In the African edition of The Gospel Coalition online, Joshua Leymian raises the question, “ Is social media damaging my ability to read the Bible?” He concludes that social media steals our time, steals our attention span, keeps things shallow, reinforces by algorithms our “shared feelings” with like-minded social media users, and robs us of the ability to “meditate” carefully on God’s word. In North America, Christians are facing the soft totalitarianism of a social media “cancel culture” that labels biblical values on human sexuality and life “hateful” and “oppressive.” Instead of engaging in respectful debate, political discourse has been replaced by scorched-earth tweets, demonization of those with whom one disagrees, and even violence in the streets.Īcross the globe, social media is shaping the theology of Christians more than the Bible. The time is coming, he warned, when casual Christians will disappear like the seed that falls on the shallow ground and fails to take root, or the seed that is choked by the cares and desires of this world (Mark 4: 1-20). This Sunday, I heard a preacher in a very popular, contemporary community church publicly repent for contributing to a culture of casual Christianity. So, they seized the moment- this kairos moment for decisive action in support of the church’s mission-and sent Paul and Barnabas on to Berea. ![]() The mission was too important to suspend or shut down. That is the message of the gospel, even if it offends Caesar or the crowd. Jesus IS the King, we are citizens of his kingdom, and, as his citizens, we await his coming again (Phil 3:20). They didn’t apologize for proclaiming Jesus as King. They didn’t despair in the face of riots. They didn’t pause to dialogue with the mob. What do faithful Christ followers do in the face of chaos? The believers in Thessalonica did not let the chaos and turmoil paralyze them. So, Paul and Barnabas were sent away in the middle of the night to escape the chaos and carry on their preaching mission in Berea. With false accusations “the crowd and the city were thrown into a turmoil (from the Greek verb tarasso, literally to stir up and create disorder). But those who rejected their preaching rounded up some “bad characters,” formed a mob, and started a riot. ![]() In Thessalonica, Paul and Barnabas went into the synagogue and spoke so effectively that some Jews and great number of God-fearing Greeks believed (17:1-4). There is a wonderful contrast between chaos and kairos in the response of the Thessalonians and Bereans to the apostolic preaching of Paul (Acts 17:1-15). Kairos is not just crisis but opportunity and favor. Biblically, a present moment that requires action, conversion, and transformation-a change of life (Mark 1:14-15 I Corinthians 6:1-2). A propitious moment for decision or action 2. A condition or place of great disorder or confusion.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |