Dangerous Territory

I have been in a discussion on another blog site for a few days and a theme has developed that I felt important enough to address on its own.  Here is how the thinking is presented without reference to a specific topic so we can concentrate on the framing of the position and not the details of the issue.

"I read explicitly the words of the Bible on topic X, but the Bible does not make any explicit statements about a corollary topic X'.  Since the Bible is silent on topic X' I look at the world around me.  Contemporary culture says that topic X' should be viewed equitably with topic X.  Based on the observations I have made in the culture surrounding me in my every day life I conclude that topic X' is acceptable Biblically and further determine that I should accept and celebrate topic X' and treat it as equitable with topic X."

Is this a logical, proper and reasonable way for sincere Christians to think in areas where the Bible does not explicitly state anything regarding a specific topic?  I would say this is very dangerous territory and that this line of thinking is logical is not proper and is not reasonable for sincere Christians.

The line of thinking is logical because it begins with a proposition, states the assumptions and forms a conclusion.  That is all that is required to make a logical argument.  The conclusion is either true or false based on the myriad rules of logic that govern such matters.  So, the line of thinking is at least logical in that sense.  More on this point later.

The line of thinking is not, however, proper or reasonable and I will only present one reason below as it should be the only reason necessary.

God is Holy.

Is it really as simple as that?  Yes, I believe it is.  Think of the assumption made in the logic developed in the position.  If there is no explicit wording in the Bible for a position (X' in our faceless example) then we look to contemporary culture and the observations we make there to determine what is Biblically acceptable.  Did you catch that - look to contemporary culture to determine what is Biblically acceptable.  What is the danger there?  It seems obvious - the popular majority of contemporary culture will in the main behave contrary to God's will.  Granting that the law of God is written on the heart of man such that all recognize moral categories and non-Christians can do good things, this is not the requirement of the Christian.  God did not call us to be good.  Be holy, be perfect, be conformed to the likeness of Christ, live worthy of the calling to which you have been called - these are the requirements for disciples of Christ.  Even more striking is the dangerous ground on which one stands by using this reasoning, at it is similar to Pascal's wager: what if you are wrong?  Since you don't know because the Bible does not explicitly cover topic X' if one looks to contemporary culture and celebrates topic X' and deems it equitable Biblically with topic X and is wrong, what is been done is a profaning of that which is sacred.  Holding such a viewpoint is the trivialize the Holiness of God in that we are willing to make extensions of God based on the world around us which we are certain is fallen and by and large is still fighting against God.

If the mistake is made and the person is a disciple of Christ, whose sins have been atoned for by acceptance of Christ at the atoning sacrifice for sins then His blood will cover that sin as well.  But how are we to live our lives as believers?  The knowledge of what was done on our behalf and the resultant love we have for our Lord and Savior should drive us to desire to glorify God in every way and not tread on such dangerous ground, clearly placing ourselves in the terrible position of endorsing and celebrating that which is against God's will.  This should be reason enough to decry such an approach.

Some Things Just Make Me Laugh

So i'm riding down the highway yesterday and an SUV swerves over in front of the vehicle i'm riding in at the last minute.  We were coming up on a lane merger due to road construction and apparently there was much to be gained by risking an accident to be one spot closer to the end of a line of gridlocked vehicles.  Since we are just sitting there, and i'm doing some serious thinking about some blog comments and discussion i'm having at another site, I take a minute and focus on the back windshield of said SUV.  At that point I first noticed that some text was present.  I like to read and think so I focus on some Gothic-type lettering of about 16 point size that read "2 Fast 4 U, See Ya!"

I immediately began to laugh, and laughed harder the more I thought about it.  The driver was sitting in gridlock.  For at least 5 full minutes of waiting for what must have been at least 8 traffic light cycles, i'm staring at this statement that the vehicle ahead of me is too fast for me and he/she will see me later.  In fact, the text was so small from the standpoint of driving perspective, and in such an unorthodox lettering that it took a good bit of time to clearly decipher the message.  The fact that I had more than enough time to read the driver's statement that he/she was too fast for me was enough to bring up another round of laughter.  In fact, the only situation in which I could think the message would even be applicable would be on the interstate where he/she would be passing people at a decent clip.  In that situation, in the only situation that would even warrant having that lettering on the back of the vehicle, no one could even read the message.  I just kept thinking to myself, the only way the message makes sense is if no one is able to read it.

I'm not going to take the time to make some grand statement about logic and taking two minutes to engage the brain to think about the possible ramifications of actions, but instead just let it go.  In fact, i'm tempted to say that the message and the effort it took to produce it was a complete waste of time, but I did get a great laugh.