A Culture Must Be Sustained by the Presence of Good
The source of that “good” is essential.
How do you help students at a public university to consider the “source” or “origin” of “good?” You create an assignment based on a document most everyone can agree to. Interpretation of the document may be dissimilar. But one cannot dismiss the need. This past week in my “Argumentative Writing” course I did exactly that. For every assignment, I give a “rationale,” a reason why we are doing the assignment.
The so-called “humanities” should care most for what is human. Notice, however, that I used the word “should” in the first sentence. “Should” demands a standard for right and wrong. “Care” is also loaded with ethical freight, the first question being, “Why care?” Being a “human” suggests responsibility in that sentence. Here is the real issue: we tend to assume “shoulds” and “oughts.” We really do not spend much time in the humanities discussing the source, the origin of what makes something good or bad, virtuous or evil. And then there is the problem of consequence. What does it matter at the end of the day – or the end of life – whether I do or don’t do something “good” or “bad?” Here is your opportunity to add to the important discussion.
And here is the assignment in part (I attached the full assignment page below): 
Phase 1 Read “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (UDHR, find the link here). Do a bit of historical research to identify why the UDHR was written (timing is important) and which former First Lady was most responsible for initiating the UDHR (in 1947 by another name). Culture and context matter in everything, in any discussion.
Phase 2 Ponder, think deeply, about the following ideas and questions. In the first line of the preamble (the first “Whereas”) you will notice the issue I raise in the rationale above. What is the origin, the source, the authority by which any individual or institution can make such a claim? The second line (the second “Whereas”) suggests humanity has an “outraged conscience.” Where does conscience originate and why do we consider something an offense against another? “Rights” are mentioned in each of the first three lines of the preamble: what are “rights” and who decided what the “rights” are? [Article 1 frames the claims initiated in the opening lines of the preamble.] And why does this discussion matter in a course on “Argumentative Writing?”
Over and over, students tried to come to grips with the “origin” of any concept within the U.N. document. Over and over they gave definitions that came from human-centered sources. One or two considered that the views of people would not sustain the culture of “good.” In addition to my personal comments to each student, I included these thoughts affixing them everyone’s comments at the end:
Without a definition, we are left devoid of an ability *within ourselves* to answer. People may “disagree” but we are still left with the problem of “origin” or “source.” Humans “deciding” right and wrong is different than where the concept came from.
Rod Dreher’s point in chapter eight of Live Not By Lies is well summarized by the title, “Religion, the Bedrock of Resistance.” As one interviewee put it, “You have to be for something good, otherwise, you can get really dark and crazy” (151). The “good” has to be linked to “objective reality” which is submerged in “faith” (152-53). We must not sidestep the important idea that our “spiritual life” is essential to “objective reality” (154). And it is important to say that anyone who has been “shattered” by persecution of belief is vital to our God-ordained human community (155, the Uighur Muslims in China being an obvious connection).
For the Christian, we become as Dreher notes “powerless” (155) which is its own power. We should be pleased to be marginalized, diminished, subjected to minority status, and un-privileged from our current position of prominence in the culture. People are not drawn to strength but to people “living in the light of truth” (157). That is why stories such as Albert Camus’s The Stranger can be so inviting by asking the question, “What is the point of living?” (158). The Christian, displaying submission to political power, can, as was true in ancient Rome, accept Jesus’ words
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account (Matthew 5:11).
The story of God’s gift of cigarettes (160-61) is a strange statement to the outside world that there is a Source of Good. And it is here that Dreher drives a stake in the ground, a statement that begins with “miracle” because our supernatural belief is the basis for everything else: “If you are not rock solid in your commitment to traditional Christianity, then the world will break you” (163).
So, weave my apologetic assignment in the public university with how we might communicate our belief that God is the source of good. Conceive of ways to incorporate prompts toward the source of goodness in your community. Ask questions. Tell stories. Share experiences. Do good. God’s power to save is often shown through our human weakness, through subordination of position. Scripture attests to the central truth over and over (Scriptural stories about Abel, Abram, Joseph, Moses, David, and so many more, leap off the pages).
Here is where you might use the Suffering Video (part 9) about “persecution” in your own teaching. I have noted below key ideas (which also appear in the pdf for that series) that we might begin to consider for our own lives.
