“Everyone is welcome to our youth ministry” declares Johan Nilsson, chairman of Equmenia a Christian youth organization with 30 000 members in 500 local associations. (The combined youth movement of the Swedish mission church, the Methodist church and the Swedish Baptist church).
The article is a response to an initiative of Kaliber, a radio program where the different national religious youth associations were asked to express their view on homosexuality. The national Youth board (Ungdomsstyrelsen) which supplies over 48 million kronor of funding every year to 16 of these associations has as requirement that funding can only be given if the ministries are free from discrimination. Check here, here, here, here and here.)
Skillful maneuvering between Biblical truths and political powers?
Which Christian organization would like to be identified with discrimination? NONE! The issue at stake is much deeper; are we as Christian churches, organizations and movements meant to housetrained (rumsrent) in society and world where many of the values are in contrast of Christian faith?
Once upon a time the word “tolerance” meant ‘bearing or putting up with someone or something not especially liked’. This word and its contend has been changed overnight and has been redefined to ‘all values, all beliefs, all lifestyles, all truth claims are equal’. Denying this makes a person ‘intolerant’, and therefore subject to criticism and disrespect.
What does such a political correct definition imply for Christian faith? Jesus said, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’ (John 14:6). Uhh, that’s rather intolerant isn’t it?
Peter said, ‘It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved’ (Acts 4:10-12).
In a great (small) book named “When Tolerance Is No Virtue: Political Correctness, Multiculturalism & the Future of Truth & Justice” by S.D. Gaede many good questions are asked about the consequences of the new tolerance.
The fact is that Christianity is exclusive if we have to believe the words of Jesus and thus this exclusive claim makes it intolerant! As a result Christianity is rejected within the “new tolerance movement” not treating this belief as ‘equal’. So, in practice, as Steve Turner expressed it so powerfully many years ago in his poem “Creeds”, “all beliefs are equal, but some beliefs are more equal than others.
The result is extreme intolerance towards Christianity from people who talk so much about tolerating all views. In short, they are intolerant of intolerance.
The problem at heart is that it can be hard to accept and be tolerant to absolutes of Christianity, because the absolutes of Christianity oppose a philosophy that says, “Everything can be done in accord with one’s own opinion.”
Somehow we have to decide what we want as churches and Christian organizations in Sweden. Are we called to skillfully maneuver between Biblical truths and politically correct powers or is it time to realize that our value grounds can be different and therefore we have to take consequences of our beliefs seriously for our own integrity’s sake.
In the near future we will see many new discussions and issues come up that basically are rooted in this same problem.
To finish off with another quote from Steve Turner: We believe that all religions are basically the same- at least the one that we read was. They all believe in love and goodness. They only differ on matters of creation, sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.
That’s the Way I see it!
John
