Truth or Lies, Part 8
December 7, 2023 | by: Dale Thiele | 0 Comments
Posted in: Pastoral Encouragement
This is part eight of a multipart series introducing and interacting with Rosaria Butterfield’s new book, Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age. As followers of Christ, we must be rooted in biblical truth as we are confronted by the lies of “this present darkness.”
We have covered Butterfield’s teaching on the Five Lies. In brief, they are:
Lie #1: Homosexuality is normal.
Lie #2: Being a spiritual person is kinder than being a biblical Christian.
Lie #3: Feminism is good for the world and the church.
Lie #4: Transgenderism is normal.
Lie #5: Modesty is an outdated burden that serves male dominance and holds women back.
Butterfield comments, “What all these lies have in common is they don’t think that God had a plan and purpose when he created men and women. God’s proclamation in Genesis 1:27-28 stands in stark contrast to these five lies” (p. 290). We have seen in her teaching for each lie how the truth of Scripture is ignored, dismissed, or attacked. In her Afterword, Butterfield recommends two practical actions in response to these lies.
The first action is “holding membership in a faithful church where you are shepherded by faithful men” (p. 292-293). With so much messaging for the lies coming through every media outlet, we need to be surrounded in the church community with the encouragement of Scripture, brothers and sisters, and faithful leaders. Let me quote Butterfield at length on this point:
“Faithful pastors reminded the flock that we are the church militant until Jesus returns, and then and only then are we the church triumphant. The flock committed themselves to prayer, fasting. repentance, worship, evangelism, Christian education, and hospitality. No frills. Wars and pestilence came and went and came back again, but these didn’t change the way that these churches worshiped God or practiced hospitality. These faithful and unpretentious churches have blessed many a true Christian. And during times of seismic shifts, they are holding down the fort. These watchmen will care for you as you try to stay connected to your lost loved ones without falling for indoctrination. If you love a prodigal, the first order of business is to make sure you are worshiping in a faithful church with a pastor who knows you and elders who pray for you and shepherd you” (p. 292).
The second action is “knowing the difference between acceptance and approval.” Butterfield explains, “Acceptance means living in reality and not fantasy… Acceptance is an important step in seeing the person you love in the sin pattern in which he is trapped. Acceptance, however, does not include believing his interpretation of how he got here or what it means… Acceptance does not include being manipulated by the therapist who asks, ‘Would you rather have a dead son or a living daughter?’ Acceptance does not lose sight of Jesus and the cross he calls us to bear” (p. 293).
In contrast, Butterfield says, “Approval means that you give the whole situation a blessing. Approval means more than loving your daughter in her sin. It means calling her sin by another name (‘grace,’ ‘blessing,’ or ‘illness’) and compartmentalizing and shrinking your Christian life in the process. Approval means denying Christ and your responsibility to carry the cross that your age and status produce… The difference between acceptance and approval is the fine line that a Christian who loves someone trapped by these lies must navigate” (p. 293).
Butterfield then drills deeper into how acceptance and approval respond differently to the various situations we will face in this anti-Christian age. She says acceptance will not feel compelled to use the new vocabulary, will know biblical doctrine better than ever, will remain committed to a faithful, biblical church, will pray fervently for your prodigal, will repent daily of your own sin, and will not tell your prodigal lies (p. 297-300). Butterfield follows this helpful, practical teaching by addressing six common questions she encounters on these topics. Do I attend the gay wedding of my son? (No). Should I attend a baby shower for my daughter and her lesbian partner? (Yes). Other questions address what one should do if his/her son wants to bring his “husband” or “boyfriend” home for a holiday or how to respond to a daughter who wants to transition to a male. Butterfield’s answers are extremely helpful and thoughtful considering how sensitive these topics are. Whether we want to or not, we will be facing these kinds of situations in this anti-Christian age.
I close this series on Butterfield’s book by drawing attention to her conclusion drawn from the Reformer John Calvin. It reminds us of the spiritual warfare in which we find ourselves and points to the unchanging sovereignty of God over everything. Butterfield writes, “Of [the church militant], John Calvin writes: ‘God’s will is that Christ’s kingdom should be encompassed with many enemies, his design being to keep us in a state of constant warfare. Therefore, it becomes us to exercise patience and meekness, and, assured of God’s aid, boldly to consider the rage of the whole world as nothing.’ This is God’s promise as well as his command to the faithful church: the rage of the whole world is nothing. ‘The rage of the whole world is nothing’ means that the mayhem can hurt you, but it can’t alter God’s good plans for you. God uses everything. He even uses sin sinlessly” (p. 307).
May we “exercise patience and meekness, and, [be] assured of God’s aid, boldly considering the rage of the whole world as nothing.”
