Dangerous Heretics has published more than 40 articles to date, and so far we’ve been primarily focusing on our identity in Christ, what the life and sacrifice of Jesus has purchased for us, and how that affects our lives. I wanted to lay that groundwork before getting into the real meat and potatoes of why I started DH, and that is to have discussions about how a Christ-centered worldview should affect our lives in the culture in which we find ourselves.
Remember, the name Dangerous Heretics was chosen because those who cling to biblical truth these days are often branded heretics, because many Christians don’t let the Bible interfere with what they believe. A social gospel has taken root that dilutes the power of the Word, and while many social programs and ideals are good and even biblical, many Christians and even entire churches have made that their centerpiece rather than the truth of the Bible.
Certain Mennonite churches (and I could include Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran and others) now present messages with no mention of the bible at all, only social gospel messages that are at times actually anti-biblical (for example, pro-abortion). This is precisely why they can’t include the Bible in their “sermons” – because it would refute the actual message they’re trying to peddle.
So, the original purpose of DH was to address the current issues that affect us all, and begin discussions about how we might respond to these issues using biblical truth. I won’t get it right every time, but this is not so much about getting it right as starting conversations. There is a reason there are thousands of Christian denominations—because we can’t agree 100% on everything in the bible. I think it’s rather unfortunate that such things should divide the Church, but that’s the way it is. In the same way, my ideas won’t be the same as yours, but we can surely learn to live together, love one another, and discuss difficult issues even when we disagree.
This, by the way, is one of the great tragedies of our day. Disagreement has been re-labeled as hate, and this is a terrible byproduct of our “woke” culture. So this is the topic of this article.
I will say things that most non-Christians may disagree with, but also many Christians may also disagree. That’s okay, because we don’t need to agree on everything in order to live in love and unity. One of my Facebook friends told me that because of one of my responses, he almost unfriended me. That’s unfortunate, but all too common these days. If we only converse with people who agree with us 100% then we limit ourselves to our own puny worldview and cannot grow, and we certainly cannot then minister to those we “unfriend.”
No one disagreed with the Jewish laws and customs more than the Samaritans, who had every right to reject the Jews. The Jews hated the Samaritans, to the point where it was actually written into their moral code that they could not even enter a Samaritan’s house. But Jesus befriended the Samaritan woman (in that culture, the fact that she was a woman was another strike against her), and loved her, and then hung around town for a couple days teaching them all the truth. If Facebook was around then, there is no doubt that no self-respecting Jew would ever have a single Samaritan “friend.”
The woke theology of modern culture is nothing more than the devil’s lies. He is not capable of any new thought, he can only lie and pervert what is true, so his modus operandi is to convince people that any speech that does agree with his pre-determined narrative is hateful. How ironic that the father of hate causes others to fear being hateful!
Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Truth can only be understood through the active influence of the Holy Spirit on our minds. Since God is the Creator of Truth and the arbiter of what is indeed true, then any source other than God cannot be trusted. There can sometimes be a big difference between what is true and Truth.
And as we strive to speak the truth, we must always remember (and often struggle) to be sure we speak the truth in love. God is love. Everything about our message must flow out of our love for others and His love for all people. Sometimes it might not sound like love on the surface. Pointing out someone’s self-destructive behavior may be offensive to some but the first step in healing is to acknowledge the disease. It is no act of love to encourage someone in a lifestyle or behavior that will ultimately destroy them or give them a life of pain and misery.
It’s a fine line to walk, but we speak the truth, because Jesus did. And we are “Little Christs” (that’s what the word “Christian” means). We are to be the source of God’s light and truth on this planet. We can’t just sit and pray for others, that somehow they will receive a message or some kind of encouragement that can help them out of their personal dark hole. YOU are meant to be that person, that message, that encouragement. It’s time to get out of our prayer closets and actually DO the stuff that we are asking God to do.
So, as you may have guessed, the woke theology of the modern zeitgeist is in my crosshairs. It may not be pretty at times, but neither was Jesus when he drove the money changers out of the temple with a whip, or when he called the Pharisees sons of hell. I hate the devil with a passion, and I take this scripture to heart, which I believe has been almost universally misinterpreted:
“Be angry, and yet do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity” (Ephesians 4:6). I have always heard that this means we should not let the sun set before we deal with our anger and get rid of it. What this verse really means, in its proper context, is don’t ever let the sun set on your anger toward the devil. Always stay angry at him, but don’t sin in the process.
The woke culture is evil specifically because it stands in opposition to biblical truth. The freedoms we enjoy in this nation are based on biblical principles that our founding fathers built into the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. Freedom is a biblical value. The sanctity of life is a biblical value. The right to autonomy in how I deal with my own personal decisions (including the decisions I make about my own body) is a matter of free will which is God-given.
Therefore, we will see that, categorically, those who are rising up against Constitutional values also happen to be the same ones who are killing babies, destroying the God-designed family unit, introducing immoral and wicked materials into our school system, and systematically removing the God-given rights of those not only in our nation but around the world.
Thanks for joining us. It’s going to be quite a ride!