This morning I walked into the Food mart of a gas station and noticed a whole section of ‘lite’ stuff in the refrigerator, Bud light, Coors light, Miller Lite…etc (Don’t worry I wasn’t picking any of them, I was filling my coffee cup). Looks like LITE IS IN. We live in a world where anything ‘light’ is obviously considered better than the original. People prefer light Yoplait to original Yoplait, light wine to original wine, light beer to original beer, light rock to original rock. In a world filled with so many lighter options it is no wonder that there are many who actually prefer ‘Christianity lite’ to the original Christianity. Just like every other product that is custom made for the people’s liking and pleasure, it is a tragedy that Christianity is also watered down and is offered in a more acceptable and convenient fashion. I am not talking about those who are using different methods to communicate the gospel; I am talking about those who are actually tampering the message to make it look more appealing and pleasant to the postmodern mind.
I worked for several years with many frustrated young people and college students who complained that the gospel of Christ was often presented as signals from an alien planet (without any relevance to their immediate life or context), I totally agree that each generation has to come up with methods that can help communicate the gospel effectively. However, we have to be cautious not to alter the message or decorate the message to attract or please human mind. In a sincere attempt to reach out to the contemporary world, many have crossed the fine line where the essentials of the gospel are blurred or become almost invisible. Knowing fully well the importance of our call to present the gospel relevantly, let me just share a few thoughts of the dangers involved in focusing too much on relevance.
In a world filled with so many lighter options it is no wonder that there are many who actually prefer ‘Christianity lite’ to the original Christianity.
Andrew Strom in his article “Cool Christianity: relevance or compromise” laments “In many churches today, it is seemingly no longer ‘positive’ enough (in the modern TV-marketing sense of the word) to emphasize the cross, deep repentance, holiness, “death to self” and all the other meaty elements of basic Christianity which the New Testament emphasizes again and again. And so we change everything (even the very essence of the gospel itself) to fit the spirit of the age in which we live. “People don’t want to hear about all that negative ‘sin’ stuff anymore,” we reason. “We’d better preach things that win them over in a positive, modern way.” Thus, the epidemic of preachers who seem to sound more and more like television commercials every week: “Come to Jesus, He will make you happy, He will fulfill the desires of your heart, He will comfort you, He will satisfy you, etc, etc.” There is almost no difference here to the sentiments expressed in your average toothpaste commercial, but the most alarming thing of all is that many preachers seemingly wouldn’t care even if there was. They cannot see what an enormous effect this ‘marketing’ approach is having on the very nature and content of the gospel they preach, and thus on the lives of the Christians all around them.”
“From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life…The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him” – A.W.Tozer
John Fischer notes “It’s no wonder we seldom hear verses like these: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” (2 Cor 4:8-10). This isn’t light at all. This is full strength life thrown at the believer with full force. Conflict, pain, and struggle form an integral part of Christian experience – not just for some, but all. The Apostle Paul here explains that the life of Christ is constantly being displayed amid the dying experiences of our mortal lives. He even restates this principle in the next verse – in case we missed it the first time. “For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body”(Vs. 11). Notice the word “always”.
A.W. Tozer who was considered the prophet of the 20th century in his book ‘The Old Cross and the New’ says “All unannounced and mostly undetected there has come in modem times a new cross into popular evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial; the differences, fundamental. From this new cross has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life, and from that new philosophy has come new evangelical techniques, new types of meetings and a new kind of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same language as the old, but its content is not the same and its emphasis not as before…The new cross does not slay the sinner, it redirects him.”
As Christians we are called to follow Christ, not just to feel good about our faith. Let me bring some balance to this article. Yes, we do not need to slay the sinner, condemn people or preach them into hell, but we should be careful not to soften the power of sin and the deception of self-help philosophy. Neil Postman in his book “Amusing ourselves to death” says “I believe I am not mistaken in saying that Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether.” Did your faith in Jesus demand anything from your old sinful life? When was the last time you felt hard pressed on every side, crushed, perplexed or persecuted? I wish I could tell you that I always feel this, but the reality is that many of us do not experience any of these because our Christian life has become too comfortable. Maybe unconsciously we are becoming ‘Christians lite’.
“I believe I am not mistaken in saying that Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether.” – Neil Postman
– – Author: Rev. Francis Burgula – –
