Five TV Shows from the 90’s that Shaped American Spirituality – WEEK 1 – The X-Files

I’ve been planning this for years. Ever since I started a blog intended to expose the collision of biblical reality with cultural perception, I’ve thought it’d be a lot of fun to write about the TV shows, movies, music, etc. that shape the way people view the role of God, faith, and themselves in the universe. The wait is over…..starting this week, we’re going to tackle the various television series that have, for better or worse, altered the psyche, morality, and spirituality of Americans.

DISCLAIMER: I have no research that suggests these series have been more influential than others. Nonetheless, they were all VERY commercially successful and generally critically well-received, a combination that would logically suggest a large impact on modern culture. I didn’t necessarily watch all of these shows to the same degree, but have seen enough (and read enough) to understand their cause/effect influence. Finally, I have 4 TV shows in mind thus far with something also loosely penciled in for week five. However, I am open to input from readers regarding which shows you think may have been most spiritually influential. Again, I’m not suggesting these shows had positive or negative effects, only that they affected societal norms which our culturally currently reflects.

With that said…..Week 1 – The X-Files

Series Summary

Some of my favorite middle school memories involve staying up late on Friday nights and watching The X-Files with my dad after getting home from other Friday night sports events.

Nostalgia aside, The X-Files was a brilliantly conceived and written series that Time magazine called “the cultural touchstone of the 1990s.”

The X-Files was the conception of a man named Chris Carter. He created two characters who embodied the dichotomy that exists in most of us – a desire to believe in the supernatural, and yet a skepticism that requires us to demand quantitative proof before diving in. These two characters were FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Mulder, who was convinced that his sister Samantha was abducted by aliens when he was 12 years old, something that serves as the main driving force behind his actions throughout the series, receives the nickname “Spooky” in the FBI Academy for his propensity to believe in paranormal activity. He is assigned to a fairly under-the-radar division of the FBI called “The X-Files.” To keep him honest and grounded, assigned to him is agent Dana Scully. Scully views the truth of the world through the naturalistic lens of science. While Mulder jumps to conclusions of the paranormal, believing, amongst other things, that aliens and government conspiracy account for the majority of the world’s problems like disease epidemics, political turmoil, and social unrest, Scully believes that random chance occurrences, i.e. coincidence, as well as the complexity and sophistication of a highly evolved human race account for the explanations of all that we see in the world.

What was “Magical” about the show?

I cannot think of a show that better encapsulated the collision of Modernist belief that science can answer everything and the Postmodern assertion that there must be something more to us than what we see under microscopes, that we are part of a bigger design and plan. As the human race went through that philosophical shift in the past 50 years, there grew a heightened sense of paranoia and mistrust of anything “organizational” that every episode of The X-Files drips with.

As many Americans questioned our government’s decisions regarding Vietnam and its hidden activity after things like Nixon’s Watergate scandal, we didn’t know which civil leaders to trust. As the scandals of televangelists and Catholic priests gained attention, we didn’t know which spiritual leaders to trust. As divorce and abortion rates climbed rapidly in the late 20th century, we didn’t know which close relationships in life we could trust. And pointing that out in big bold letters during the intro to each episode was The X-Files, using taglines like “The Truth Is Out There” and “Trust No One.”

Furthermore, here you have two people in Mulder and Scully who possess fundamentally different views of the way the world works. Despite that, these partners and their friendship become the only individuals and the only thing that the other really trusts in life.

Okay, so how has it influenced us?

1) Heightened sense of conspiracy

I’m actually not convinced that The X-Files led anyone to become more skeptical or cynical, but it certainly highlighted the fact that people today are. What once would perhaps have been considered “paranoid” is today considered healthy. We’re perhaps more sensitive to corruption then we used to be. For instance, you can’t go near a child in any public position today without having a background check done. We’ve become fairly jaded, mistrusting people. But in some respects, we’ve been alerted to the reality of what the sinful condition is capable of. And this really isn’t too different from what Jesus said as he sent his disciples out into ministry: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matt. 10:16) In other words, prove yourself trustworthy to others, but don’t blindly trust everyone or everything.

