“God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?”
—Nietzsche, The Gay Science, Section 125, tr. Walter Kaufmann
In the age of information, filtered through the eyes of a post-modern mindset, it seems that Google has become the great oracle of hope. I submit for your consideration a post by Kim Ficera. The entry is about a young woman who struggles in her choice between her love for sex with other women and her love for Jesus. A Lesbian Seeker writes the following,
“For me, it’s been a huge, huge struggle as of late with my sexuality. I wonder am I going to hell? I believe in Christ but is that enough?”
To find solace in the midst of conflict, this young woman turns not to God, her pastor, or even a mature follower of Jesus. Instead, she turns to the new sacred source of “truth”; Google. Ms. Ficera writes the following in response to the email sent by this lesbian inquirer.
“All that this woman wants is to believe that she isn’t evil, she isn’t going to Hell, and that Jesus loves her despite the choices she has made. She loves Jesus, that’s clear, and she wants a safe place to pour her faith in Him. But no one close to her has provided her with what she needs. So she wrote to me, a stranger.
Why me? I’m no theologian. I don’t have inside line to Christ. I probably came to her through Google, not God. I have no idea if she’s made the right choice to be a lesbian or not. I don’t know if her love for Jesus trumps her love for a woman. I don’t have a clue if she’s going to Hell, or if there even is a Hell. What did she think I could offer her?
The best answer I can come up with is that she must have known I would confirm what she probably already suspects — that no one really knows what God wants from her, or from anyone else. No one.”
Ah, the new scriptures are perfect for the post-modern seeker of truth. On Google you can find anything and everyone. Eventually, if you search hard enough, you will find someone who will affirm what you want to believe in spite of what you know to be right.
Where do you find truth today? For many, I fear, the answer is Google not God.
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Isn’t Google the way they spell God in Wales? Have you ever tried to read their street signs. They take all the little used letter-tiles from Scrabble – - toss them on the game board and PRESTO! you live on lonvaxxzzgvnm street.
I think the saddest observation . . . Christianity’s ambassadors are not sufficiently equipped to edify fellow believers. Perhaps the reason this young woman sought hope in Google is she saw no hope in the church today. Only condemnation from hyper fundamentalists like the TBN crowd.
Didn’t any one tell her that God loves her and sent His Son to die for the sins of the entire world; and, those who believe it are forgiven? Male or female, young or old, black or white, gay or straight – - – Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
It is sad that no one in the religious system told her so.
I agree with wcbalmer, in part. Yes, someone in the Christian community should have told her that Jesus loves her, regardless of any behaviors in which she was/is engaged. Yes, someone should have told her that forgiveness is available for those who earnestly desire it, regardless of sins committed.
But it’s not clear from the post that she was seeking forgiveness as much as validation that she can have it all. Someone can love Jesus and be forgiven but never mature beyond that point (see Amy Grant’s “Fat Baby”).
Being a disciple of Jesus means laying everything you have and are before him and acknowledging his Lordship. This young lady – loved to astounding degrees by Jesus and by the Church – can know real transformation and peace far beyond “simple” forgiveness.
In short, it seems to me that while she is honestly seeking Jesus as Savior, she may not be ready yet to proclaim him as Lord.
“But it’s not clear from the post that she was seeking forgiveness as much as validation that she can have it all.”
Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
What else can one say !
Keith wrote “But it’s not clear from the post that she was seeking forgiveness as much as validation that she can have it all.“
And this takes us back in the direction of Nietzsche’s statement quoted at the top of the blog. When we kill God, we must then invent and create our own rituals and truths so that we can get the forgiveness we seek.