How the modern secular age is distorting the way we present our faith, and how to fix it
I haven’t posted on here in a couple months, mostly because I didn’t really have any big thoughts I thought were worth devoting 1,000 words to. That changed yesterday when I started reading a book called Disruptive Witness by Alan Noble.
The basic subject of the book is how we are supposed to share the good news of Jesus with others in this distracted, technology-saturated age. When I started it, I expected to see a lot of information about how the constant information flow and distraction and expectations of instant gratification in today’s world hinder our personal relationships and ability to communicate. You know, the stuff any media outlet will tell you.
And there is a lot of that. But Noble also digs much deeper. Our fast-paced, always-on, entertainment-driven, pluralistic, secular modern society has drastically changed not just on the way we live, but the ways we think, the ways we form our beliefs, and the ways we share our beliefs. And it’s important for us to respond to these things if we want to communicate — and appreciate — a life-changing message, like the gospel, effectively.
Here are 5 of the biggest effects of the modern age that come to mind for me. I can tell you I see and experience these things every day. This list isn’t directly from Disruptive Witness, but it is prompted by it. These are things that often escape our notice, but Noble’s insights really made me notice how different our belief-forming, belief-holding, information-processing, and communicating mechanisms have become. Even compared to 20 years ago, when “all” we had to distract us was TV and dial-up Internet, the difference is remarkable. It’s up to us to respond to and try to change these things, at least in our own lives, for the sake of our own beliefs and for communicating them to others.
1. We’re terrible at processing information. We are constantly busy and always connected. Even when we have a break from obligations like work, school, chores, and errands, we fill that time with screen-based distractions like social media, video games, and Netflix/Hulu. Most of us do not take any time to stop and process the unprecedented amount of information we take in each day. Even when we are learning, we’re usually multitasking — texting while studying, checking social media while in a conversation — which really messes with our brain’s ability to process information and properly use it. Noble points out that multitasking can actually cause information to be stored in the wrong parts of the brain, where it is basically useless. Useful information and thoughtful insights and profound truths and appreciations of beauty — even personal knowledge of other people — we don’t give any of that time to sink in, and we don’t retain it well. Instead, we retain whatever jumps out at us the most, whatever appeals to the senses — whatever is flashiest or craziest. The result is that we gain lots of surface-level knowledge but don’t gain a deep understanding of much of anything, or anyone. This leads to effect #2.
2. We hold shallow beliefs. Because we don’t take time to really process information, a lot of our beliefs are surface-level and in line with cultural trends, or perhaps the trends of whatever subculture we identify with. We may hold and proclaim these beliefs passionately — whether for affirmation via social media likes or sincere conviction — but are not very good at defending them or elaborating on them. Some people, for example, deny climate change because you can’t trust the government and it’s cold outside today. Others affirm that climate change is an emergency and the world needs to be turned upside-down to stop it, but have no idea how to actually do that. Such talk is all too common, because these kinds of beliefs are reactionary, impulsive, and undeveloped.
Often we hold such shallow beliefs that they even blatantly contradict one another — such as saying the material world is all that exists, but affirming the existence of objective moral values and duties (non-material, non-measurable things). Or we hold such shallow beliefs that we have no inner turmoil when we live contradictory to them — such as proclaiming oneself a follower of Jesus, but openly and unrepentantly having premarital sex. But we are so distracted by our technology and so inclined to go with the flow of popular culture’s trendy opinions that we are comfortable with such cognitive dissonance. Instead of really talking about the merits and drawbacks of our beliefs, we resort to calling people racists, libtards, and Nazis.
3. All our beliefs center on ourselves. In Western culture, we view individual identity as sacrosanct. We spend our whole lives trying to form an identity, find which group we identify with. We label and group ourselves and one another based on race, religion, politics, gender, orientation, and our beliefs on anything and everything. But in the modern day, beliefs are not seen as something to be investigated and verified. They are just another part of our personal identity. They are what make up who we are. But our beliefs are seen as ours, not someone else’s and not what someone else’s necessarily should be. In our pluralistic culture, people don’t see our beliefs as pointing to something (or someone) outside of ourselves. They are just part of our identity — an identity that can and does change over time. For a Christian, that is a problem, because our whole lives should point outward to our Creator, but it’s a new and different challenge to do that when expressing our Christian identity, via words or actions, is seen by most people as showing something about us, not about God. And so this leads to #4.
