Our common worldview in the West has regressed most dreadfully over the past several generations. We think we are living in a progressive society—if only we could see how far we have backslid; if only we could understand that the popularity of the moment weighs little compared to the wisdom of the ages; if only we woke up to the fact that “chronological snobbery” has blinded us to the truth that we are not inherently wiser than those who went before. In truth, they had the advantage over us, for we have burned our bridges and willfully forgotten the foundations of wisdom passed down to us—previous generations at least had roots to help them grow, whereas we, in our epiphytic short-sightedness, detach ourselves from our host-tree as if we will do anything but fall.
Paganism, polytheism, and monotheism (of most sorts, at least) are better than post-modern, secular, “God-in-the-Dock” agnosticism—an agnosticism that falls short of atheism only because the question isn’t really of much interest anymore. Myth is better than scientific theory—for “myth” appeals to what is true, while theory invokes only what is deemed probable. The Way of Christ is no aberrant deviation from the tradition of the ancients—Jews to whom it was shamefully mundane, Greeks to whom it was foolishness, and all the rest who at the very least understood the Creator held more sway than mere creatures. No, as Lewis and others have rightly pointed out, Christianity is not 100% different from the varied spiritual endeavors of non-Christians; others got it “broadly right,” in many cases, and one can find the vast majority of Truth in other paths…but (and this is the critical point) Jesus fulfilled it all, presented perfect Truth, shone a pure light amongst the fitful campfires of the primitive seekers. We modern Christians often forget that the many of the ancients were “very religious in all respects,” worshipping in ignorance what Paul offered through Christ, and—though they groped around for the Light as if blind—God was not far from them (Acts 17:22-27).
Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and none come to the Father except through Him. But that does not mean all other ways are equally distant from the truth; all errors are not equally dangerous, for although all, if uncorrected, condemn, some are corrected much more easily. Those men at Athens who already worshipped the Unknown God had a shorter distance to go to Christ than the worshippers of Aphrodite in Corinth; Nicodemus apparently had a shorter distance than Pilate, the Jews generally had a shorter distance than the Greeks, someone born into a Christian culture today has a shorter distance than someone born in an Islamic nation. But, as noted above, Pagans and others who believe in a God or many gods have a shorter distance to travel to Christ than someone who discounts entirely the supernatural and spiritual realms.
Modern Western society stands at a dreadful distance from the Way of Christ. Mainstream elements have, I believe, veered drastically away from a healthy worldview since at least the poorly-named Enlightenment. It was around then that the shift Lewis notes in “God in the Dock” became so popular. Man lost sight of the fact that the Creator was his judge and instead tried to place Him in the Dock—the seat of the defendant. That is something that we fail to address enough today.
Western Christians live in a postmodern world—a world that has “lost its story”—and we are woefully unprepared to understand His Story…in truth, the story of us all, in one form or another. Relativism is not just a foolish, flawed worldview—it is a tragic mistake, a dangerous path, an anti-rational disease that sickens a whole society. When there are no absolutes, tolerance usurps the place of Love, resignation reigns over resolution, deception overshadows truth, shallowness dries up meaning, and political correctness takes over the common good. We do not know the true stories that lay upon us all, we fail to see the meaning in the madness…instead, we embrace the madness and call its chaos freedom. As Christians, though, we’ve been given a lens that allows us to see, although often we still choose not to look in the right direction. Too many Christians see their identity as existing alongside the multifarious identities of the fallen world and ignore the critical divide between truth and error. Part of this is, I think, that we are not burdened with God’s heart for the lost: we fall woefully short of the standard “leave the 99 to find the 1 who is lost.” I know that’s part of the problem because it is something I see in myself.
But also there is, I believe, not enough confidence in the Truth. Not enough understanding of the Story. We don’t shine our certainty confidently into an uncertain world—a world that deeply craves meaning and attachment to the story for which they were crafted. We treat other religions or other worldviews as if they are equal to our own—as if “our Story” was merely something told by human mouths. Some small part of this is perhaps a fear of coming across as arrogant…but I think that a poorer excuse than most would have it. Surely, we don’t want our attitudes to ever turn somebody away from the truth, but how eager and insistent should someone be who possesses a cure of absolute importance? Confidence in the Way of Christ is not arrogance. Granted, it is not through our confidence, our knowledge, our humility, or our attitude that people will come to Christ, but only through the Spirit of God; but still our competence, our confidence, comes from God and should not be watered down by the confusion of our neighbors. For we do not speak the truth to them for our sakes, but for their sake and God’s glory. They need this Story, and they need the meaning we have been shown.
Those who believe any story tend to find it easier to learn the real Story; those who believe in truth at all can better be shown the Truth than the post-modern relativists who squeeze their eyes shut lest they face an uncomfortable reality. Relativism would suggest that whatever truth we know is little more than an opinion. We must not fall for that lie, for truth does not have its origin in man and is not malleable to his will. There is no such thing as too much confidence in the truth of the Gospel, no such thing as being too certain about that which remains, for now, unseen. Rather than disparaging the “primitive” mythologies of the savage and the ancient, we should acknowledge that they, at least, grasp half-blind for truths our contemporaries feign to forget. There is a danger in being too “modern;” there is an even greater danger in falling under the label “post-modern,” for in doing so one trades the hope of firm footing for the shifting ground of a mire.
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