Defaulting to grace: Worldviews part two

World views in the churches

I started writing this chapter in August of 2021, at the height of the COVID pandemic. Two-and-a-half years later, most of it still holds. If anything, churches are often more divided over world views, and if not divided, more deeply entrenched in their cultural belief systems, turning away from the simplicity of the gospel to promote a social agenda on either the left or the right.

Politics and pandemics seem to bring out the worst in all of us, whether or not we are in the Church or attending a church. We live in an uncertain and increasingly divided world, and churches often neglect to teach about important issues from a biblical perspective. There is tradition invoked at various conferences, certain Bible verses are pulled out of context to make a point, and the trajectory of the church writ large is a downward spiral, largely because grace does not abound. The post-COVID culture is not tolerant of inauthenticity. It’s easy to blame the culture for how the church is viewed, but unity is challenging unless the Bride of Christ pulls herself together through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was not a Democrat, Republican, Socialist, or Independent. He was a citizen of Judea, under the rule of Rome. He was not Protestant in any denomination, nor was he Catholic or Orthodox. He was a Jew. The sooner we all remember whom we serve, the more united the Church will be.