"To whom will you compare me or count me equal? To whom will you liken me that we may be compared? Isaiah 46:5 Every summer I try to pick one really good book that I will take my time on, savoring the words, losing myself in the writer's world of make believe. This past summer my chosen adventure was the book "Between Heaven and Hell" by the Christian philosopher and professor Peter Kreeft. It is written as a fictional Socratic dialogue between C. S. Lewis, John F. Kennedy and Aldous Huxley. These three men were giants in their day and as God would design it, they all died on November 22, 1963. Freaky isn't it? The dialogue has the men discussing philosophical questions as they are imagined meeting immediately after each of them dies on earth. C. S. Lewis champions the Christian worldview, John F. Kennedy is the voice of secular humanism and Huxley the Eastern pantheist. Kreeft presents a fascinating premise as he mixes humor with deeper logical argument as the three men wrangle about what it means to be human and the significance of the person of Jesus Christ. In the middle of the book they land on a topic that I believe is modern man's main hang-up with Jesus and Christianity. It is the problem of elitism, the ultimate sin to modern, or should I say, post-modern man: Lewis: "Everyone has some religion, some ultimate. The religion of modern society is egalitarianism, democracy, brotherhood, society itself." Huxley: "You mean conformity." Lewis: "Yes. Being accepted. Being popular. Being one of the community. It's radically new ideal in the modern West. . . we still want the same thing - - respect and acceptance by others - but we get it not by being different but by being the same. . . The modern world fears elitism, and elitist claims. . . Love fits the egalitarian religion of the modern world better than faith does, if you mean faith in the God of biblical revelation, not just faith in a vague force of your own imagination, or faith in faith. Nearly everyone admits claims of love, at least in principle if not in practice; but only believers admit the claims of faith." Huxley: "Now how does this apply to Jesus?" Lewis: "His claim to divinity is unique, and offensive. So if you can only classify Jesus with other ethical teachers and forget the claim to divinity, your home free with humanitarianism. You can classify Christ with the gurus and Christianity with world religions. You thus remove the odium of distinctiveness, the taint of elitism, the scandal of being right where others are wrong. You satisfy the demands of your god Egalitarianism." People hate it when other people claim to be right. There is an "odium" or stink to it. Even your 6 year old's soccer team doesn't keep score because no one is allowed to win anymore. That is why people will not accept such bold claims as... John 14:6 - "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me." Acts 4:12 - "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." You see Christianity's sin here? Jesus steps on the world stage and we are told that he is it. He is the best. Seems a little arrogant and elitist to the average person's ear. To say that he created the world, and that he will judge every man on judgment day is a bit arrogant, is it not? Unless....of course...it is the truth? If something is truly true it can't be sin because the definition of sin is to miss the mark. But if you hit the bulls-eye on the target, it isn't a sin. Jesus never lied, he never talked behind anyone's back, his teaching was brilliant, his enemies couldn't stump him, children flocked to him, and crowd's were in awe of him. Who can even compare? Mohammed? Seriously? Have you even read the Koran? Most people who defend Islam don't even realize that Mohammed was illiterate. He couldn't read or write, and supposedly he dictated his visions to scribes who wrote down what he said. Maybe that is why his biblical accounts differ from what the actual Bible says? Vishnu? Shiva? How can make believe Hindu gods even compare with the historical person of Jesus? No one compares to the person who rose from the dead. But people don't like this because that means they may have to do what he says. So instead of listening to his words and following his commands modern man cries foul. "You are not allowed to be better, you must be equal." The god of egalitarianism shuts the mind to belief . . . and the door to heaven. Later on in the dialogue Lewis says the reason people ultimately don't believe is because we have a disease. John Kennedy asks, "What's the disease?" Lewis responds, "Vincible ignorance or dishonesty. It means deliberately looking away from or changing the truth when it threatens you." That's it, people don't believe for one reason, THEY SIMPLY DON'T WANT TO! I wonder, is that your problem?
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