“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they might all be damned who believed not the truth...”
St. Paul to the Thessalonians
I’m going to step into the Crusader’s territory for a moment. It’s okay because we share a strand or two of DNA, and because what I am going to talk about here not only has a stranglehold on society but on many churches as well.
I was not raised in church. On the contrary, fellowship of any kind with churches was forbidden. How I ended up as a Christian and a member of one church or another for the last forty-seven years is another story. You can read that in my book, Experimental Christianity, or email me if you want to know. I’m not shy about relating the experience.
I mention my conversion to introduce the fact that I am not opposed to radical change. More recently, I dropped eighty pounds by changing my eating habits. However, I am persuaded that the modern Cult of Change—the adoration of change for the sake of change—is a deadly cancer growing on our culture, and our very thinking.
This laptop and the application I am using to write this blog is a case in point. Back in the dark ages, when companies like Hp and Microsoft were trying to sell us all on personal computing, their designers employed something called “ease of use”. That is, they set out to make their products easy to use in hopes of attracting reluctant buyers (like me). They were very successful, to say the least.
When did the last update you installed make things easier to use? I think possibly that was when dial-up ended. Now that we have bought into the need for the latest and greatest, change and innovation are no longer user-centered. Design has shifted to how it functions for the seller.
The Microsoft Word program I’m using right now just changed the process I use to make editorial comments on documents from one simple step into a two-step process with a block on further action until you obey. Change for the better, right? Sounds more to me like change or else.
When I worked for the Navy, each newly assigned officer in charge of our unit in the hospital had to introduce changes or they were likely to get passed over for promotion. It didn’t matter if the change made things operate more smoothly or increased productivity. Changes were made to return to ideas proven not to work. It didn’t matter. The important thing was a change was implemented and accepted.
We are told not only that change is inevitable, but that all change is good and embracing it proves we are proactive, progressive, and productive. This is the path to delusion. We are walking this path because we are being led down it. The Truth is unchanging. The only thing that changes is our willingness to see It.
Maranatha
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