About Jesus  -  Steve Sweetman

Our Schizophrenic Culture

Women in the Me Too Movement tell men, and rightly so, not to view them as sexual objects to exploit.  I certainly agree with that.  It would, however, be nice if the women within the movement would tell their sisters to stop dressing, or should I say undressing, themselves in sexually provocative clothing.  Such enticing explicit exposure of the female body does nothing to advance the cause of the Me Too Movement.

Our culture tells us, and I agree, to protect our children from unnecessary sexual exposure.  It is only appropriate, then, that the promoters of pride protect their children by leaving them at home during pride parades that celebrate a Mardi Gras style open sexuality before the virgin eyes of their children.        

It is clear to me that our culture is schizophrenic.  On one hand it tells men to cool their sexual impulses while on the other hand it stimulates their biological inclinations with erotic images.  The world of advertising, for example, knows how to arouse the attention of a man.  Sex does sell.            

I agree with the apostle Peter when he warned his audience to rescue themselves from their corrupt generation.  Acts 2:40 says this:

"With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.'"

How one saves himself from his corrupt culture is seen in Acts 2:38.  Peter said this:

"Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"

According to Peter, the way in which one escapes his cultural clutches is to repent of his own personal corruptness, trust his life with Jesus as is displayed in being water baptized, and receiving the Holy Spirit into his very being.

The first generation believers, and Jesus too, focused their attention on preaching the gospel to individuals within a corrupt culture.  They did not attempt to Christianize their cultural environment through political or revolutionary means, even though Simon the Zealot, one of Jesus' disciples, would have preferred a violent overthrow.  They realized that an overthrow, or even making a few tweaks here and there to clean up an immoral culture, would never succeed.  Instead, they provided a counter-cultural alternative in which one could live after escaping the grips of their culture.    

I believe that the apostle Paul had the ability to take the political route in an attempt to reform the Roman Empire, but he didn't.  In obedience to Jesus, he preached what he called "the foolishness of the cross."  1 Corinthians 1:18 says:

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

The New Testament does not teach us to Christianize a corrupt culture through political, revolutionary, or legislative means.  It does not teach us to carry signs of protest as we march on our capital cities.  It teaches us to Christianize corrupt individuals within our corrupt cultures.  We do so by both proclaiming and living the cross of Christ, which Paul, in Romans 1:16, said is the power of God unto salvation.  It is this salvation that provides a counter-cultural alternative to corrupt individuals in a corrupt culture.      

I conclude by saying this.  Jesus did not sacrifice His life to save your nation.  This Biblical truth has been consistently ignored throughout the history of what has been commonly called church, and it is still being ignored today.  Jesus sacrificed His life to rescue individuals in your nation from its schizophrenic, even satanic, corruptness.