Recently,
we formed a racing team for iRacing competition, and dubbed it Team RFC-Racers
for Christ. To recruit new members, we placed
an announcement and invitation in several iRacing forums organized according to
iRacing Series. To say the response was
a surprise would be an understatement.
The
good news is that we gained 12 new members in the first week. The bad news is that several people used the
forum to mock or condemn religion in general and Christianity in
particular. A few proudly announced they
were Atheists and rhetorically asked “Can we join the team?” In one forum for the Skip Barber 2000 Series,
several posters decided to make the thread a place for a debate about religion.
(One responder displayed a rainbow graphic and the words “#LoveWins” in his
post signature—perhaps his deal was that Christianity threatened the Gay Agenda.)
I requested that iRacing lock the thread
to avoid continued strife.
The
incident reminded me of my experience as the Chaplain for the SCCA Washington
DC Region. There, our effort to establish a regular non-denominational
Invocation before the racing day began was vigorously opposed by the “Freedom
From Religion” crowd. Also, several
participants openly objected to us playing music and singing as part of our outdoor
Sunday Chapel worship service.
Clearly,
in the world, and in the racing “community” there is not only ambivalence
toward religion and Christianity, but outright opposition.
Unlike
some, I would not characterize our present atmosphere as one where Christians
fear persecution…yet. (At least in the
America’s and Europe.) I would rather state that the relative dominance of the
Christian Biblical World View in the America’s and Europe has been substantially
diminished. People are not yet opposed
to private religious belief, but many are opposed to any public display of
religion. In other words, it is OK to pray in private and “be religious” at
church, but “keep your religion to yourself”.
This
attitude creates a serious problem for adherents of Christianity, as well as
adherents of Orthodox Judaism and Islam.
These major world religions require their adherents to adopt certain
behaviors and a particular world view.
The
Holy Scripture of Christianity teaches that Christ (God Himself as Man)
commissioned the Disciples and the Church to “go out into all the world,
preaching the Gospel and make Disciples of all the Nations”. The command was not to “go to church and
worship in private” but rather to “go out” and “preach the Gospel”. Now, the exact actions associated with going
out and preaching are not described exactly, but true Christians cannot hide
their belief in the “good news” that God Loves Mankind and in Christ He has
presented a “way” to achieve Salvation and Eternal Life. (Who would want to keep that message a secret
anyway?)
So
how did we arrive in this “Post-Christian” world? Probably the best book that
addresses this is “The God Who Is There” by Francis A. Schaeffer. He posits
that Europe crossed below a “Line of Despair” in the 1800’s, followed by the
America’s in the 1900’s. Schaeffer
writes that man’s despair “arises from the abandonment of the hope of a unified
answer for knowledge and life.”
Since
Adam and Eve, Man has been in a state of rebellion against God. Christians teach
that Christ provides a way for all men to return to the state God originally
intended—in fellowship with Him, tending
to his “garden” here on Earth. Over a period of 1500 years, almost all of
Europe adopted Christianity and it become the dominant religion in Europe and
the America’s—until the 1800’s. (Many European flags still display the
Christian Cross.) Governments were established based on natural “rights”
endowed by the Creator.
Up
until the 1800’s, Science was the quest for knowledge about God’s
Creation. Then, various philosophers began
to question the “absolute” nature of knowledge. Darwin theorized that man was
an “random accident” of Nature. Mankind’s urge to stand “equal to God” actually
led many to ignore God and even deny the existence of Him. Many began to claim
that Mankind had evolved and did not need God or even the idea of Him anymore.
The
Christian Biblical Worldview is that Almighty God created the World. He also
created Mankind “in his image”. Since
all men are “image-bearers” of God, they all have certain inalienable rights
and deserve a certain respect and dignity.
Morality is not “man-made” but rather “God-made” and therefore absolute.
The
philosophers that questioned this absolute nature of knowledge promoted the
concept of “average” or synthesis forming from two relativistic, but opposing
points of view. What has developed over
time is that morality is what the “average” person in “society” thinks is “acceptable”. Man’s continued rebellion against God in the modern world had become a demand for complete freedom to do whatever man wants, “as long as it does not hurt anybody”.
