Our perpetually offended world

After I read a few news articles this morning, I began to think about what it means to be "offended." I mean, people these days are offended about everything under the sun. There are quite a few definitions in the dictionary under offended. However, I don't think they apply to most situations. I don't believe that people are as caring or concerned about the welfare of others to be able to use these definitions. Being offended is much more about one of two things.

The first is a desire for attention. Face it, if you say you are offended by something in our society, people are going to listen. Some become offended because of a desire to receive pity like Cindy Sheehan; others because they want to have an excuse for their own attacks like fundamentalist Islam; and finally, those looking for sympathy and anger in order to promote their own agenda like Al Sharpton or much of the Democrat or Republican parties. Each of these is, in essence, a manipulation of those around the group or individual for selfish gain. Hardly the righteous emotion it is played out to be in the media.

The second is the lack of confidence in, esteem for, or understanding of one's self or one's beliefs. If you know what you believe and have a solid foundation for that belief, why should you be offended by what others say? Shouldn't your position stand for itself? People seem to think that being offended is a credible reason to do or believe something. For example, if I say Mohammed is a false prophet and someone says they are offended by that statement, is that supposed to change my viewpoint? Am I supposed to follow that blindly now or just ignore what I believe to be incorrect and potentially damaging to people/society so that person doesn't have to explain their position? If someone tells me that Jesus is a false prophet, I want to discuss it and explain why it is not true. I want that person to understand my viewpoint. I want to give account for the hope that I have, not declare that I dislike your opinion and hope you shut up.

In any case, being offended in our world is rarely from a just position. Rather, it is self-serving and is a significant factor in the decline of the United States in that it silences communication between different viewpoints and stifles freedom. The founders of the US did not agree on very many things. However, they did speak openly and come to compromises in order to create a free society in which people could have many different viewpoints. Where would we be if they had closed discussion because one person was offended?

Freedom (maybe a little controversial)

One thing I have been contemplating lately as I have been reading through the Old Testament is religious freedom. Is this always a good thing for the church in a country? I'm not so sure. In the past, I had always been thankful for and a strong supporter of freedom. Freedom to worship openly and proclaim the gospel with fear of intense persecution. However, when I look at Christianity around the world, I cannot deny the fact that people in persecuted nations are on fire for Christ while those nations in which persecution is minimal find themselves in a state of lukewarm faith (the US and Korea included). Therefore, is freedom a good thing? Is there a need for diminished freedom and increased persecution in these countries?

In my daily Bible readings, I have been going through Judges, 1 Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and now Ezekiel. The pattern is undeniable: freedom or contentedness in the world leads to a lack of reliance upon God which leads to turning to idols and a rejection of God. What causes them to turn back? God allows some kind of persecution or difficulty to invade their lives. When they are desperate, they cry out for God, acknowledging him as King. This tends to last 1-2 generations before the people forget God and the cycle is repeated. When have Americans felt real persecution? They haven't. Those who experienced real persecution have seen it their own nations before coming here. However, centuries of religious freedom has created a generally lukewarm Christian culture.

Granted, things are different today in that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us but, I think we can still see a similar pattern in the overall growth or decline of Christianity in an area with regards to the level of persecution. Now, I am not going to pray for persecution to increase in the US because I know that God works in many ways. I do pray for a revival of Christian faith in the US though. However, I no longer feel inclined to pray for increased freedom in the US as I do not believe this to be a benefit to the true church there. In all things, though, I continue to pray that God's sovereign will and perfect purposes be done and His name glorified, whether that be an American church passionately devoted to Christ or a lukewarm church destined for other ends. For who are we to say to God, "What have you done."

Mongolia 2010

Here is a video I put together using pictures from the trip I took to Mongolia in late July / early August.

Something I've been thinking about lately...

When gone from this life am I

and in memory known thereby,

May it not be my name

that comes to mind,

Or what I became

that people find.

May it not be of my influence

which people share,

Or of my benevolence

told with fanfare.

Rather, may it be known

that it's not of me,

But of Christ who owns

my legacy.

Still alive...

Well, it has been a while since I last posted here.  Life in Korea has become very ordinary for me.  Work is going well.  I am now teaching an upper level literature class and have been enjoying some complex discussions with my students, some of whom have spent time in an English speaking country.  Otherwise, it is pretty much the same as it has been and I continue to enjoy my time in the classroom.

It is definitely spring here, almost to the point that you could say summer is getting close.  It has consistently been in the upper 60's and lower 70's.  The last two weeks have been especially beautiful with the blossoming of the cherry trees.  There are so many of them.  Sometimes I feel like I am in a movie as I walk down a street with pink and white petals raining down on my head.

Other than that, I am still learning Korean.  It is becoming a little easier now that I have the basics down.  I have also been benefiting from increased walking and no fast food in that I have dropped somewhere around 20 pounds.  I am 2.5 belt loops smaller and all my pants scrunch up on top.  I even have a pair of shorts I barely fit into last summer that I can now pull off without unbuttoning them.

As summer approaches, I hope to do some more "touristy" things to provide some more images of Korea, but until then, I'll try to keep updating.  

The Korean War Memorial and Museum

It was kind of weird meeting up with an old high school friend in Seoul today, but that is what happened.  He is currently living in the Philippines and came to Seoul for a business trip.  So we were able to meet up and, after a typical Korean lunch, went to the Korean War Memorial and Museum.  It was a pretty amazing place.  I found there a dichotomy of emotion.  I was sad to see the sacrifice of lives laid down by the Korean people and the division that came between them.  However, I was very proud of my country which sacrificed over 33,000 lives for the sake of the Korean people and freedom.  It was incredible to see a monument in a foreign land honoring the men and women of the US armed forces who gave their lives in defense of people who lived on the other side of the world.  May we never forget them.

 

Update

It seems hard to believe that it has already been 3 months in Korea.  February went by SO fast that I'm not sure it actually happened.  I guess that is what happens when when 6 days a week are just a blur.  Saturday has become recovery day and I try not to do too much.  However, it looks like I may start getting together with a Korean friend to work on my Korean language skills.  I have learned a lot over the past 4 weeks but it is all a jumbled mess in my head.  It is starting to make more sense but I am still waiting for the big "click" when I begin understanding better.

Teaching is going well.  We are starting a new "semester" on Monday and I will have a few new classes.  I am sad to see some of my students move on to other levels but excited to get to know some new ones.  Fortunately, I get to keep my favorite class.  Here are some photos of my basic level kids and my more advanced kids.