2) Other beliefs are beneficial, lead us closer to the truth, and should be respected

Again, I’m not suggesting that all of these points are entirely good things, simply that they are “truths” that one could reasonably walk away from the show with. An underlying truth that the show undoubtedly tried to get across is the idea that others, who hold differing opinions than you, do hold valuable insights that you can learn from, and in doing so, will come nearer to the truth.  As the show goes on, Scully, the skeptic who obviously has a part of her that wants to “believe” (illustrated by the cross necklace she wears in each episode) becomes more of a believer.  Mulder, the believer in the supernatural, becomes more discerning.

The Bible is incredibly clear about how our environment, the company we keep, tends to shape our character. That is seen anecdotally in the story of Lot’s corruption by Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19) and the accounts of the Israelites (esp. their kings) intermarrying with unbelieving foreigners. It’s also stated in the teaching of the Apostle Paul, who said, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14)

The bottom line is that we have a tendency to assimilate to our surroundings. And for a variety of reasons, people are assimilating now more than in previous generations. Growing up, you may not have known too many people who lived together with their boyfriend/girlfriend, people who were openly and proudly atheist, people who were openly homosexual. If you grew up WELS, it’s possible that you grew up hardly knowing anyone who wasn’t WELS. In general, children today are exposed to more than you were – more belief systems, more sexual ethics, more cultural diversity, more everything.

In one sense, this diversity is a tremendous thing – the greater exposure we have to people and cultures that are different from us causes us to not outright demonize cultures or people that we aren’t familiar with. On the other hand being immersed with diversity can potentially cause us to have difficulty weeding out the bad from the good, being left with the convoluted postmodern norm that “you believe what you want to and I’ll believe what I want to and we’ll agree that both paths are equally valid.” The Apostle John’s encouragement in the New Testament is “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” (1 John 4:1-2) John doesn’t shy away from interaction with his culture.  In fact, in the opening chapter of his Gospel, John expounds on “the Word” (or “Logos”), a popular philosophical term that talked about the meaning of life. He understood the importance of engaging intellectually with the culture of his day. But he advises comparing the truth, beauty, and internal consistency of every other belief out there against that in Jesus.

So…according to the Bible, diversity can sometimes lead to greater truth. But it can also sometimes lead you further from the truth. But The X-Files seemed to suggest that being open-minded about the beliefs of others generally leads us closer to the truth, which is an idea that many young Americans would champion today as well.

But the MOST influential aspect to the show on modern spirituality was…..

3) Mulder, the believer, was almost always right

I never really picked up on this as a kid enjoying the show. I was too lost in the plot at the time. It wasn’t until I was older and went back and re-watched the series that I caught this. Nearly everyone in the series thinks Mulder is intelligent and talented, but a little nuts, and too far out there to be taken seriously. But, the way the show ultimately portrays Mulder is that, despite his far-fetched notions, he’s almost always right. In the show, aliens do exist. In the show, the government (and the world) is essentially controlled by an inner network of powerful behind-the-scenes bureaucrats. In the show, anomalies are so commonplace that they are part of the norm of everyday life. In fact, the show subtly insinuates that someone who doesn’t believe in forces and causes outside of the material universe is simple-minded and naïve. And I believe it created a generation of young men aged 14-45 or so (its key demographic) who didn’t just want to grow up to be like Fox Mulder and expose the truth of the world, but who refused to have a simplistic view of why things are the way they are.

Or, as the Apostle Paul puts it, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 6:12) Forty years ago, when the cover of Time asked “Is God Dead?”, few may have agreed with Paul’s statement, or at least been willing to admit to it. But Paul’s statement really isn’t too far from something Agent Mulder would have said himself. And today, I don’t know if you’d find too many former Mulder admirers who would scoff at it either.

NET takeaway – We’re more open to “believing” in the supernatural than we were before.

The Gospel, Facing Criticism, and Finding Your “Name”

I knew what I was walking into several weeks ago when I decided to write on a topic as controversial as same-sex marriage. Granted, I didn’t realize at the time how much attention it was going to get (I’m still getting back to many of your emails). Nonetheless, I knew the topic was hot and the Bible’s stance was counter-cultural and unpopular.

