Depending on your political persuasion you are either rejoicing or lamenting over President Obama's ‘win’ yesterday. The world says “Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing.” As the end of his life neared, Vince Lombardi said, “I wished I'd never said that; I sure didn't mean for people to crush human values and morality.” But this ‘winning at all costs’ philosophy was palpable in the campaign of 2012.
At one point in the campaign Governor Romney said, “It’s not so much winning and losing… it's about something bigger…” I wonder if he was aware of the profundity of his words.
Would it surprise you that the word “winner” is not in the Bible? Can you imagine Jesus saying to Peter: “Now, go out there and win one for the Gipper!” Jesus redefined life. It was not about winning, but doing the will of His Father (Matt 12:50; Heb 10:9).
To those with an eternal perspective, it’s only and always about God’s plans. And though they are not always clear to us, we can be sure He has them. “For I know the plans I have for you. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11).
“You are good enough. You contain within you all that is necessary to love and grow deep and to heal your own wounds and the wounds of the world.” This is the first principal of Unitarian Universalism. And according to an article in yesterday's USA Today, Unitarian Universalism is on the rise.
Instead of a common theology, Unitarian Universalists (UU's) have a set of common values. Anthony David of the UU Congregation of Atlanta, says Unitarians would rather be kind than right. The growth of UU coincides with growing concerns among Evangelicals about universalism, intensifying into doctrinal warfare 2 years ago after the publication of Rob Bell’s Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.
Christian Universalism (an oxymoron) is a school of theology espousing universal reconciliation, the view that all fallen creatures will ultimately be restored to right relationship with God in Heaven. While you might think we can dismiss this heresy as out of sync with mainstream Christian thought, think again. According to a Barna survey, 25% of born-again Christians hold these views. Given those odds, chances are 1-in-4 you may be sitting next to a universalist in church next Sunday.
No doubt some of you would be surprised if I didn't comment on the Jeremy Lin phenomenon. For those of you who don’t read newspapers or watch TV news, you might have missed this. But Jeremy Lin's is the story of an underdog basketball player who jumped out of obscurity to take the NBA by storm and become a record-smashing star of the New York Knicks. And, he is a born again believer.
The fact that he credits God for his success is drawing comparisons to quarterback Tim Tebow who, as we all know, “wears his religion on his sleeve.” Now, Lin has taken the “wearing it on your sleeve” thing quite literally, sporting a wristband that reads "In Jesus Name I Play."
What is the significance of this? First, it looks to me like God has raised up these young men to be like Daniel's friends (the ones thrown in the fiery furnace): they are taking heat for declaring their faith in Jesus; and in so doing, challenging the rest of us to be more bold. And second, by their message, they have transcended the game of wins and losses for the greater gain of winning the hearts of the lost (who are seeing two strong and powerful, yet sensitive, young men unashamed to tell you they love Jesus).
Last Friday, I mentioned I had read an editorial in USA Today about the future of faith in America. The author, Oliver Thomas, said the new generation’s faith is becoming less creedal, in favor of experience and relevance. According to Thomas, “the days of orthodoxy [a prescribed set of beliefs] are numbered.”
These are the same people who say they are “spiritual but not religious” (see my blog post “Burger King Spirituality,” June 11, 2010). They say they want a faith that is unbound by doctrinal restraints—and a God who is not so uptight, one they can relate to. While on the surface it might look like a good thing that the new generation wants to experience God, the fact is, what they are really doing is replacing faith with feeling—relation over reason. Even the author, whose sympathies for the new generation were quite apparent, referred to this new style of Christianity as “loosey-goosey.”
As I read the article, two things struck me. First, an article ostensibly written about Christian faith had no mention of Jesus. And second, it seems to me it is yet another proof that Christianity is under attack by “deceitful spirits” and “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). To the Thessalonian Christians Paul wrote there would be a time of “falling away” [apostasy] before Jesus' return. Jesus had previously warned this deception would be so severe that even the 'elect' would be mislead (2 Thess. 2:3; Matt. 24:24). Watch and pray. With the recent publication of Rob Bell’s book “Love Wins,” suggesting that a loving God would never send anyone to hell, it appears the apostasy is rapidly approaching.
