability to follow and serve Jesus. By ‘post-truth,’ I mean that our society no longer believes in an objective set of morals or that truth is outside of ourselves. Now days, people have their own “truths,” based on their feelings and perspectives on the world. This individualism may seem freeing, but it’s false.
Since the Garden of Eden, there’s been a rift between the world and God. God’s morals and standards have always differed from humanities. So, what’s different now? Human beings have always been selfish, always turned away from God, but each culture is different from the last. What makes today’s society unique is the idea of a universal truth is no longer relevant. In the past people agreed there was a higher power, but now the idea of inner truth leads people to believe they are the highest power. This entitled sense of self believes in no absolute right and wrong, only what feels right in the moment.
Dr. Timothy Keller laid out four “givens” or Ideological Truths modern culture has set for itself in a conference held at his Presbyterian seminary in Dallas, Texas.[1] He says, from his reporting and research on modern society that there are still set beliefs individuals share but deny that they are shared beliefs for the sake of remaining unique individuals. To word it differently, people believe these four principles, but won’t admit they adhere to a common set of beliefs to secure their individualism.
First, is that “you need to be true to yourself.” At heart, the statement seems to have good intentions. Yet, in practice it doesn’t seem to play out well. The world tells you to be true to yourself, but it also tells you to ground your identity in the various things of the world. So, we root our identity in the things we do, the way we look, the friends we have. But they all fade away. If your identity was based in something that no longer exists, now who are you? This drives the newer generations to believe that they “are nobody.” We see this in increasing depression and anxiety rates in young adults and children in America.
‘True’ is objective, absolute. True to yourself means to be grounded in who you are. But you change every day. Your personality changes, your mood changes, your likes and dislikes change. So, are we saying that if we’re really true to ourselves, we should never change or grow or adapt? We need something outside of ourselves to be true to, so that when we change and grow, we are still holding fast to something.
As Dr. Keller quoted, “You need to deny yourself to find yourself.” Jesus teaches us a lot about giving up ourselves for His sake. Not that Jesus doesn’t love and cherish each of our personalities, traits, and skills. But if we live for ourselves, we run in circles, and our work will lead to nothing. The Lord says, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…” [2] Our ambitions and goals aren’t sinful in of themselves because all things can be utilized to give glory to the King, but when we live only for self-glory and to advance our own position, then it’s in vain and becomes sin. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” [3]
Secondly, the world teaches us that “we are free to live however we want as long as we aren’t hurting anyone.” Even this statement, which was forged from the post-truth mantra, assumes an objective truth about what hurts people. Another growing trend in today’s society is that people are getting offended more easily, getting hurt more easily. Across all demographics we see people getting upset over the most minute of inconveniences. We see this in our church even. Our churchgoers get offended by outsiders listening to the “wrong” kind of music, loving the “wrong” kind of people, dressing the “wrong” way; all without even interacting with these people. The same is true in the other direction. Christians wear crucifixes around their neck in public or pray in a restaurant, and people get up in arms about it. I see on social media complaints from both sides about how the other side is “oppressing them” for just existing. So, as people are living how they want, even if they’re living peacefully, they’re still unintentionally hurting or offending others. That much is unavoidable.
No matter what action or decision I take, there will always be someone who is against it. That’s just how the world works, especially if we each define right and wrong for ourselves. We need someone or something on the outside of the situation. Because if our morals change as often as we do, then there is no justice in the world. That’s why the Law is so important. Not any law that men decide to put over themselves, which changes, but God’s Law. A Law that is objective, never changing and just. God is referred to as “the Righteous Judge,” for this reason.
Absolutely, the Law condemns us and tells us what we don’t want to hear. That’s why many people reject it and define for themselves what’s just, so that they’re always in the right. But that’s why we need to hear the Law. When Jesus came, people thought He was going to establish an earthly kingdom, one where the Israelites were in the right, one where the Israelites would no longer be condemned. He did this, but not in the way they wanted. Jesus says this during His sermon on the Mount:
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to
abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore
whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the
same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches
them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your
righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven.[4]
We’ve heard it said that we can live and do whatever we want, so people do; and people do horrendous things to each other and get away with it because they believe they can do whatever they want. But Jesus says that everyone is under the Law and that is why the Law is good. Not only does it protect us from ourselves and our self-destructive ways, but it gives us a standard of justice that never changes. If we live how we want, our morals and standards change, but if we live for Christ, we have a standard of living that never changes. And God made that standard, the Law, unobtainable so that we have to rely on Him.