4. Sharing our beliefs is seen as just another way of self-expression. Because most people equate personal beliefs with personal identity, sharing your beliefs is seen as just another way of expressing yourself. It’s like wearing your hair a certain way or wearing a certain t-shirt. It’s who we are, not who someone else should be. This is a problem, because when we share the gospel, we are trying to communicate to others a truth they should believe and be changed by. But the modern person doesn’t always hear that. It just seems like one of many, many options by which they can form their personal identity. And when it comes to truths about God, most don’t get that far.
5. There are too many options of belief systems, and people just give up. In our multicultural, pluralistic society, people are exposed to thousands of different combinations of beliefs and identities, most of which seem to bring some benefit to those who hold them. Trying to investigate all these different beliefs to find which one is true seems impossible. So most people instead opt for the easiest option, a sort of relativistic pragmatism. Rather than search for truth, people search for what will benefit them the most at that time. So when people look at those of us who are Christians, they see that Christianity is what is providing the greatest benefit in our lives at that time. But that in no way necessarily translates to their lives, any more than Islam or environmentalism or socialism or nihilism would. If we share our faith like we share any other idea, then it will be received like any other idea — just a part of who we are, and not pointing to a higher truth outside ourselves that all people should seek.
Even worse, we may even begin to regard Christianity than way in our own lives. For many of us, we know that Christianity is what benefits our lives the most — it gives us hope, encouragement, grounding, community, identity. But if we ever stop feeling that way — and if another ideology comes along that appears to promise to benefit us more — we will be tempted to abandon Christianity for it, if we have bought into modern culture’s way of thinking. Countless thousands have done just that.
How can we respond to each of these problems that modern culture has generated? Though they are by no means easy or close to sufficient, here’s what I think we need to do at a minimum:
#1 — Take time to process information and experiences. Quite simply, this means taking ample time away from distractions, away from to-do lists, away from mobile games and binge-watching, and just reflect. Some do this best alone, and some do this best with friends or family. But it must be done, or we will never really learn anything or enjoy our experiences to the fullest.
#2 — Deepen your beliefs. We don’t have to be philosophical or intellectual experts on everything we believe. But we should be sure that our beliefs are coherent and consistent. Do we hold beliefs that contradict each other? If so, we are believing a lie. Do we have a good foundation for our beliefs? Can we answer basic objections to them? The basic rule here is: If you are afraid of having someone question your belief, or if you don’t have substantial answers to the most basic questions about your belief, you probably don’t hold that belief deeply enough.
#3 — Ground your beliefs on a truth outside of yourself. Christianity is not about us. It’s not about what we believe or the way we choose to live. It’s about us acknowledging and living by a truth outside of ourselves. It’s about the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and sits at the Father’s right hand, and that is what guides us. It’s not about us choosing Jesus, but Jesus choosing us (John 15:16). We are not choosing to sign up for the club; we are allowing God to incorporate and adopt us into his family.
#4 — Share that truth in a way that reflects this. Noble suggests that when we share our faith in the same way we might share about our favorite sports team — such as by wearing t-shirts or posting memes — we portray it on that same level. It looks to the world like just another personal choice. I’m not sure if I entirely agree with that assessment, but it is true if we don’t go beyond that level of sharing. If we share our faith just like we share any other aspect of our lifestyle, it’s going to come across as just another aspect of our lifestyle — another personal quirk. Our lives need to point to God, not just to the fact that we live differently.
#5 — Present Jesus as paramount. Many people see Christianity as just one of many possible truths, and don’t see how someone can choose one over all the others. As a Christian, I think this is the best response one can give: You don’t have to investigate every belief system. You just have to look into the teachings of Jesus. If Jesus is who he says he is, and if his teachings are true, then everything that contradicts his teachings is false. That includes elements of any other religion, philosophy, or lifestyle that contradict his teachings.
This is far from a conclusive or definitive analysis on sharing and living the gospel in modern culture. But these are some principles to start, and they are principles I aim to start living by. If the church as a whole does it, we can make it clear that Jesus is not just another teacher or philosophy to follow. He is in a class all his own, and changes lives like no other idea or person. He is the truth to which we all need to be drawn.
