Remember that Newsboys song, "The Fad of the Land"?
Why is it that every couple of years or so, the "christian" community gets so hyped up about some latest book, and then when i go read it, i find all this weak or messed up doctrine, or sometimes outright heresy?
As an aside, here, I sure get sick of all the coffee mugs and coffee table books and pens and desktop trinkets and the way the christian publishing marketing juggernaut just peddles these things ("...peddling the Word of God..."?) to a culture easily distracted by shiny objects...hungry for gimmicky, sound-bitey, shiny little trinkety stuff in stead of studying the Word.
I'm not a "throw the baby out with the bathwater" kind of guy. I occasionally read a book, knowing full well that it is coming from a skewed perspective. I've learned a thing or two from a pagan, or an immature believer occasionally, or from a Mormon (did I say that out loud?) (was remembering "Seven Habits" yesterday in a conversation with a friend.), or from some other lost person. I sometimes read or listen to something that I know is flat-out godless, because I want to engage the culture
I've been trying to teach my boys...sometimes I feel with limited success...to be discerning about the music they listen to, for example. Measure what you are hearing against the revealed Truth in Scripture, and then make some determinations...is it right? is it wrong? is it benign (not much is)? is it deceptive? is it going to make me more like Christ? is a "weaker brother's" sensibility going to be troubled by it? "Whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, think on these things..."
Why are we so undiscerning? Because we don't know what's in the Word. We'd rather have our ears tickled, or in laziness, be entertained with dancers and videos and thumping music and a pastor guy working way to hard to be "with it" trying to appeal to the culture. ( I love thumping music by the way, in the proper context.)
I think sometimes people are just sucked in by whatever emotional need, or hot button they might have, and then because they lack a solid Biblical foundation in their thinking, they miss the obvious departures from Biblical Truth.
I don't think we give people enough credit, on the other hand. I had a pastor say to me that basically they preach to the lowest common denominator (or what they think is the lowest common denominator). In other words, they think people can't grasp it if you just get the Word out and open it up for them. I disagree.
I have an idea. Like Ezra, let's just get our Bibles out and roll up our sleeves and really set our hearts on studying the Word, and doing what it says, and teaching others about it.
Remember that Pepsi commercial?: "WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!"
