This title should grab our attention. If we are hanging our eternal hope on the false belief that “Christadelphianism” will save us, then we need to ask ourselves some serious, searching questions. There are many other competing “isms” that are rewriting our world view and dramatically impacting our lives. I recognize there is, of course, a quiet and compelling comfort in having one tradition to undergird our lives. But a tradition, alone, can be deceptive. It can even be deadly!
There are many competing voices today. Many other “isms” are contending aggressively for our attention and time; some may be winning. Let’s review a few.
Materialism
No other society or culture has ever existed in human history that has so democratized materialism, i.e., the notion that material things are all that matters. Of course, I am speaking especially of “Western” societies and cultures. Ours are the ones with the means to implement materialism. We have more options, more comforts and, overall, more “stuff” than any of our ancestors.
The main shift has been in the middle class. A burgeoning bourgeois since the late 1940s has fueled consumerism to staggering heights. Consumerism is the business end of materialism. Bigger homes, more fixings and furnishings, more and more cheaply produced by poorly paid, poorly treated labor in China and elsewhere — stuff, lots of stuff. Automobiles, clothes, toys, the list is long. Under this heading we could also mention “tourism”, another “ism” that may bewitch us. But, for the sake of brevity, I will avoid that journey.
These “isms” are compelling and cater to our basic covetousness, especially the lust of the eye and the pride of life. They are beguiling because possessions and lifestyles are often the result of hard work, and hard work seems, on the face of it, to be completely Biblical. But consumerism can really be opposed to living a life in Christ. One little example: by one recent count, I had 52 shirts. Is this necessary? Would Jesus have had 52 shirts? Probably not. He didn’t have a closet to put them in; he was homeless.
Our preoccupation with things is contrary to sound Christian teaching. “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Phil 4:12).
Remember also Paul’s admonition to Timothy:
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out of it” (1Ti 6:6).
Hedonism
This is the creed that proclaims pleasure or happiness to be the sole or chief good in life. One useful definition is found in Webster’s: “Noun: 1. Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses. 2. The ethical doctrine holding that only what is pleasant or has pleasant consequences is intrinsically good.” This notion has now, more or less, been enshrined in law — especially within the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Our preoccupation with self and pleasure is also contrary to sound Christian teaching.
“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature… because of these the wrath of God is coming” (Col 3:5,6).
“There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves… lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…” (2Ti 3:1,4).
Hedonism’s helper is, of course, liberalism. Liberalism has always been “cool”. It is a world view that has never gone out of fashion. Paul encountered it on Mars Hill, with the Epicureans. It is founded on the notion that whatever we think is right for us is, in fact, right. Liberalism is the business end of hedonism. It is deadly.
New Age spiritualism
This “ism” is just a repackaging of old pagan beliefs, where all things are an integral part of the great goddess “Mother Earth”. She was the foundation of most pagan and indigenous cultures. Being “spiritual” is really being part of Mother Earth. It encompasses the notion that our ashes live on in the trees and grasses; that dear departed Aunt Hattie’s spirit is blowing in the wind and reflected in the summer flowers; and that we are not individual, God-created and God-loved creatures, but instead simply parts of the impersonal, organic whole. This notion is linked to environmentalism. It is fashionable, and it is a delusion. We need John’s message more than ever.
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.”
Our spirit, as John goes on to say, is about Jesus, and the reality of him coming in the flesh (1Jo 4:1-4).
Spiritualism’s close friend is Buddhism. Both offer a form of godliness but deny its power and miracles. The reality is that there is no other name or spirit under heaven by which we will be saved, except Jesus Christ.
Gnosticism
The greatest threat today is probably gnosticism, with its partner “dualism’. Gnosticism is a rather complex mix of ideas which gained traction in the late first century. It was a growing problem in the New Testament era. It is a New Age re-cooking of the old pagan ideals today. To simplify the concept, we need to think of the predominant cultural ideals of the Western mind nowadays: self-interest, the deifying of the mind of man, and dualism.
Dualism is the conflict between good and evil, where good becomes evil and evil becomes good — they are both relative terms. So, there is no real evil any more than there is any real good. Situation and self-interest determine good and evil. Then, associated with this pernicious notion, is the concept that we are all dual in makeup: that is, we are body and spirit — and conflict exists between the two domains. This allows for a free movement of thought and action between the two realms. In other words, we can live in both worlds. We can, at one and the same time, be spiritual and worldly.
The notion that we can live in both worlds simultaneously is quite dangerous. It allows us to be good on Sunday, and more or less evil on Monday. Well, not exactly evil — only according to someone else’s evaluation, etc. So, we can be quite bad (well, not exactly) in the body — but, at the same time be quite good and spiritual (but not exactly) in the mind and spirit.
In short, we can (supposedly) have the best of both worlds.
This sad commentary upon ancient Israel is pretty much an expression of gnosticism.
“They feared the LORD, yet served their own gods — according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away” (2Ki 17:33).
Paul states emphatically that we are all one — body, mind, and soul. He states also that the body is the temple of the living God, and that salvation is all about this body (with its mind) possessing the mind of Jesus Christ.
The new atheism
The new atheism is “hip.’ It is contemptuous of all who believe in God. It is evangelical. It is actually just a more aggressive form of the old. People choose to believe there is no God because they choose to establish their own morality. They may argue that we know more now. They may rationalize that we have more scientific information. Now, they may explain away the concept of any Intelligent Design, and the work of a Creator God who has set the boundaries of morality. But, most of all, they just refuse to be told.
This notion is intoxicating because it caters to the basic human predisposition to be like God — or to be “God”. We need to be continually aware of this deceit and rally around the simplicity and truth of Paul’s instruction to the Corinthians when he writes, “…but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to Gentiles”, while to us, “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1Co 1:23,24). We also have increasing scientific evidence that we can find comfort and hope in the simple, direct, spirit-filled truth of King David: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’ ” (Psa 14:1).
What then?
Not just the ones above, but all deceptive “isms” are false hopes. Even “Christadelphianism” can be a false hope. Even “Christadelphianism” can kill us!
How can we say such a thing? Because salvation is not merely bound up in a collection of doctrines or a statement of faith, however correct. Nor is it merely the property of any tradition, even the most Scriptural or helpful or venerable. There is no hope in any world view or practice — whether institutionalized or free-thinking, whether theirs or ours.
“Christadelphianism” alone — as a system — cannot save. On the other hand, however, Jesus can and does save! An expectant, spirit-filled, sacrificial life in Christ is the answer. There is no “ism” of salvation; there is only the Son of God. Our cognitive bias, our world view, has to reflect this. Otherwise, we have no hope. “Christ in us” is the hope of glory. That is the hook upon which we must hang our lives.
We need to be constantly called to action in the continual re-examination of our lives and belief systems. We need, like never before, to be asking the questions, continually and endlessly re-examining everything we think and do in the light of a Holy and Just God and within the radiance of Jesus Christ, “…that you may distinguish between the unclean and the clean” (Lev 10:10).
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1Pe 3:15).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One