What are the most controversial topics today?
What do you see in our culture that people have a hard time discussing without getting hostile? There are some topics that if you bring up, even in calm fashion, can bring division and alienate you from close friends and family. Certain topics or beliefs, when shared, can get you fired from your job, removed from positions of influence, and prevent you from ever attaining positions like that again.
There is quite a long list of things that if you come down on the wrong side of, will get you canceled. Politics, Abortion, Immigration, Free Speech, Climate change, Gender identity, everything that is celebrated during Pride month, Race, Gun control, and the list could go on… Part of me wonders if facebook will censor or shadow ban this post just for listing some of these terms.
How do you feel about these topics? Personally, I’d rather avoid most of them, if not all of them. There used to be the unwritten rule- never talk about politics and religion. Now it seems very few people know much about politics or religion, and we are often clumsy when we disagree, to put it mildly. Most normal people like to shy away from inflammatory issues. We don’t want to lose friends or status by saying things that could offend or hurt others. You have to really care about and trust someone to raise controversial issues, and the topic must be important enough for you to put your relationship on the line.
You could simply boil the question of whether to raise a controversial issue down to two things: (1) the importance of the issue, and (2) the quality of your relationship with the potential audience. First, is the topic really that important? Preferences over sports teams, music, and movies rarely matter all that much and aren’t worth picking fights over. Unhealthy lifestyles and choices may be worth risking the relationship. Secondly, how much do we care about the audience of the message? If we don’t have a relationship, perhaps a “live and let live” approach would be best. I’ve never gone to a sporting event and tried to convince people wearing the other team’s colors that if they had any sense, they would root for my team.
What does any of this “controversial” talk have to do with Acts 17? Everything. Paul and his companions risked their lives to share the most controversial message ever known to man: the Gospel. God sent His Son Jesus to die for our wretched sin, and forgiveness is found through the cross alone. Part of our problem is that we are so insulated in our Christian circles that we forget just how controversial the Gospel really is. Another problem is that we don’t really love the world. At all. We view them as the enemy instead of the very people that Jesus died to save. This weekend we’ll examine the question together of how we can be unwavering witnesses for Christ in an ever wavering world.
In Acts 17, Paul, Silas, and Timothy model for us how we engage with a lost world, why we do it, and potential consequences of evangelism. I invite you to join with us this weekend as we study Acts 17:1-15 together. Our service Saturday is at 3:30 in the afternoon, and our Sunday morning service is at 10:15, where you can join us in person or online.