Our (Dis)United States
Unity & disunity are big topics these days, and in today's podcast we attempt to look at the problem of unity, the effects that culture and post-modernism have had on this, and the potential solutions we could strive for as a body of Christ and as individuals looking at a problem that can seem insurmountable.
SHOW NOTES & Resources
(Please note that not all these thoughts were used in the episode!)
The Problem: We are Disunited
We live in a society that is disunited. From our nation, to our culture, to even inside our churches.
Jon Tyson:
We have ideological division around issues that people considered sacred (race, rights, politics, religion) which means high emotions are involved
We refuse to have any sort of association or community with people who see things differently.
We’re selfish to see our own way and we’re suspicious of anyone else that doesn’t see like me.
Jon Tyson “Defiant Joy: Unity and Division” Sermon
-“You can safely assume you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”
-We have a level of contempt that is usually reserved in wartime, but now it’s applied against our fellow citizens and our neighbors.
-The rhetoric that enables war between nations is now our public dialogue between citizens.
- Sebastian Junger, Tribe: On Homecoming & Belonging
II. Why are we Disunited?
Humans always had a tendency towards division, division is not new. The Bible addresses it multiple times.
-”Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand”. Matthew 12:25
-”I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.” Rom. 16:17
The Federalist Paper No. 10 James Madison talks about how throughout history humans are prone to factions, to dividing. He calls it a “mortal disease.”
“ As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed.”
“So strong is this propensity of mankind to fall into mutual animosities, that where no substantial occasion presents itself, the most frivolous and fanciful distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly passions and excite their most violent conflicts.” (LOL)
The Age of “Me”
Our culture has changed on a fundamental level in these post-modern times.
At the heart of it is the issue of selfishness. We see ourselves as more important than others. We look to our own interests more than we look to others (Philippians. 2:3-4)
“We want to be powerful, spectacular and relevant” - Rich Villodas
Carl Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
-Our modern society prioritizes victimhood, sees selfhood in psychological terms, regards traditional sexual codes as oppressive and life denying and places a premium on the individual’s right to define his or her own existence. Pg. 63.
-Says that an “overriding desire for inner personal happiness and a sense of psychological well-being lie at the heart of the modern age and make ethics at root a subjective discourse.” Good and bad now are not rooted in a transcendental framework but rather on our own personal, emotional, and psychological preferences. Pg. 87
-Our moral views are simply based on our emotional preferences. And we see our own moral convictions as normative and correct by rejecting those with which we disagree as irrational prejudice rooted in personal, emotional-preference. pg 87
-The language of morality as now used is really nothing more than the language of personal preference based on nothing more rational or objective than sentiments or feelings. Pg. 85
The western world, but America especially, has always been a very individualistic society. We valued our own identity and personal freedoms, but when good things become ultimate things…this eventually led to us elevating the individual over the common good. We’ve also been super good at exporting our culture and this is why I think we see this problem spread to other countries as well.
And because we have lost our shared Judeo-Christian religion, we have lost the transcendent (supreme, supernatural) morals that we all at one point agreed governed us and our lives.
So now it’s every person for themselves, based on what they feel is right…not necessarily what Scripture says is right.
Our Post-Babel Era AKA Social Media after 2010
“After Babel: How Social Media Dissolved the Mortar of Society and Made America Stupid” by Jonathan Haidt. - Article written in the hardback magazine version.
Google Translate came out in 2006. All of our languages could now be understood when translated through a simple app. We rebuilt our towel of Babel and in it’s aftermath…everything that we once shared has been fragmented and broken into pieces.
In 2009 Facebook introduced the “like” button, and Twitter introduced the “retweet”. This fundamentally changed how social media operated because now it wasn’t just a timeline, the “viral” post became a thing. Studies showed that “posts that trigger emotions–especially anger at out-groups–are the most likely to be shared.”
In the years since then it’s introduced mob mentality to social media, and has decreased our trust in one another.
Increased polarization and driven us to our own little bubbles. I’m guilty of this too, don’t get me wrong. I spent a lot of time off social media when the politics got rough.
Social media drives division, narcissism, and contempt through how it’s structured. We are being socialized at every turn to behave in this way.
Jonathan Haidt: “social scientists have identified at least three major forces that collectively bind together successful democracies: social capital (extensive social networks with high levels of trust), strong institutions, and shared stories”. Social media has broken all of these down.
Satan’s Spirit of Disunity
We’re waging war against a powerful spirit of division and disunity in this age. We are not waging war against flesh and blood. Ephesians 6:12
The Way In is the Way On, John Wimber, pg. 140.
Let’s get one thing clear. We are at war. But it’s not against the liberals, conservatives, the Illuminati, the lizard creatures…
Jesus did not come to wage war against Rome. He knew Rome would be conquered one day…but it wasn’t by the means that we thought it would be. Rome was conquered by the Gospel.
We are at war against the spiritual forces of this present darkness.
Once we understand that Satan and his kingdom are the real enemies we have…we understand even more how Jesus calls us to look at our fellow human with love and compassion. Your neighbor is not your enemy. Look at the sermon on the mount. LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, love those who even persecute you. (Matthew 5)
I see how the spirit of this age is divisiveness. Satan is an agent of chaos. He doesn’t care who he uses or how he does it, his aim is always to destroy and to bring about disunity. And so we must be agents of light who bring about order, structure, and unity for the Kingdom.
III. The Solution
Go to the Gospels consistently and let them convict you.
Jon Tyson had this great piece of advice that he said in all the bible reading you do (and of course all of Scripture is God-breathed) never stray too far from the Gospels. Always have one toe dipped in the truth of the Gospel. If you’ve never read through the Sermon on the Mount or through the parables of Jesus and been convicted, there may be something in your faith you need to re-examine.
Especially Jesus’ entreaties to love our neighbors and to love our enemy.
Let it start with even the LANGUAGE we use “oh I hate this, I hate that”. Our strongest language should be used against our true enemy…Satan.
The deeply contemplative life with Jesus is vital
Get off social media, or be highly selective in how you use it. Spend regular periods of it and protect our young children and teenagers from it. I’m not a Luddite, we know how useful it can be but we also know how it can easily suck us in.
My personal rule of thumb is that the moment I either feel my blood pressure rise (aka it’s affecting me) or that I’ve spent more than my screen time limits on it that it’s time to delete the app for a while.
Get out of your bubble and make friends with people different than you.
-“Hospitality is about welcoming strange people, and the strange ideas they bring with them. - Rich Villodas from Carey’s episode
- The Gospel Commission tells us to do this anyways, we need to start taking this seriously. And as we heard in Kaliana’s episode, people are more receptive to the Gospel when they know you actually love them, care for them, and are being authentic in it.
Howe do we do that? Start by finding the things in common
“If you want to make a society work, then you don’t keep underscoring the places where you’re different—you underscore your shared humanity, I’m appalled by how much people focus on differences. Why are you focusing on how different you are from one another, and not on the things that unite us?” - Sebastian Junger, Tribe
Live the radically different life that Jesus calls you to.
WITHIN THE CHURCH:
-“In essentials unity, in nonessentials diversity, in all things charity.”
St Augustine
Figure out what our international boundaries are and where are state boundaries are. Matt Chandler had a great analogy for this in the Elephant room series found on this Youtube link.
AKA what’s essential and what’s a secondary issue.
1 Corinthians 1:10 - I appeal to you brothers, by the Lord Jesus Christ that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you. That you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
Ephesians 4:3-6
Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
