The Bible and its lack of appeal to 21st-century people
Published:Sunday | November 22, 2020 | 8:17 AMCecelia Campbell-Livingston - Sunday Gleaner Writer
"Do you know what you are getting in to,
When you turn away from Jesus Christ?
Don't you know your life could be much better
If you would listen to this good advice.
And if you're ever looking for the real truth,
You are gonna find it there."
- Third Day – Deny The Truth
More and more, the principles that have been laid down in the Bible about righteous living and pleasing God are being ignored by society on a whole. Even among Christians, there are those who have no issues with disobeying some of God’s commands regarding embracing His laws.
It begs the question about whether biblical principles have any bearing on government laws, societal behaviour, or how some Christians live their lives.
The topic, 'Does the Bible Appeal to 21st Century Men?’ was dissected by a Church of Christ minister, Joseph Buckland, who shared that Saint Paul’s words spoken in Romans 1:18-21 are still echoing down to the 21st century as human beings haven’t changed in the way they think and the way they behave, generally.
Expounding on the text, Buckland said that ungodliness is an attitude or way of thinking or feeling that shows a lack of respect for God’s authority.
“Unrighteousness is the expression of this attitude of ungodliness, and it is expressed in people not doing what God wants them to do. They do not want to accept God’s moral standards, so they continue to hold on to their moral standard, allowing them to do whatever they want,” he shared.
Buckland said that the worldwide state of people shows that they hold down or suppress the truth in unrighteousness, so the Bible does not appeal to them.
“Because people generally do not like God’s law, they hold it down or suppress it by ignoring it and doing unrighteousness. God has also revealed himself to people all over the world by giving them a conscience. This conscience lets people feel guilty when they break God’s law or it excuses or defends them when they keep God’s law,” Buckland said, adding that they would hold down or suppress their conscience in order not to feel guilty.
Acknowledging that although many want to believe in a supernatural being, they don’t want to believe in the one true God, preferring instead to make their own gods – hence the practice,he said, of idolism, lesbianism, and homosexuality.
According to Buckland, people ignore what God has commanded when they push Government to legalise abortion, homosexuality, and by extension, same-sex marriage.
Referring to the passage of the Status of Children Act, which was passed in the 1970s by the Michael Manley Government, which declared that ‘No bastard nuh deh yah again’, essentially giving children born out of wedlock the same recognition as those who were born to married parents, Buckland said that that was a breakaway from God’s law surrounding marriage and the family.
Noting that the Bible has no appeal for 21st-century humans, he said that this was so because they do not want to think about God or what He has commanded them to do.
“They want the laws of Government to be ‘religion neutral’. They think that the laws of the Bible are outdated. They think also that in a debate about truth and morality, that God and the Bible should not be brought up,” he shared.
Buckland said when people reach the point where they do not want to think about God, He is going to give them over to what they want to do because he gives people the freedom to choose, and He wants people to do what is right because they love him and want to please Him and not because they are forced to.
“God wants people to freely choose what is right because of their love for Him and faith in Him,” said Buckland.