Sunday, September 20, 2020

Jürgen Hein, a promising representant of the millenium generation, published his second article in Church & Theology (kjt.ee): Mõtisklus kristlikest väärtustest.

I am glad that he finds good formulations for what is in my heart as well. He also seems to see a coming schism (or should we call it a split or a division?).

In recent times it seems that a split has occurred between the Christian values perceived by society and the message of the Bible. For example, when referring to the ten commandments as a guide for your personal life, then their fundamental Christian part is often removed. The commandments remain, but Jesus’s interpretation has vanished. (Mt 5:21–22). This gives a wholly different meaning to the commandment.

He concludes that

values without the Gospel drive humans into despair or make their hearts hard regarding the Christian message. That’s why we need both: point to the Christian values and proclaim the Gospel. (…)

I am afraid that the issue is yet deeper than this. Maybe we need to realize that Christian values actually don’t exist. The Gospel does not bring a new value system, it brings a new way of seeing moral value systems, how they change over time and how to handle conflicts between cultural groups.