Thirdly, “no one can tell you what to do.” Another statement the world gives to enable our selfish behavior. Our generations have already bought into this, as we see a huge disloyalty across the board. Dr. Keller brings to light that, “The younger you go down, the harder it is to get anyone to be loyal to anything. Brand loyalty, institutional loyalty, church loyalty, denominational loyalty; it’s all going away.”
When we have no loyalty to those above us, we often find those below us are not loyal either. When we’re not loyal to our friends, we shouldn’t be surprised when they’re not there for us. But when society loses all sense of loyalty, these become common occurrences. Yet loyalty isn’t just about obeying what we’re told to do. As Christians, we’re loyal to God as a response to His loyalty and love to us. When God gave His commandments, He poses them as a response for what He did for the Israelites. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” [5] Later God again commands the Israelites to be loyal for what He has done.
In Deuteronomy, God says that He will bring Israel to the promised land. That He will clear away many nations before them, nations “more numerous and mightier than” them. He says do not be loyal to them, don’t be loyal the people of this world. In fact, he says, “break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.” [6] He goes on to say:
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to
be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of
the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the
Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is
because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that
the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of
slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God
is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him
and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.[7]
In the same way, we are loyal to our King because of what He has done for us. Jesus died for us, paying the ultimate price to redeem us from our slavery. He freed us so that we are no longer slaves to the world, but free men to serve Him in response of what He has done for us. “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” [8]
Lastly, “do whatever makes you happy.” As I was discussing these points with our youth group, one young man gave up some pretty valuable insight. He said when we only work for ourselves and for our own happiness, that’s when we tend to struggle in life. No amounts of success or materials can make us sustainably happy. We will always strive for more, and it will never be enough. It’s when we live for others, he said, that we find happiness. When we give of ourselves to benefit others and work to lift up others, then we can find true meaning.
Happiness is a fleeting emotion. So, if we hinge what we do simply on obtaining happiness, we strive in vain and with little success. We find often ourselves in trouble and hardship, where it’s easy to break down if we have the mindset of “why aren’t I happy?” It becomes an endless cycle of expecting good things and finding disappointments. We work to create happiness and find ourselves empty, which then degrades our sense of self, feeling as though we are a failure. This is why God, who knows us and knows this life, doesn’t call us to be happy. He calls us to be joyful.
Joy is steadfast. It is longstanding, regardless of our emotions, like the climate of our mind in seasons of changing weather. We see this in Scripture because joy is often used in spite of terrible circumstances. To the Romans in persecution, Paul writes, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” [9]To those facing death and fearing the end times in Thessalonica, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” [10] To the disciples, who will soon be left alone to face tribulation, Jesus says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” [11]
We aren’t called to do whatever makes us happy, because happiness goes away, because God wants more for us than fleeting happiness. As Christians, we have the joy that comes from Christ. We are given a peace that transcends all understanding, because we understand the salvation of our Lord. We have joy in life’s pain, because we know one day, we will be in a place where there is no pain. That’s why our joy is steadfast, because at the end of the day, we have the Lord’s salvation.
The world tells you to be true to yourself, but Jesus says, “be true to me.” The world tells you that you’re free to live however you want, but Jesus says, “I have freed you to live out my will.” The world even tells you that no one can tell you what to do, but Jesus says, “I have a purpose for you in serving me.” The world tells you to do what makes you happy, but Jesus says, “Happiness fades, but my joy is everlasting.”
[1] Dr. Timothy Keller, “Hendricks Center 30th Anniversary Gala”, Dallas Theological Seminary video, 35:06, March 26, 2019, https://lp.dts.edu/hendricks-center-video-watch/ [2] Matthew 6:19-20 [3] 1 Corinthians 10:33 [4] Matthew 5:17-20 [5] Exodus 20:2 [6] Deuteronomy 7:5 [7] Deuteronomy 7:6-9 [8] Galatians 5:13 [9] Romans 12:12 [10] 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 [11] John 16:33
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