Things We're Afraid To Talk About

I have recently, like in the last few years, had several meaningful conversations that have stuck with me and informed me about my local culture. What they have in common is the quick and succinct, "Shut up about that!"

I shared this photo on my Facebook page today:


It expresses exactly how I feel about this issue. Except, if you could hear me, I would be yelling it.

There seems to be a sort of cultural understanding that we will not discuss anything that actually affects our salvation, unless we can agree wholeheartedly on it. So, it's okay to say, "Jesus loves you" to a fellow Christian (although not to their unbelieving friends) and you can't say "Jesus hates sin" to anyone because Sin is one of those forbidden topics - primarily because the definition of sin is something we struggle to agree on. Using God's Word as a guide for this definition is not even to be suggested because we might not interpret it the same way...

The root of all this is that we seem to have come to a time, over generations, that keeping a friendship alive is more important than seeing that "friend" in Heaven.

I have tried to dialogue about this with my peers, and some nod in agreement, others shake their heads in frustration, but no one seems to have a solution as to how to solve it. Well, except to teach the next generation Logic and Rhetoric, so they can actually have arguments that lead to Truth. And, there are some (Hillsdale College, Veritas Press, and others) who are trying to do just that.

So, the problem I have with all of this is a deep, dark looming sadness over what I know to be True. When I am told that we will not discuss matters of salvation - I'm talking about what is sin? how are we saved? - or debate theology in any way because it might put our friendships at risk, I can only see this one of two ways:

1. You don't really believe that God's Word is true and sustaining and clearly shows the way to salvation and that without it I am doomed to Hell - so you don't feel a need to warn me that I am on my way to Eternal Damnation.

OR

2. You really do believe that God's Word is true and sustaining and clearly shows the way to salvation and that without it I am doomed to Hell, but you hate me and don't feel a need to warn me that I am on my way to Eternal Damnation.

Both of these scenarios make me sad, and I really wish we could talk about it.