I’m not writing today to complain or whine about being flamed by trolls on the internet. That’s comes with the territory. If I write something opinionated then it’s only fair to expect there to be counter-opinions (and on occasion even expressed strongly). I’m writing today because I’ve noticed something about the way in which I’m insulted. I believe a foundational shift has happened and it concerns me.
This was a comment I received in response to a post that had absolutely nothing to do with politics or any social issue.
From just reading your rationale…I have come to the conclusion sir that u would make a good “secretary of crushing Christianity” under the Obama administration!
Now I get my share of comments like this one. And these don’t bother me much at all. They don’t even sting. I just laugh because I’m pretty apolitical. Though I appreciated things like President Obama’s dedication to his marriage I was not a supporter of his presidential policies (especially social issues). I am definitely a social conservative, but I’m also not one to tow the Republican party line. I’m neither Republican or Democrat. And I’m consistently disappointed with evangelical insistence on shacking up with politics for the sake of the kingdom. And I suppose that position often gets me in trouble. Nonetheless, I don’t think I’d make a very good “secretary of crushing Christianity” in the Obama administration.
Yet, something concerns me with that comment and the one’s like it from either side of the political spectrum. When I first started blogging, if you really wanted to give somebody a zinger you’d say they weren’t being faithful to the Bible. If you called somebody a liberal it meant they weren’t being faithful to the text of Scripture. Our insults had to do with fidelity to the Bible and the Christian faith.
Internet trolls and angry bloggers have been around since the beginning of this form of communication. But I believe this change in insults being used is an indicator of a shift in our foundations. We still “test the spirits” but we use different scales. Our first test is no longer biblical fidelity, instead it is fidelity to a political stance. If you really want to say that someone isn’t being faithful to Christ you call them a follower of Obama.
Brothers and sisters, donkeys and elephants are not our standard. We do not “test the spirits” to see if they square up with our political philosophies. There is no worldly system which will be completely faithful to the kingdom of Christ. They are all hollow at some point. Our foundation is on God as He has revealed Himself to us through His Word.
I would be much more encouraged if people disagreed with me and said that I was not biblical on a particular issue. I’m okay with that. At least we are trying to measure one another by the proper stick. But more and more I see people, professing Christian people, dividing based upon party affiliation instead of doctrine. This cannot be good for evangelicals. If the evangel (good news) is not the measuring stick I’m not sure we can really even call ourselves evangelicals. We’ve become something different. And this deeply concerns me.
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