Hello everyone,
In what seems like an impossibility, next week our oldest child turns 21. This is downright bizarre. He is our only pre-9/11 baby. He crawled around on the floor of our living room in Holden, Massachusetts, as I watched The Today Show that morning. He has lived at six different addresses already in his young life, one more than his closest sibling. We brought him home from the hospital around noon on a snowy Inauguration Day, as George W. Bush took the oath of office.
So while it seems impossible that he is already this old, it also feels like he was born in an entirely different time.
The Part Where There’s an Essay:
Thought Trends in 2022
Recently I’ve been trying to put into words the thought trends that I see influencing the evangelical Christian church in 2022 (though I started in 2021 — check the archives). There are more, not fewer, than this. As a writing exercise and to encourage dialogue, I’ve attempted to keep the definitions brief.
To be clear, I’ve seen each of these in my conversations with my various communities. They are not pulled from internet interactions with strangers. They are in play in the minds of my friends, family, and myself.
A Misunderstanding of Christian Liberty
Over the course of the last few years, I’ve had a few conversations in which my partner cites the category of “Christian liberty” to mean “I can do what I want.” While I recognize that this is a huge category of ethics to which theologians have devoted lifetimes, I offer the following boiled-down, brief outline of principles for exercising your Christian liberty. Apply to pandemic topics, pop culture consumption, alcohol use, and other categories as needed.
“Freedom” as a Biblical category means freedom from sin and death. It does not mean you can do whatever you want. (Romans 6)
There are certain categories of decisions to which the Bible does not speak definitively. In such categories, Christians ought to apply sound reason and consider one another above themselves. (I Corinthians 8:1-13; Galatians 5:13)
When we become free from sin, we become bondservants of Christ. (I Peter 2:16)
When we are part of the body of Christ, we are bound to serve one another, determined not to put a stumbling block in the way of another. (Romans 14; Romans 15:1-3)
A few applications:
In my experience, these principles mean that in areas of Christan liberty, the believer usually has more homework to do, not less. What will build up your fellow believer? Sometimes it takes asking an awkward question or two. We can’t assume everyone thinks as we do.
Certain pockets of conservative political movements, especially in the South, have made the “Faith Family Freedom” movement into something that has absolutely nothing to do with a Biblical understanding of freedom. It is OK to entrust these people with building a float for your Fourth of July parade. It is not OK to entrust them with your doctrine.
Exercising freedom can, itself, enslave. Sinclair Ferguson expounds more here, but a brief snippet:
…you do not need to exercise your liberty in order to enjoy it. Indeed, Paul elsewhere asks some very penetrating questions of those who insist on exercising their liberty whatever the circumstances: Does this really build up others? Is this really liberating you—or has it actually begun to enslave you (Rom. 14:19; 1 Cor. 6:12)?
Some good thoughts here as well.
For the Anglophiles
This past Sunday, PBS Masterpiece began airing season two of the new All Creatures Great and Small. I fell in love with this show during season one; it’s perfect for a winter evening under a blanket with a cup of tea. Does it have important things to say about the universe? Not necessarily. But sometimes life calls for a little low-stakes drama set in the beautiful English countryside. As such, we have returned to Downton Abbey-era rules in the Keller home: at 9 PM on Sunday evening, the TV belongs to mom. Everyone else is invited along for the ride if they’d like to come.
Reads & Listens of the Week
Here’s an opinion piece that makes the case that America’s move away from liberal arts education laid the groundwork for the January 6 insurrection. Maybe we could just start by watching Schoolhouse Rock or something.
As a public service, I am eagerly broadcasting the fact that Karen Swallow Prior’s Jane and Jesus podcast starts soon. HUZZAH and sign me up.
This is a few months old, but I loved this article from The Atlantic: “People Aren’t Meant to Talk This Much”:
“…online, we encounter a lot more weak ties than ever before, and those untrusted individuals tend to seem similar to reliable ones—every post on Facebook or Twitter looks the same, more or less. Trusting weak ties becomes easier, which allows influences that were previously fringe to become central, or influences that are central to reinforce themselves.”
Last week Radiolab made the case that the worst year in history was not in fact 2020, but actually 536 AD. They had me pretty well convinced. That year was indeed very, very bad.
The resurrection of the Elmo and Rocco drama has made us laugh so hard. Parents (especially those of toddlers), you will feel understood.
Closer to Home
I’ve been wanting to do more author profiles soon. Here’s one I did on Virginia Lee Burton a while ago.
…for people who are not their own, our basic assumption should not be that we have absolute freedom to choose among all the options society offers us. The fact that we are capable of some action and are socially and politically permitted to commit an act doesn’t mean we are free to before God. - O. Alan Noble, You Are Not Your Own