Friday, August 17, 2012

ENGAGING CULTURE & ACCUSATIONS OF HATE

The first graphic.

Over just a weekend 170,000 people viewed the graphic on the left produced by FrancisSchaefferStudies.org, and it was shared over 3,000 times in the first several days. In the following week the graphic and it's variations (see below) were shared nealy 15,000 times with a reach of over 1.2 million people. This was no promotional stunt, it actually took us a bit by surprise. Yet we knew we struck a nerve.

What the graphic points out is an important logical fallacy in those that believe that when some one says they are wrong or disagrees with them that it automatically equals hatred. We also believe this graphic cuts both ways, as sometimes Christians may be affirming something that is not true by their actions.

For those not fond of the Papyrus font.

Our primary goal at FrancisSchaefferStudies.org is to communicate the thought and teachings of Francis and Edith Schaeffer and encourage others to read their books for themselves. Yet one of the core tenants in Schaeffer's thinking is engaging culture. So I am confident that Schaeffer would not have us promoting his works and yet standing idle and silent on the side lines. Schaeffer shows in his works that it is paramount that we are constantly speaking into culture. So as students of Schaeffer's works we constantly seek opportunities to do just that in the most gracious way that we can. We believe that confronting culture does not mean we have to lower ourselves to brutally attacking others or engaging in a mere war of words. We believe that being discerning, listening, using wisdom and precise words can sometimes make more headway toward making people think and changing people's opinion than argumentation alone.

I disagree is not hate either.

If you missed all the controversy, when Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy offered his own personal views on the national debate over same-sex marriage he was immediately tried, convicted, and sentenced in the media. Further still, several elected officials came out stating that they would ban Chick-fil-A from their area and block them. Several have since had to recant on that, since that is illegal in America. This had many Christians wondering, how could this be happening? How can one of the most well known philanthropist be falsely targeted for hate. What if all institutions in America that object to same-sex marriages were treated the same way? Could the government begin rejecting evangelical churches from their area? For that matter, why aren't Muslim and Jewish groups being targeted with the same ridicule?

Tranlated into Portuguese Mateus Scherer Cardoso .

Christians everywhere rose to the defense of Dan Cathy on principle. As soon as we thought about the debate and what was being said we questioned how can we best assist Christians in speaking into this debate? How can we speak to non-Christians and help them understand the illogical leap to false judgment they are making in reference to Christians? The graphic was the result.

Schaeffer indicated in A Christian Manifesto that we have a short window of opportunity to speak into our culture before the window is completely shut. The time is now to speak up, speak intellegently, and with discernment. All along we should realize that we are dealing with real people, with real problems.

Lest we get too full of ourselves and our clever arguments, we also need to reflect and lament that the Church is also guilty of not protecting the family. 47% of Christian families said pornography is a problem in their home. (Focus on the Family Poll, October 1, 2003) The Internet was a significant factor in 2 out of 3 divorces. (American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in 2003 - divorcewizards.com) This is a discussion that needs to take place in the public square and within our homes. We must not take it lightly or merely assign all the blame to the current liberal mindset. We must lament that we too have our share of blame.

Schaeffer outlined important steps toward changing culture in his work True Spirituality. It starts with the person dealing with the results and bonds of sin and then on to our relationships. As our relationships are changed it goes on to our family and then to our church and then to our culture and finally into our government. It is our prayer that we rediscover True Spirituality in America.