The Intolerance of Tolerance and A Queer Thing Happened to America

Eye-openers. Startling, even shocking eye-openers. Both books reviewed in this article proved to be that for me, as they demonstrated where the culture I live in has been, where it is now, and where it seems to be going. The Intolerance of Tolerance, by D. A. Carson, discusses postmodern ideas on truth claims, demonstrating, with many real-life examples, that the one thing absolutely not tolerated any longer is the stance that a particular belief might be wrong. Carson’s book is larger in scope than Brown’s. The Intolerance of Tolerance surveys the West in general, examining many different areas where the new tolerance is required. As the title suggests, A Queer Thing Happened in America, by Michael L. Brown, looks only at American culture and deals exclusively with issues of homosexuality and gender preference. While I would differ with Brown theologically on a number of issues, those issues were not the subject of this book. In this book, I was struck by the calm, rational, even compassionate tone he consistently takes on what is often a highly inflammatory subject.

D. A. Carson begins The Intolerance of Tolerance with definitions. Citing multiple dictionary examples, he demonstrates that “tolerate” has traditionally meant “to recognize other people’s right to have different beliefs or practices without an attempt to suppress them.” Later, Carson elaborates on how this kind of tolerance is right and good. It is right for the law to permit and protect an individual’s freedom to believe as he chooses, and it is right for a person to be able to live and interact with others with no abuse or slur for beliefs he holds.    Continue at Starr Meade

Evangelism Starts at Home

No doubt about it, the boy's life had been rough. In his ten years, he had known more suffering than the camp counselor had seen in her whole life. He was unable to live at home because of the regular abuse he suffered there. No wonder, then, that the counselor was looking for reasons to hope wherever she could find them. With relief, the young woman shared with the rest of us the conversation she had had with this child. When she had asked him if he had ever "asked Jesus into his heart," he had replied that, yes, he had done that when he was six. Then, as they had flipped through the pages of the boy's Bible, they had come upon a picture of the crucifixion. The boy had paused to look. "What's that story about?" he had wanted to know. He evidently did not know that Christ had died on a cross. I found myself wondering how this boy could have any idea of how the death of Christ applied to him if he did not even know the basics of the crucifixion story. The counselor's confidence, however, was unshaken. The child had asked Jesus into his heart when he was six, so he certainly must be saved. 

This child had not been raised in a Christian home with the benefit of Christian instruction. However, children growing up in our churches often reveal a similar lack of understanding regarding the biblical gospel. 

Certainly our church children know the crucifixion story. But could they give any kind of clear (even if simple) explanation of what it has to do with them? I have worked with children of elementary and junior high age for many years, almost all of them from Christian homes. It might surprise you to listen in when I ask these children about the gospel. The conversation usually goes something like this.

Me: "What do we need to do to be right with God?"
Child: "Ask/accept Jesus into our hearts."
Me: "What does that mean? How does that help?" The child often falls silent at this point and cannot go on.
Or, I might ask: "Why did Jesus come to earth?"
"To save us from our sins."
"How did he do that?"
"He died on the cross to save us from our sins."

"How does that help? What does Jesus dying on the cross have to do with your sins?" That is often as far as the conversation can go. From this point on, the child will usually keep repeating that Jesus saves us from our sins and we need to accept him into our hearts. Very rarely can an elementary or junior high student explain to me that Jesus died in our place, to take the judgment of God our sins deserved. Almost never do I find a child who understands that Jesus also lived in our place, fulfilling God's commands since we could not. My consistent experience has been that children raised in Christian homes and Christian churches do not clearly understand the gospel. Yet it is the gospel God uses to save people of whatever age. Our church children, like everyone else, must understand the gospel.   Continue at Starr Meade