I found a man named Andrew, mid 20's, sitting at our local coffeeshop
listening to music on his headphones. He
was more than happy to share his views on eternity. I quickly found out he is the lead guitarist
in his band, about to put out their second CD.
Andrew grew up Episcopalian but felt turned off by church in his teens
and is now generally accepting of all religions. He is very passionate about the many problems
of humanity and the environment and seems quick to accept his share of the
blame, saying that if we want to change the world, we need to begin with
ourselves.
Yet when I asked about the
specifics of the Gospel, like our accountability toward God and our need for
forgiveness, he became evasive, preferring to speak in generalities rather than
getting specific. Its one thing to be
passionate about sin and its effects in the world, but quite another thing to
repent personally. King David showed
personal repentance to God regarding his sin with Bathsheba when he wrote
"Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge." (Psalm 51)
The crowd Peter preached to in Acts 2 showed personal repentance when
they were "cut to the heart" and asked “Brothers, what shall we
do?” They were sorry for their sins and
actively sought steps they could take in repentance.
Having a general passion against evil, in
society and/or in oneself, falls short of repentance. As I talked with Andrew, I think I found out one
reason he lacks that personal repentance - he doesn't believe in a personal
God. His idea of "God" is more
like a general force for good, like Karma, rather than a specific personality
like a Heavenly Father. It's hard to be
"cut to the heart" at the thought of personally offending an
impersonal "god".
PS - Click here to see Andrew and his band!
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