I love Chick-Fil-A. I sometimes even buy two sandwiches when I’m not hungry just because is tastes so good. On top of that, they sell this new thing…..a PEACH MILKSHAKE, that tastes just like it was homemade in my kitchen in an old wooden churn. I’m not much of a fan of the waffle fries, but hey, the slaw makes up for it. I remember growing up as a kid that Chick-Fil-A was my “go to” restaurant. It was great back then and great today. All that aside, it seems that Chick-Fil-A is now in a battle with a sector of secular society that promotes marriage as being between two people of the same gender. This disagreement was heightened as a result of a comment made by Dan Cathey, president and CEO of Chick-Fil-A. His statement is as follows:
“We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit.” “We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that” (http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38271).
So, because a man agrees with Scripture about the definition of marriage, he is assaulted by an increasingly amoral society. Here is the problem. In the United States, we live in a culture that continues to move quickly from moral to amoral. Through the years, those who enjoyed life outside the bounds of Christianity have oftentimes been quite offended at the thought of having to give up their freedom to live life as they wished for a life of Christian slavery and solitude. While this so-called slavery and solitude is not exactly true, there is a change that happens when someone commits their life to Christ. This change is not a shift, but a complete change (2 Corinthians 5:17). On the other hand, today’s Christian community seems to embrace tolerance as if it were some type of righteous addition to it’s own religion. While tolerance should mean respecting someone’s privilege to embrace a specific belief system, it should never mean an unwillingly acceptance another’s belief system as truth. I believe a large segment of the Christian community has altered the definition of tolerance to mean acceptance, and this acceptance will eventually lead to an amoral society. As secular culture continues to grow more rapidly than Christianity, many different shades of grey will continue to emerge and battle for its place in the accepted moral structure of our society.
Like a prowling lion, secularism is slowly engulfing what was once a Christian culture. The United States was founded on the grounds of spiritual and religious freedom. In fact, nearly half of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence had either Bible or Seminary degrees. John Adams, our 2nd U.S. President and signer of the Declaration of Independence says it best.
“Suppose a nation in some distant Region should take the Bible for their only law Book, and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited! Every member would be obliged in conscience, to temperance, frugality, and industry; to justice, kindness, and charity towards his fellow men; and to piety, love, and reverence toward Almighty God … What a Eutopia, what a Paradise would this region be.” –Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, Vol. III, p. 9.
Adams understood the importance of Scripture in a person’s life. He understood that a culture founded and focused on Scripture would move people toward a “Eutopia” and “Paradise.” Today, many in our society believe the opposite. Society views Christianity as an intolerant, rigid, and exclusive country club for those who practice exclusivity and piety. So, there lies the issue. There lies the great lion in the grass. Waiting to pounce. There lies great lie. Waiting to influence all who believe differently. Oftentimes this induction into secularism becomes full-blown as a result of academia. This declension has caused me to explore the relationship between secularism, morality, tolerance, and action.
It is certain that as time continues to sift itself through the hourglass of our past, present, and future, our society becomes more and more secular and less and less moral. Morality, from the beginning of time, has been based on the teachings found in Scripture. This teaching, while spiritual in nature, has served humanity well in providing structure, order, and a healthy respect for people everywhere. However, as a result of the influence of secularism in society, its morality shifts quickly and almost invisibly to immorality. This immorality must be defined through the lens of morality, which means the immoral nature of an activity or thought must be measured against the accepted morality of a culture. As most slippery slopes eventually do, this slope also declines toward an amoral society. This shift is from moral to immoral to amoral. As seen in figure 1, the slope is clear.
This amorality is seen nowhere more explicitly than in the world of academia, where young adults are often subjected to an unhealthy and amoral belief system. This downward, and often out of control spiral is supported and encouraged by marginalizing its effect on students. Some parents and adults say, “They will be exposed to unpleasant experiences in college,” “They have to grow up sometime,” “It increases their belief in Christ,” or “They will graduate much stronger.” All I can say is “Don’t marginalize the effect of amoralism on our students and their faith.” Don’t stop reading yet. I want to share a personal story with you about something that recently happened to my daughter that I believe only increases credibility to all I have previously stated.
Several weeks ago, my daughter was given a book to read as her “First Experience” reading assignment at the University of South Carolina. In fact, all freshmen were given the same assignment. This book, “Motherless Brooklyn,” contains numerous “F” bombs, many other uses of profanity, and several explicit sexual scenes. Some would like to justify this as a specific type of genre where profanity is needed to help the reader more fully understand the situation and circumstances. Sorry, but I don’t buy it. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that we are asking young adults to read this. After all, we do live in an increasingly amoral, “everything is ok,” society. On a similar note, I couldn’t help but notice the number of young women on the beach several weeks ago occupied by the book, “Fifty Shades of Grey.” I imagine enough has been said about this book. However, I am more convinced than ever that we are quickly approaching amorality in our culture.
This brings me to tolerance and acceptance. Tolerance says that I understand a person’s right to adhere to a belief system. However, I don’t have to accept that system as truth. This is where the Christian community is constantly fired upon by a less and less moral society. This culture says that we should not impose our beliefs on another, but isn’t that exactly what Christ did? Christ never forced Himself on anyone, but He did leave instructions for believers to live for His glory and to tell others about His exclusive gospel. This brings me to the point of action. What should we do?
First, we don’t accept just any view or belief system as authoritative. Second, we must live out our belief in Christianity because it is authoritative. Living out our belief in the life-changing power of the Gospel is critical to impacting a culture that is quickly approaching amorality. Christianity is not passive, but rather proactive. Gone are the days of people coming to your church hoping to find hope just because the doors are open. We must engage culture and live out the gospel? Are you ready for the assaults that will surely come your way when you stand and promote Christian values? I believe we should compassionately, but firmly, live out Philippians 4:8-9.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
It’s important to know what you believe and why you believe it. Without that foundation, you will also slide down the slippery slope toward amorality and call it tolerance.