I’ve now also been contacted by several people who expressed sympathy regarding the anti-biblical stance and denigrating tone of some of the comments the post received. While I appreciate the support, my general reply, in short, is that it doesn’t bother me. There was a day when someone not liking me or not agreeing with my opinion would probably have bothered me to some degree. Depending on the person, it may have crushed me. That day is not today though.

What’s changed? It’s not that I’ve “grown up” or “become tougher,” although life experience and a heightened sense of understanding how the world operates does tend to help. No, I’d like to think that my lack of concern for what others may think is for a much more theological reason than that. The more I’ve grown in understanding the gospel, the more I’ve learned to find my name from it.

What does that mean?

Well, the Bible contains a great deal of information about who/what we are to live for and where we are to find our ultimate value and identity, i.e. our “name.” There’s too much good material to share all of it here, but I’ll give a quick summary: In Genesis 11 we hear the famous story of the Tower of Babel, where we learn that people at that time and place in history were desperately seeking some sort of positive external judgment – “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves.” (Gen. 11:4) In contemporary language, you could probably say that they were looking for fame…..or a positive performance review…..or just to have people “like” them. The rest of the story, of course, tells of how their plans were thwarted by God because he never intended for humans to establish their identity apart from him, as these people were seeking to do.

If you understand the art of biblical narrative, you’ll be led to contrast this account of Genesis 11 with chapter 12, where we hear God say to Abraham, “I will bless you; I will make your name great“ (Gen. 12:2) Although this is obviously a specific promise to Abraham, there is a general principle established here that God alone is the one with the authority to make names. The echo of this principle is even heard in the Christmas account, when the angel Gabriel announces to Mary, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.” (Luke 1:31) See what’s happening here? No human gets to name God. According to the Bible, God names humans.

Similarly, we see the same principle at work in the story of the Rich Man and Poor Lazarus (Luke 16). Ever noticed how the rich man has no name? Mere coincidence? I think not. I believe the Holy Spirit is suggesting that if you live for someone or something other than Jesus (in this case, money), you lose yourself. However, if you live for Jesus, you are known by God eternally, and therefore are truly rich.

Furthermore, if we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we have ALREADY been named and therefore have no need to make a name. Jesus prayed to his Father, “I have revealed you (Greek: “your name”) to those whom you gave me out of the world…… for they are yours……Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me.”  (John 17:6-12) Get it? The only reason that you’d ever live to “make a name” for yourself is if you don’t realize that 1) God is the only one who gives names, and 2) God has ALREADY given you a name, the status and identity of “his child” through faith in Jesus, the name that is above all other names.

I could go on, but hopefully this is enough to provide the theological framework of the Bible’s teaching on identity, names, and criticism – that humans are desperately looking for a name for themselves, but that we’ll only find ourselves, our true name, if we find it in Jesus.

2 Practical Implications of This Teaching

1) I don’t have to work so hard to make a name for myself

Much of the world is putting in unhealthy hours at work, enduring unnecessary anxiety, and causing themselves many sleepless nights because they’re trying to create a name for themselves that simply will not last. They want to be “the best” or “the prettiest” or “the smartest” or “the richest” or whatever else, not realizing that such titles are fairly empty and always temporary and, most importantly, don’t benefit you at all after you’re dead. If you are living to create a name that will undoubtedly fall short of the glory of God, then, in death, you will not taste the glory of God. According to the Bible, you weren’t built to create a name, you were designed to receive his name. Consequently, trying to establish an identity apart from God, even if it is an identity that celebrates a good thing – a title like “mother” or “doctor” or “nice guy” or “genius” or “pastor” – it will crush you in the end.

But if you truly recognize the combination of God’s goodness to you and his verdict already laid upon you, you’ll work in a healthier way towards a healthier goal, i.e. expressing gratitude to God. Wouldn’t it make sense that working the way God designed us to would create greater satisfaction and superior quality work?