From Part 9 “Suffering” MarkEckel.com video series:
“Their usually peaceful and quiet beliefs stand as a rebuke to those who are corrupt, to those who cannot tolerate the presence of any view but their own, and to those who want to make their own political regime the only focus of loyalty. Christians are silent witnesses to the sovereign God. And evil men hate it.” Marshall, The Blood Cries Out
Why Were Christians Persecuted? 1. Threat to Roman Authority: a. Enemy of the State (Jesus as “Lord” and “King”); b. Insurgent Terrorist (Acts 4, 5, 7, etc.); c. Individual Non-Conformist (Acts 21, 22);
- Antithetic to Cultural Mores: A. Protecting the Ethos of the Roman Mindset (Acts 15; Romans 1); B. Threatening the Economics of the Roman World (Acts 19); 3. Scapegoat for Societal Ills: A. “Blame the Christians” (Acts 24:2-9); B. “They are turning the world upside down” (Acts 17:6)
Pressures from Without: Persecution in 1 Peter NT Theme: Jesus: John 16:33; Paul: 2 Timothy 3:12
Peter: 1 Peter 1:6-7; 2:18-20; 3:1, 13-17; 4:1-4, 12-19; 5:10
Pressures from Within: Prostitution in 2 Peter: OT Theme: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea
Because persecution is hard to take, some people feel the need to fit in rather than stand out
- To feel accepted we accommodate; 2. To accommodate we accessorize; 3. To accessorize we associate; 4. To associate we abandon; 5. 1st Peter (persecution) leads some to 2nd Peter (prostitution)
Persecution Begins Against Authority, Words: Romans could not abide any other authority but their own; Persecution of Christians was and is engendered by those who reject any other authority than their own; Persecution against authority always begins with persecution against words.
“Opponents” from 2nd Peter: 1. Rejects Historic Christianity as “Myth” (1:16; see Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-3)
- Twisting Scripture (3:16); 3. Denial of Jesus’ Future Return (1:16-18; 3:4-7); 4. Acceptance of Moral License (2:1-3, 11-16); 5. If there is no future judgment, there is no present restraint (2:19)
What Kind of Persecution? 1 Peter 1:6 “Now for a little while you may have to” Indicates that the opposition was sporadic, limited to pockets of social, financial resistance against believers and physical attacks on Christians. 1 Peter 1:6 “trials” of “various kinds” are general words, the result of some evil intent. “Suffer” means there are difficulties and sorrows caused by opposition. This opposition is broad—everything from slander to threats to physical torment. “Suffer” = same word Jesus uses at last supper describing all He would face
How Should Christians Respond to Persecution? 1. Understanding Who We Are: “Aliens and Strangers” (1:1; 2:11); “God’s People” (2:9-10). 2. Understanding Our Place in The World: a. Good Citizens (2:13-17); b. Model Slaves (2:18-25); c. Gentle Wives (3:1-6)
The Results of Persecution in 1st Peter: a. Silencing, Shaming Evildoers (2:12; 3:16); b. Gives Meaning to Life (4:12-19); c. Perseverance (1:7, 13; 2:1; 4:7, 19; 5:8-10); d. Hope in Eternity (1:3, 13, 21; 3:15);
- Solidarity with Others who Suffer (5:9)
Asking the Wrong Question: Why die for something they KNEW was not true?! Why be loyal to a God who allows you to suffer?! The question isn’t “why does God allow suffering?” but “Why do people who suffer still worship this God?”
2nd Peter Challenges to Readers: 1. Grow in Knowledge (1:2-3, 5-6, 8, 12, 14, 2:9, 20-21; 3:3, 17-18); 2. Beware (3:17; see 1 Peter 1:17); 3. Be Holy (3:10-13; see 1 Peter 1:13-16); 4. Remember the Truth (1:12, 13, 15; 3:1, 2, 15; “don’t forget” 3:5, 8); 5. Stay on The Way (2:2, 15, 21; Acts 9:2; 16:17; 18:26; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22)
When Whatshername asked who was Captain Kirk to judge her, he said “Who do I have to be?”
You don’t have to be anyone to recognize a moral standard. You do have to be someone–you have to be God–to MAKE a moral standard.