Look to the future, remember the past
By Dr. Clyde Dupin
I think the greatest danger the church faces today is losing its memory and respect for the absolute authority of the Bible. When we lose our church traditions, we are not only in danger of losing our faith, but a key pillar of civilization. Words like tolerance and political correctness usually takes us away from truth. The very stability of our social order comes from our moral values. I could have never imagined, in my lifetime, that the church could have embraced relativism and changed so much.
Let’s not deny that Christianity is God’s plan and other religions like Islam, Buddhism and Judaism are not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must never lose our memory and become so politically correct and fearful that we deny Christ as the only way to heaven. Even some pastors tell their youth to keep an open mind as we aren’t sure which way is right. In Christianity there are absolutes that will not change with 21st Century culture. We must not lose our community of memory that keeps us anchored to eternity. Truth always offends some people, but it is still truth. I talk and interview many pastors and I discover they cannot teach what they do not believe.
One church generation may survive religious tolerance and political correctness. For decades I subscribed to most religious magazines along with some secular ones. I have been frightened by the soft sell Christians have been getting, as Christians are encouraged to emerge as a new church with no absolutes and memories. The second generation, poisoned by a sinful culture, may have little memory of the Gospel and the atoning death of Christ. It’s our understanding of the Bible that gives us a sense of who we are and bridges the generations. Wealth, technology, pleasures, and change can destroy a society if God is omitted.