2) I don’t have to worry about the other names people might call me

As a  Christian and one who makes his living as a minister of the gospel, I’m fully aware that some people are going to hate me and hate what I have to say. Jesus promised it would be that way (Matt. 10:22). I’m well aware that on a fairly regularly basis I’m going to offend a segment of society that not only doesn’t care what God has to say, but one which hates that God. Now, if and when I offend people as a Christian, my hope and prayer is that I offend people for the right reasons. If I offend people because I’m unwavering in what the Bible teaches, so be it. I can’t do much about that. However, if I offend people because I’m condescending and self-righteous and unrepentantly hypocritical, then that’s on me. Whatever the reason for the offense, the bottom line is that Jesus also said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matt. 10:28)

In other words, I couldn’t care less how this world labels me. You see, I’ve already got my name! I’ve already heard the final verdict. Through Jesus, God has declared me to be his perfect, righteous child who will live in his home eternally. What greater validation could I possibly want? It’s like the difference between a 4-year-old calling you a good basketball player and Michael Jordan calling you a good basketball player. If a 4-year-old marvels at your skills, it really doesn’t mean much since his praise is a bit shallow due to his lowliness. On the other hand, if the greatest basketball player of all time says you’re “good,” THAT’S validation.  That’s proof! So if God himself says you’re valuable, why on earth would you care what another flawed and broken human being thinks of you? Why should you let that affect your self-image? It’s not just unhealthy; it’s illogical.

Additionally, if your self-image is so cemented in Jesus that it is not altered by the criticism of others, you can actually take the comments of your critics and use them to your advantage. Sometimes, although perhaps presented without love or tact, criticism is fully warranted. But whether the criticism is fair or not, if that criticism doesn’t shake your self-perception in Jesus, then it won’t crush you, it’ll just help you continue to grow. So thank the Lord for your critics too.

Conclusion

Only when you discover that you already have the most beautiful name possible, affirmation and acceptance from God himself through Jesus, will you stop letting the world name you and stop worrying about the names it may call you. And when you do…..well, won’t that be nice? Wouldn’t it be great if you never feared criticism again? Do you realize that the gospel of Jesus offers you that exact freedom?

“The biggest danger of receiving criticism is not to your reputation, but to your heart. You feel the injustice of it and feel sorry for yourself, and it tempts you to despise not only the critic, but the entire group of people from which they come.” – Tim Keller, from his Redeemer City to City Blog

The Marriage Amendment, the Gospel, and 2 Positions the Bible Does NOT Let You Take.

For the past several weeks Facebook has once again proven itself to be arguably the most annoyingly opinionated place on the planet as users took what was once voted on behind curtained booths at their local elementary schools and churches and plunked said opinions down right in their profile pic box. In one generation, social media has publicized what was formerly peacefully private.

Opinions are…..well, opinions. Majority doesn’t make opinions right. Logical arguments don’t make them right either. They are generally just the feelings and preferences of sinful human beings who make billions of mistakes daily. That hasn’t changed. What has changed in the past decade, however, is that with the advent of the internet, particularly the popularity of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, EVERYONE has a platform for their viewpoint. Forty years ago, for better or worse, very few people’s political views were swayed by the opinions of an 18-year old girl (i.e. still the typical Facebook user). Today she can share one graphic picture of a child being shot with a pithy caption about gun control and all 1,437 of her Facebook friends are moved.

We now live in a world where hundreds of millions of amateurs on social media, possessing no expertise on a given subject, only their gut reaction feelings and opinions, are obsessed with weighing in on every matter through a public medium – particularly hot button topics like same-sex marriage.

Most current research says that an overwhelming percentage of people my age and younger are supportive of gay rights, particularly same-sex marriage (approx. two-thirds). So like it or not, it’s coming. And no traditional-valued elderly white guys in expensive suits are going to be able to thwart the inevitable cultural revolution. Look no further than a supposed embodiment of conservative political values – Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly, who himself stated Tuesday, “The compelling argument is on the side of homosexuals….’We’re Americans. We just want to be treated like everybody else.’ That’s a compelling argument, and to deny that, you have got to have a very strong argument on the other side. The argument on the other side hasn’t been able to do anything but thump the Bible.” Previously, in a May 2009 column on his website, O’Reilly had stated, “Our Judeo-Christian traditions, which have made the United States the most prosperous and just society the world has ever known, speak to a family built around a responsible mother and a father-certainly the optimum when it comes to raising children.”  