Christians
started out as a very small group in a very secular world. (The Roman Empire
was about as secular a world as one could possibly imagine.) The power of the Christian
message does not require dominance. In a secular world, the Great Commission
demands that we be “salt and light” and set an example for others to
follow. An example that is so “attractive”
that others begin to join us.
Perhaps
the best course of action is to show what we are for rather than just what we are against---to be less condemning and judgmental of others and
more positive—loving one another and displaying a joy that can only come from a
personal relationship with a Triune God. And, proclaiming to others that you
are a Christian is part of the program.
"Don't
shine so others can see you. Shine so that through you, others can see Him."
C. S. Lewis
Donald
Wayne Strout, Chaplain
PS. Outside of Europe and the America's, Christians are arguably the most persecuted group on Earth. In many parts of the world, Christians are put to death for stating "Jesus is Lord". Christians should be aware that being a minority can be quite dangerous. History teaches that Atheistic States have seen Christianity as a threat to their power--where the politically correct man-made moral beliefs of the majority (or the State) conflict with the God-made laws supported by Christians. There is already one European country where it is estimated that there are more Atheists than Theists today.
Rebellion against, and/or denial of God's existence, with the freedom to set your own rules, can only produce "temporary" happiness and perhaps only for the young. As people's thoughts turn toward the future (for example as parents concerned for their children) and they approach the reality of death, the "despair" defined by Schaeffer begins to surface. Without God and the Gospel in our lives, we "know" that "something" is missing.
The Christian Biblical Worldview is the only worldview that answers man's basic and most important questions: Why am I Here?, Where did I come From?, What is my Future? Paul's letter to the Romans states that the existence of God is obvious and those that refuse to believe essentially "suppress and deny the Truth". It is time for Christians to declare that Science does not prove that God does not exist--to the contrary, Scientific discovery confirms God's existence. It is time for Christians to declare that true eternal happiness comes only from a personal relationship with Almighty God through Jesus Christ--following the two most important commandments: Love God, and Love Others--and carrying out the Great Commission of preaching the Gospel by living our lives in a way so that others see the "results" of our beliefs.
Apologetics is not about apology---it is based on the Greek word for "defense". As Christians we are required to "proclaim and defend" the TRUTH through the way we live our lives.
One important caution: Here is a quote from Brennan Manning.
"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
PS. Outside of Europe and the America's, Christians are arguably the most persecuted group on Earth. In many parts of the world, Christians are put to death for stating "Jesus is Lord". Christians should be aware that being a minority can be quite dangerous. History teaches that Atheistic States have seen Christianity as a threat to their power--where the politically correct man-made moral beliefs of the majority (or the State) conflict with the God-made laws supported by Christians. There is already one European country where it is estimated that there are more Atheists than Theists today.
Rebellion against, and/or denial of God's existence, with the freedom to set your own rules, can only produce "temporary" happiness and perhaps only for the young. As people's thoughts turn toward the future (for example as parents concerned for their children) and they approach the reality of death, the "despair" defined by Schaeffer begins to surface. Without God and the Gospel in our lives, we "know" that "something" is missing.
The Christian Biblical Worldview is the only worldview that answers man's basic and most important questions: Why am I Here?, Where did I come From?, What is my Future? Paul's letter to the Romans states that the existence of God is obvious and those that refuse to believe essentially "suppress and deny the Truth". It is time for Christians to declare that Science does not prove that God does not exist--to the contrary, Scientific discovery confirms God's existence. It is time for Christians to declare that true eternal happiness comes only from a personal relationship with Almighty God through Jesus Christ--following the two most important commandments: Love God, and Love Others--and carrying out the Great Commission of preaching the Gospel by living our lives in a way so that others see the "results" of our beliefs.
Apologetics is not about apology---it is based on the Greek word for "defense". As Christians we are required to "proclaim and defend" the TRUTH through the way we live our lives.
One important caution: Here is a quote from Brennan Manning.
"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
