“America loves Dualisms: Coke vs. Pepsi, AT&T vs. Verizon, PC vs. Mac, Republican vs. Democrat, Male vs. Female…”
That’s how I started a sermon titled “Yin Yang” a year ago.
Just the other day I read about culture wars:
“The popular notion of culture wars is premised on mutually held stereotypes – namely that two distinct moral cultures exist, one composed of urban, latte-drinking, antiwar, gay-loving, God-hating abortionists, and the other made up of blue-collar, truck-driving, gun-toting, flag-waving, Bible-thumping rednecks.” (America’s Four Gods
The truth of the matter is: Reality is never that easy! When I order a Coke in a restaurant and the waiter says “Pepsi okay?” I say “yes”. This whole concept of competing cultures is based upon the notion that you belong to one tribe exclusively and cannot cross lines. It calls for a 100% pure, stringent philosophy that never changes. It is static.
Well, that has never been the case for people or God in the Bible for example:
Abraham bargains with God over Sodom to save 50, or 45, or 40, or 30, or 20, or 10 innocent people. Guess what – God’s ways are not set in stone. God changes all the time. God listens and acts differently in different situations. How could be people be different? No one can be one thing and not ever change. At least not in the image of God. We all live in all cultures at times. And even what you consider your home-base is unfamiliar territory at times. Yes, I actually know gay cowboys and I have seen pickup trucks with anti-war bumper stickers.
This post was inspired by my reading of “America’s Four Gods”:
If you live anywhere near Provo, UT, come and join us for this Lent Study.
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