Paradigms

      I watched the film "Lincoln" starring Daniel Day Lewis, directed by Steven Spielberg. It was an excellent portrayal of the struggles Abraham Lincoln had to go through to pass the thirteenth amendment to abolish slavery. He had to do some shady things as president to get support to pass this amendment. The main obstacle that Lincoln had to face was the fact that people did not think slavery was wrong. People in that time believed that black people were lesser than white people. African Americans were treated as property, and were unjustly forced into slavery.
      It's interesting to look at different periods of time and to observe the trends. These days we hold the belief that all men (and women) are equal and that slavery in wrong. However, in Abraham Lincoln's time, people thought that there was nothing wrong with enslaving blacks. Therefore, Lincoln had to change the way people viewed slavery, which was very difficult to do because slavery was an accepted practice. People seriously believed that blacks were not equal to whites and that they deserved to be slaves.
      Another shift in beliefs that has happened more recently is how people view Christianity. In previous times, Christianity was the dominant religion that people in the United States had. Being an Atheist was viewed as a bad thing, because Christianity was pretty much the norm. However, these days people are starting to move away from Christianity. Christians are being attacked for believing in what they believe, and Atheism is becoming the norm. People think that you have to be a fool or an idiot to believe in Christianity, but even more than that- it's becoming acceptable to say so.
      I find that the movement towards Atheism is an unfortunate reality. People simply don't care about Christianity anymore, and think that those who follow Christ are not "keeping up with the times". Unfortunately, not all paradigm shifts are good, like the change of view on slavery. People are much more aggressive against Christians and Christian beliefs than they have been before. Personally, I believe that everyone should have the right to believe what they believe without being insulted. I don't think it's right to look down on someone because they don't believe what you believe. I think it's okay to tell them what you believe, but it's not okay to insult their beliefs.
      So why are people moving against Christianity? I think one part of it is that we aren't representing what Christianity is. It's not supposed to be some religion, but a relationship with a Savior and Redeemer. We are called to be salt and light of this world, but we aren't. Salt changes the flavor of bland foods, and a light in a dark room cannot be ignored. In the same way, we should be changing the way people view Christ. Our lives should reflect the love of Christ, and our lives should not be ignored. How are you being salt and light?
-Smart