Earthquake of Change

Living in Taiwan introduced me to the fact that life is unstable in so many different ways. Experiencing earthquakes in Taiwan drove home this fact repeatedly. The tectonic plates shift under you. The earth moves. The towers and skyscrapers that man has built sway as the earth convulses and moves. It is unsettling. It is disturbing. It is downright frightening.

In similar ways the tectonic plates that Western culture is built upon are shifting. The earth is moving under us and the cultural, religious, social, and psychological phenomena can be just as unsettling as the natural phenomenon is. Change is taking place so rapidly that as soon as you purchase a new laptop its ready for an upgrade!

As the Church we need to interpret our culture and our context and it is just as important to get this interpretation right as it is getting our interpretation of scripture correct. In order to communicate the never failing truth of scripture into our culture both the Bible and society must be interpreted. Over the last several years the burden of my heart and the majority of my studies have been focused upon the revolutionary changes occurring.

Professor of Theology George Hunter III Says:

A host of New Barbarians substantially populate the Western world once again; indeed, they are all around us. Many of them are “secular”; that is, they have never been substantially influenced by the Christian religion; they have no Christian memory and no church to “return” to. Many have never acquired a “church etiquette” (They would not know where to stand, or where to find Second Corinthians, or what to say to the pastor after the service), and they are not “civilized” or “refined” enough to fit and feel comfortable in the church down the street. Often, they are thought to lack “class.” They may have unshined shoes or body odour or grease under their fingernails; in conversation, they might split an infinitive or utter an expletive. Many New Barbarians are addicted, and their lives are at least sometimes out of control around some substance, such as alcohol or cocaine, or some process such as sex or gambling. Many Western cities appear to be taken over by the New Barbarians.

If Hunter is correct, and I believe he is, then a new kind of people are emerging signified by these "New Barbarians". A new race if you will. Am I overstating the case? Perhaps but I have a hunch that I am not doing so. From all fronts scholars are in agreement. This is not simply a generation gap that is taking place in Western culture. A sociological, psychological, cultural earthquake is shaking the very foundations of thought in the West.

We are changing.

How is the church responding to this massive change? How should we respond?

What do you think?

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