I’d agree with both of those statements. What I’d disagree with O’Reilly on is what the appropriate venue for trying to influence others with those beliefs are. O’Reilly, obviously an influential voice in American politics, understands that arena (i.e. politics)  to be the one which can make the most positive change. While I certainly don’t encourage Christians to avoid politics, I fundamentally disagree with him on the political arena’s ability to positively influence our society on issues which are at their core, moral, heart, conscience-based issues. In other words, since I believe the gospel of the Bible, I think it’s delusional to suggest that politics can do what the Bible says the gospel alone can – change hearts. To put it a slightly different way, let’s say America does at some point ban same-sex marriage. Again, none of the evidence suggests that’s going to happen, but for argument’s sake, let’s say it does. At that point, have we just created a more God-pleasing country?   We’ve perhaps deterred some actions…..maybe. Have any hearts been changed? If you say “yes” to that, you’re disagreeing with the way the Bible says the Holy Spirit works (Rom. 10:17). As a Christian, you have to understand that God is not merely concerned with obedience, but a certain kind of obedience. The story of Cain and Abel (Gen. 4) teaches clearly enough that God is not looking for mere outward action, but faith-based obedience. Legislation is powerless to accomplish that.

Furthermore, while you may have won this anti-same-sex marriage battle, you’ve conditioned a generation of people to think that Christianity asserts itself by way of political tools, something that is profoundly unChristlike (e.g. Matt. 22, Mark 12, Luke 20; John 18 – esp. vss. 10-11 and vss. 33-36;  1 Tim. 2; 1 Pet. 2; Rom. 13). So, in “winning” the battle, you’ve shot yourself in the leg and done considerable long-term damage to the image of Christ. So, what’s a healthy way for Christians to address or not address the Marriage Amendment? Put differently…..

When it comes to the Marriage Amendment, what two extremes should Christians avoid?

1) Embracing a sexuality other than what God designed.

A professional counselor, who readily labels himself a Christian, recently told me that he encourages young people, including Christians, to masturbate as a healthy alternative outlet to having premarital sex. He then said, “The Bible doesn’t say anything about masturbation……does it?” My first thought……Yikes….To state your Christian faith up front, encourage people towards a certain behavior, and THEN ask whether or not the Bible has anything to say about the topic?! This strikes me as painfully irresponsible.

Sadly, many Christians fall into the same camp today – they form their beliefs and then wonder if the Bible supports them. This isn’t restricted to sex issues, although views on sexuality are perhaps disproportionately skewed because much of the Christian church, for fear of rocking the boat, has steered clear of honestly addressing the issue for so many years. If so, shame on us churches for that. Consequently, a young person could have attended church for the first 18 years of his/her life and still be left wondering what exactly the Bible says about sex.

So, okay, what does the Bible say about homosexuality? I always encourage people to start with Rom. 1, 1 Cor. 6, Gen. 19, Lev. 18, Lev. 20, 1 Tim. 1, Jude 7. I further encourage them to check out Jesus’ reaffirmation of God’s design for marriage in Matt. 19, where he quotes from the Genesis Creation account. There is no way to read those texts and think that the Bible is in any way neutral about the topic of homosexuality.  “God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.  ²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.” (Rom. 1:26-28).  This is not particularly difficult biblical exegesis.  I could ask a 6-year-old to read that and ask them if it sounds like God is okay with homosexuality and they’d probably know.

Christians will want to be informed about the biblical sexual ethic before they share their opinions on such controversial issues.  Additionally, a main aspect to being a Christian is humbling your opinions before God’s clear will.  This isn’t thumping your Bible.  It’s a matter of saying “This book is the authority by which I live my life and here’s what it says about this issue.  What is YOUR ultimate authority?”

