on the walk

“Now our children grow up prisoners, All their lives radio listeners”

This is how the classic R.E.M. song, Out of Time, ends. I just reread the lyrics, I was surprised how well I remembered the song. One of the wonderful things my wife gave me was an introduction to the music of R.E.M. Despite the PG-13 lyrics the song was a compelling description of a culture imprisoned by its addiction to the media culture. (They got the radio part wrong, but their message is more general.)

This song came back to me when I read this post at the blog Out of Ur: Thus Saith the Radio. I resonate completely with this story. On the same day that I read this post, I also listened to a podcast about the problem of celebrity church leaders and how so many lose all discernment as they interact with famous Christian leaders. In both cases I thought of REM.

What makes us prisoners is when we stop using our judgment, and start accepting foolish categories. Into one category we put those who can say nothing wrong. And then into another we put those who can say nothing right. The problem is that these categories are simply never true. (Just for clarity, I will be the first to say that the first category is not true for me.)

C.S. Lewis, Josh McDowell, James Dobson, N.T. Wright, can all be wrong. In fact, I would argue that to whatever degree they are self-assured in their teaching, it is precisely to that degree that we must be suspect. This is even more important when we are not in relationship with people. I find it disturbing when people accept my word or the word of their home preacher without studying scripture for themselves. However, in these cases there is a relationship of trust that is built and maintained. In these cases, we can verify through repeated interaction, the conversation of the community, and our knowledge of the speakers character. With a voice on the radio we have none of these extra levels of protection.

I think that one of the most important ways that the church can respond to this is renew the practice of studying the Bible. I know that more Christians studying the Bible would hurt the sale of Christian self-help books, but other than that, I think that it would be a wonderful thing. (that was humor.) It is only as Christian are able to studying Bible well and begin to have a mature and holistic picture of its story and teaching that we will be equipped to discern as we need to. I certainly believe that the church needs theologians, and perhaps we even need our celebrities, but most importantly we need to be a community that is drenched in scripture.

As we have a chance to influence one another let us teach one another judgment and discernment and caution and let us drive one another to scripture. There is no other sure ground for knowledge. For a positive example of this practice check out the Bereans in Acts 17:10-12.

on the walk

-Ethan

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