What is the World Coming to? Part 1.
I watched an interesting video this week, “What Will Replace Religion” by Jamie Wheal. The basic premise of the video is that we need to recapture meaning as a society. The world is going crazy, we’re all lost and searching for meaning. Wheal’s ultimate prescription is a solution that moves beyond Jesus and finds meaning within ourselves. Sadly, many Christians have already bought into this lie.
He says a lot of things in this video. Each paragraph could probably get its own series but I figured maybe I could try to tackle this thing in three parts. So over the next few weeks, that’s exactly what I’ll do because there is a war for the Christian mind and I don’t want to see any of us fall for the lies.
The End of Religion
Jamie Wheal believes that as a society, we have progressed beyond the need for religion. It is a thing of the past that is no longer applicable to modern life but we still need what it gives us. He states that all rapture ideologies (where people find their hope for the future) share these fundamental beliefs:
The world is screwed and an inflection point is coming
As soon we get there, me and mine, the elect, will score one of the golden tickets to safety
Therefore let’s get there ASAP and not worry about the collateral damage of those left behind.
That’s a fairly grim and reductionist outlook but understandable. Where Wheal leads from here is that it’s time for something new. We need a new “rapture ideology” apart from old-timey religion to give us meaning. Essentially, it’s time for a new golden ticket.
Here is what he thinks is the answer: If you tell people they’re one of the good guys and can get them to the other side, and can offer a happy ending then hundreds of thousands will follow. Simply tell people they’re on the right team and make them believe it and you will be the Lord of the masses.
But is that enough? Is that all that is required for us to be a functioning society?
A Happy Ending
As we experience further division with each passing day, Wheal believes we need to convince people that they’re the good ones. He never quite says what constitutes someone being good though. Take a quick poll of either side of the aisle and you will find everyone thinks they’re on the right team and right side of history.
If “good” is based on not being like the person over there then what we have is a faulty standard that never holds up. I like the way rapper Bizzle put it in Truth Music: “Even the liar says at least I don’t steal. The thief says well at least I don’t kill. The killer says at least I don’t rape women. The rapist says at least I don’t rape children.”
Do you see how easy it is to be one of the good ones when the standard for good is the next person? Compared to a holy God none of us have a leg to stand on. That is good news.
While Jamie Wheal believes all religion must be done away with, what he misses is the most crucial element of Christianity that separates it from every other rapture ideology out there. God was good for us. Our righteousness is not based on our ability to be good enough, it is based on the truth that Jesus was good for us.
This goes a long way when trying to define the “good ones.” As Christians, we recognize that if it wasn’t for Jesus, we wouldn’t be counted in that group. I pray we remember that as we navigate this world that is trying to get us to name the other side as evil. May we walk with humility and display the very same love that was given to us.