So, if you’re going to be a Christian and publicly support same-sex marriage through your Facebook account or otherwise, you’ll want to be ready to defend how you arrived at your convictions. While anti-discrimination ideals are certainly gospel-flavored, an approval of an active homosexual lifestyle is not a conclusion you’d reach by reading the Bible. Advocating for the equal legal rights of all citizens is one thing, but embracing an alternative view of human sexuality is not a position that the Bible allows you to hold. I’m not suggesting that you cannot be a Christian and be in favor of equality for same-sex marriage in our country. But for the sake of the gospel, it’s important to be able to articulate the difference between those two reasons.

2) Rebuking sin in a manner that Jesus himself never would.

Many Christians do, in fact, understand God’s design for human sexuality.  They do not, however, understand the Bible’s design for social influence.  It is generally NOT through politics.  As I mentioned earlier, I wish more Christians realized that we do more damage than good when we try to correct people’s hearts with something other than the gospel. It’s sort of like trying to perform heart surgery with a sword that’s designed for battle. In a profoundly anti-force, anti-conversion-through-politics statement, in the midst of the injustice of his own arrest no less, Jesus told impulsive Peter to “Put your sword away!” (John 18:11) 

“Well, how are we to address all of the godlessness in the world then?!” many will contend. ANSWER: Use a different tool, one that is actually tailor-made for hearts – the gospel.  And don’t just proclaim the gospel, but live the gospel.

What does that look like?

I was really touched by a story in Gabe Lyon’s book The NEXT Christians. Gabe and his wife, Rebekah, have a child named Cade who suffers from Down syndrome. It’s no secret that somewhere in the neighborhood of 90 percent of pre-diagnosed Down syndrome babies have been aborted since Roe vs. Wade. Saddened by this reality, instead of making signs and militantly picketing abortion clinics in protest, the traditional route of conservative Christians, the Lyons family created a booklet called Understanding the Down Syndrome Diagnosis. The booklets addressed the concerns of parents-to-be, pointed them to resources for help, including the phone numbers of parents who had raised Down syndrome children, and displayed beautiful photos of loving families with Down syndrome children who were enjoying quite normal lives. They then got volunteers to distribute the booklets into every ob-gyn’s and geneticist’s office in metro Atlanta and got doctors committed to be thoughtful in how they delivered the Down syndrome diagnosis and to offer these booklets as part of the process. While it’d be difficult to measure the effectiveness of such an endeavor, most anyone would understand that such a tool would at least likely cause a frightened young woman in a doctor’s office to pause longer before making such an important decision.

A fairly cursory reading of the Gospel records would tell you that this type of demonstration is much more “Jesus behavior” than signs, shouting, and political ballots.  And some may say, “Yes, but Jesus did get righteously angry from time to time. He even aggressively overturned the money changers’ tables.” (Matt. 21; Mark 11)  Yes.  At the Temple.  Not at the Praetorium. Not at the public market. In places where there should naturally be a common understanding of God’s Word and will, we would act differently than in a purely public setting. When it comes to public settings, the Apostle Peter says, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (1 Pet. 2:12) And in the VERY NEXT VERSE he encourages believers to submit to a pagan emperor “for the Lord’s sake.” (1 Pet. 2:13)  

Advocating for the goodness of God’s design for human sexuality is one thing, but using a worldly method to accomplish a spiritual purpose, something Jesus himself refused to do, is simply not a position that the Bible allows you to hold.

Conclusion

This is an issue close to my heart for a variety of personal reasons. I absolutely hate the thought of even insinuating to someone that they are less than human by having them perceive me as trying to deny them human rights. That said, I’d like to think that I will not discriminate against homosexuals, but will love them exactly like I love heterosexuals, which means I’ll unapologetically share the truth of God’s Word with them as occasions present themselves.

In summary, Christians will want to know what the Bible says both regarding issues of morality as well as how best to address these issues on a social scale.  Seems a bit complex?  Yeah, that’s Jesus for you – deep and beautiful.  Our Lord and Savior is too big to fit on a voting ballot or a Facebook profile pic.  His holy, gracious, dynamic way of dealing with the world is worth pursuing, living, and sharing.

For further reading, you can check out Same-Sex Marriage and How Offended Christians Should Be.