Society

Christians (or persons guided by any serious religion) are in some competition with any general social context in which they may be found.  Hopefully the competition is friendly, as it ought to be if both the society and the devout are free within their boundaries to acceptance, an acceptance that does not require approval.  It is a part of the context of life that we are flexible enough in our thought and experience to accept others without approving them.  This is an important dimension of life and love.  Christ is our first model, able to accept the variances he found in an imperfect context, and remain considerate in his knowledge and understanding so to act wisely in relationship with others – as individuals and in groups.  Christians ought to follow his gracious (grace) of treatment related belief and conduct.  The very matter was illustrated in the week past of this writing, that Pope Francis and the Prkime Minister of Israel, Netanyahu, exchanged very different beliefs about Jesus Christ, but could do so in the civility of the life of two persons in difference about the meaning and person of Christ, while agreeing strongly about the peace of the eastern Mediterranean area that is so fraught with conflict.  Much of that conflict relates to the difference in the societies there related to the meaning of Jesus Christ in their cultures.  Cultures and faith are in conflict mismanaged by hatreds, warfare, politics, and the loss of love, acceptance, freedom, and the largeness of problem solving within the competencies of all peoples committed to rights and peace.  Our awareness of the poor application of available solutions cause us: to keep our powder dry; to fight to the death for what we believe; to scowl, yell, frown, and disparage persons and nations; and, to continue the competition that takes from the citizens (individually and in groups) the spirit of well-being, peace, respect, and value patterns that we cherish.  We ought to be fair, respectful of each other, and problem-solvers.

The basic pattern to forming both personal and group cultures has not changed since the writings of Moses for Judeo/Christian cultures in faith factors.  (Other cultures also began writing their constitutions at the time, and there were numerous similarities in them all.)  We conjecture that these factors are taken as universal.  The basic point relates to the constitution followed – that announces to the world what the holder of that constitution is going to form to, so to take some responsibility for social structure that can survive with respect for other social structures.  In something over two hundred years the American society has included a number of these constitutions beginning with Judeo-Christian Scripture, Common Law (from Europe), Community Compacts (Pilgrims in the Mayflower Compact), The Book of Mormon, Science and Health, Key to the Scriptures, and other documents for smaller groupings like the writings of Roger Williams, and the guidebooks of various movements.  Without a mature and wise nation the emerging conglomerations don’t ultimately work.  The varieties are too many. They begin to contradict each other, divide the population into too many parts so that pluralism becomes nearly unmanageable, especially in large nations.  Smaller developed nations like Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Belgium, and Holland get on rather well.  In these nations the people enjoy a pattern that generally holds for the majority, with the freedom for the individual to pursue life meaning as each chooses.  Matters move more slowly, but the populations seem not to be distressed by the timing and flow of their lives.  They find the leadership that brings stability without the pressure of pride among nations, costs of military preparedness, tensions among groups defined in gender, races, and cultures.  There is a pressure to fit in, and find what is possible and best for all.  The pattern becomes so satisfactory that need for a dynamic faith in God may not be taken as a necessity to gaining the good life and a transition beyond death. In a modern society that learns to live as society ought to function, the problem becomes so extensive, entangled, and variously interpreted that the Christian needs to do well everything Jesus outlined for us to work for, plan for, pray for, live for.  Even when everything is in place the reality of life and death are visited on mankind.  God does not desire to aggravate us but to woo and persuade us.  It can’t be done without modeling Christianity, working in wisdom to persuade for personal faith through Jesus Christ.