I’m hearing a particular phrase a little too often these
days.
I first read it in the
book by
Richard Stearns that I wrote about a while back. “Perception is reality” he
proudly and condescendingly tells us.
It
bugged the heck out of me.
I knew that
statement couldn’t be further from the truth, and it was coming from a
“Christian” author.
Since that time, I have heard it more and more often; and
many times coming from within Christian circles.
Ok; so it has happened enough now, that I
felt like I wanted to write about it.
I remember several years ago the phrase “everything is
relative” was a popular answer or comeback to many situations.
We would hear, “Oh, it’s all relative.”
I never agreed with that statement either,
but I caught myself saying it one day while in conversation with my dad.
I will never forget the look on my dad’s face. He held his
piece though; never said a word. Maybe he quietly uttered an “hmmm”; but I knew
without a doubt that I had said something really stupid and it was contrary to
what my dad had always taught me.
Anyway, so now society has taken it one step further, and is
determined to have us believe “Perception is reality”.
In other words, my reality is not your
reality; my truth is not your truth. There is no black and white, no
absolutes.
That my friend, is not Scriptural; so why do we have
Christians so quickly and easily identifying with this philosophy?
And why is no one bothered by such an oft
quoted mistruth. The philosophy is “relativism” at its finest –simply brought
to us in new packaging. Blending grays in world views. (John 17:17 -
just for starters.)
What we are being told is that there is no reality beyond
ones perception or belief.
That’s
scary.
We are being told that there are,
in fact, two realities.
One is the
physical reality, consisting of that which is tangible, our five senses, and
scientific facts.
(Hmmm…)
The other is relative and subjective reality; i.e. that
which pertains to our experiences and how we perceive things. Our beliefs,
intentions, and knowledge would be more of this type of reality - something
that can be debated or discerned.
Reality is malleable; ever-changing and conforming as society
changes.
Really? Kinda leaves out the
truth of the Bible, doesn’t it?
“Our truth”; “our reality” is connected to us like a
“fingerprint”, proponents of this belief say. This kind of thinking brings us
close to the belief that we must be “true to ourselves.”
Hmmmm – the Bible says we should die to
ourselves. (1 Corinthians 15:31; Galatians 2:20; John 12:24)
Now, I am not saying we shouldn’t
care how we are perceived by others.
Or
that there is no need to worry about what others think of us.
Of course we should.
We are instructed in Scripture to live so
that others will want to live like us. To be lights shining in darkness.
(Matthew 5:16)
In that regard of course
we should care about others’ perception of us. But that is a completely
different subject than what we are talking about here, though without
understanding one could mistake the two meanings.
I wondered where in the world this statement even had its
origins, and how did it come to permeate a section of the Church. On a Google
search, it was revealed it was once said by Lee Atwater – political consultant
and Republican strategist; Dr. Phil is also credited with saying: “There is no
reality – only perception.” And of course Richard Stearns used this theme
throughout his book
The Hole in the
Gospel. I’m sure one could find a multitude of people that have quotes on
the subject.
Obviously none of these are
original sources.
This ideology has been around for generations, and the root
is probably found in what is known as Skepticism. The founder of this
philosophy was Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360-272 B.C.) So yes, it’s been around
awhile.
Why is it making its way into
the Christian church today? Pyrrho believed there should be no judgment on any
worldview, because none was better than the other. No opinion; no good or evil;
nothing can be proved, so don’t believe anything you see or hear. All truth is
only based on ones perception.
It calls
for inaction because there is no clear right or wrong. So how can we comfortably
act for or against anything? (Hmmm)
That, I believe, is the most dangerous
aspect of this belief if it were to begin to permeate the church.
Even my own research for this blog-post
helped me realize why this philosophy is rearing its ugly head at this time in
our church history. Promoting inaction and complacency are important tools in
grabbing the hearts and minds of those one seeks to dominate.
But come on, Christian.
Let’s think for ourselves.
Let’s do a little critical thinking and
ponder what we are being taught before jumping on the latest trend that moves
through our churches.
Yes, little,
trendy, Christian fads (for lack of a better word) have always filtered through
and weaved themselves among the Christian community, actively popular for a
while. The Prayer of Jabez would be one such example. Maybe the misquoting of
Genesis 31:49 – “The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent one
from another.” -
would be one more
example.
The “prosperity movement” would
be an example on a larger scale of societal views creeping into the church.
However, I tend to believe
this small, but inaccurate statement
has the potential to do more damage to our faith than anything else has in a
while.
I believe I have only skimmed the
surface of all that this belief system entails and the repercussions from it of
which we could endure. I kind of felt the need to do what I can to help expose
it – at least as far as I am able.
"Jesus Christ - the same yesterday, and today, and forever."
Hebrews 13:8
