AAU/ISTH CHAPTER
THE MODERN CHRISTIAN: THE BURDEN OF CIVILIZATION ON CHRISTIANITY
Having existed for over two millennia, Christianity, pioneered by a hundred and twenty disciples, was born on Pentecost. From that ancient holy city of Jerusalem, it has spread across all continents by blood, tears, and sweat, through men whose lives were poured out to God as drink offerings. With the baton of faith handed down to us in this age of the fourth industrial revolution characterized by robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), internet, and the likes, it is no gainsaying that civilization has taken its toll on every facet of human endeavour, religion inclusive. This shall be the crux of this write-up.
In the first premise, civilization, in terms of social, political, and technological advancement, has been a blessing to man over the years. In Christianity, the advent of social media, for instance, has fueled the furtherance of the gospel of Christ. However, the impact of civilization has raised the dust of burdens in the following aspects:
1. Virtual church: The Internet today has made the world a global village so much so that, as a blessing to the body of Christ, church services can be streamed online via YouTube, Facebook, etc., thereby creating a church-without-walls system. However, some modern Christians no longer see reasons to physically fellowship with the brethren, after all, they can live-stream. This has caused some to lose contact with the organic church, thereby falling away.
2. Modern music: Christian music has evolved over the years from the conventional ones. Nowadays, genres of Christian hip-hop, rap, spoken-word poetry, and Holy Ghost “chants” abound in the Christian ecosystem. However, hymns are becoming relics in most modern churches, only to be sung during wedding processions and funerals. They are gradually left for the Orthodox circles as against the injunction of Paul in Ephesians 5:18.
3. Christian entertainment: Good lighting, sophisticated musical instruments, and theatrical smoke or haze are all products of civilization that give stages in churches and Christian concerts an excellent outlook. As good as these things are, they can in a way “make up” for a deficit of God’s presence. Hence, modern Christian artists should note that: first, they are ministers, not entertainers; and these should not substitute for the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Beyond the excellent ambience, which already is a plus, the audience or laity should be able to touch God.
4. Digital Bibles: Access to the word of God has become easy these days through Bible apps and audio Bibles. There is no excuse for ignorance these days. However, with Bibles on phones, the study life of some Christians has died as a result of suffocation from addiction to social media. Worst still, some don’t know if the book of Haggai is in the Old Testament or not, due to scriptural references being projected on screens in churches.
5. The LGBTQ movement and believers: Aside from being against natural order, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer movement which negates Christian faith is gradually creeping into the fold. In the name of “wokeness”, some modern Christians, especially the so-called “Gen Z”, are following the trend.
RECOMMENDATION
The art of discipleship is becoming obsolete in most churches as a result of large followership. However, it must be restored to prepare Christians to meet the 21st-century challenges accompanying the civilizations in this age.
CONCLUSION
In sum, it can be inferred that the modern Christian is caught in-between the pros and cons of the civilizations of this age. Though times and seasons change, our Lord and faith remain the same. Hence, to preserve the faith handed down to us by our fathers, adequate discipleship must be done to equip modern Christians with the wherewithal to weather the storms of this age. ( Jude 1:3b)
AKINRIMISI TAIWO OMOLAYO
