Truth + Culture = ???

My heart is full to overflowing today! Shaunti Feldhahn spoke at the women's event I coordinated this weekend - I absorbed some transformational information! It was a tremendous occasion that I will not soon forget. Wow - it will take me some time to process everything! Hmmm, where to start....

I guess I will start with how Shaunti's writings influenced me prior to the conference this weekend. I read For Women Only several years ago and found it interesting; later I completed the Bible study based on the book. At the time, I thought it was great information and I've attempted to apply part of the guidance in my marriage. I read Shaunti's two fiction books last summer. These titles are The Lights on 10th Street and The Veritas Conflict. Interestingly enough, the fictional books had an enormous impact on my thinking - particularly The Veritas Conflict.

I started reading Veritas about the same time I started my graduate ethics course for psychology. Among other things, I learned about the philosophical foundations of professional ethics. Normative ethics is one area of study which can be further delineated to three major ethical theories: utilitarianism, deontological, and natural law. "Each of these theories explicates a unique method that people can follow to determine how they ought to act in a given situation" (Lloyd & Hansen, 2003, p. 28). Ethics are rooted in a philosophy (or more than one); and it is necessary to understand one's philosophy prior to making ethical judgments.

Since most of you are neither looking for a lecture on ethics nor philosophy, and since I'm not an expert in either, I am going to cut to the chase here and focus on the theory of natural law. Natural law ethics considers God as Creator of the earth and God as the One with a plan. In a nutshell, God provides a basis for right and wrong; humans need God to know right and wrong; and humans need Godly motivation and guidance to choose right. I choose to make judgment calls on situations I face based on a personal relationship with Christ and the revelation He provides within this intimate relationship. To do this, I must believe Him and receive Him all the time.

Back to Veritas, the main character is a young woman entering college for the first time. As a believer, she is faced with rigid opposition to her faith in God for the first time. The novel chronicles her experiences in the classroom and how she learns to effective apply her Godly philosophy in a secular environment. Also, the novel is a spiritual thriller in that it incorporates the idea of how the spirit-world may be interacting with real people in real time. Anyway, I was mesmerized by the process Shaunti presented for engaging in a debate. After dining with Shaunti Thursday night, I asked her permission to share this process.

1. Get analytical and determine the assumptions behind the statement or question (these may be spoken or unspoken). Do not answer the question until you know the assumption.
2. Question the assumption by working backwards to find an intellectual inconsistency.
3. Provide a logical, yet ridiculously extreme conclusion.
4. Always speak the Truth in love.

This is the process I attempted to use in my February 27th blog entitled "Help, I'm Stuck in a Pit." I know it is a process that takes practice. As I read about this process in Veritas, I actually took notes - from a work of fiction! That is some transformational fiction reading, my friends!

Believers in Christ receive revelation from God in relationship with Him. Truth is unknown and is misunderstood by those who are not seeking God and not in relationship with Him.

Enter culture.

Culture is all that is around us influencing our belief systems; our interpretations of what is normal, acceptable, and ethical. The application of God's Truth in every day living has always been counter-culture; however, because the USA was founded on Christian values, and because these values have slowly eroded, many Christians in America have been lulled to sleep. They have ceased seeking God's Truth falsely thinking it is unnecessary, and/or they have mixed God's Truth with cultural relevance creating a new version of truth that is not reflective of God's Truth.

Shaunti Feldhahn applies this phenomenon to the differences between how men and women think and act. Shaunti is an analyst - not a psychologist or counselor. She is bringing practical applications of credible scientific research to the average person in laymen's terms. Let me tell you: Shaunti's message is extremely counter cultural. This weekend my eyes were further opened to the deceit of our culture and its impact on me and my family. The deceit is evident at every turn - from the home to the church to business, media, and education.

The deception of the devil should come as no surprise. Our response to it should be the focus here. If we ignore the deceit, then our homes, marriages, families, and children will continue to be destroyed. Jesus instructed believers to always be ready for His second coming. To ignore the deceit our culture is engaging in is to leave people unprepared for Jesus' arrival.

How should we respond? We must first voraciously seek God's Truth. Then, we must know God's Truth better than our culture. And finally, we must apply God's Truth in relationship with one another. This weekend inspired me to do this first and foremost in my home with my husband and my sons. I must also seek, know, and apply God's Truth in my work among college students. And, I can not stop the flood of words and ideas pouring from my mind. The enemy and his deception is much closer than we often believe, but the enemy does not seek to be recognized as such, so we must be actively vigilent. Keep seeking, my friends!

"You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31b-32, NLT).