Degeneration?

So what is it exactly that is going on?  If we follow the modesty patterns of people in western countries, the definition of modesty always degenerates over time.  To the point that to call the current level of dress as modest would be a joke.  So what is going on?  Why do cultures become more immodest as time passes?  It cannot simply be the ease of life.  Three thousand years ago, in ancient Greece for example, the men performed the Olympic games in the nude.  Homosexuality was common, even among married men, and there were public baths. And they didn't have the technological tools, thus the ease, that we do now.  Jumping up a bit, to read descriptions of big city culture in 1920's New York city, one would think they were reading a current newspaper.  Drugs, crime, and prostitution (both adult and child).  All the while, the latest fashions showing more and more skin and curves.
So why do we degenerate to immodesty over time?   Is it intellectual laziness, no one wants to do the hard work of thinking through implications and causes?  Is it man's inherent tendency to decline into sin?
The practical answer is that the problem is real and the Christian needs to realize that living a God-glorifying life is one that requires hard work.  Often in the face of culture opposition.  We need to learn to think through every aspect of life, to apply the teaching of the historic church to every area of life, and be willing to sacrifice every area of life to the will of God.

Well meant reasoning

I have recently been re-examining the presuppositional apologetics of my past.  While I still consider myself a presuppositionalist, in the Van Tillian vein, I am beginning to see the fallacy of intellectualized apologetics as a means to evangelism.  The trouble with academic apologetics is the heavy emphasis on "understanding".  We want to appeal to the unbelievers ability to think clearly and accurately.  But this is akin to looking through a windshield splattered with 10,000 dragonflies.  We can see some things, we can even drive at a reasonably safe speed, but our vision is impaired and skewed.
The unbeliever, especially the one of strong academic ability, can accomplish much with his God given mind, but his heart is a stone and he is trying to ignore or disprove God.  Many of his presuppositions are faulty.
One of the biggest errors committed by the well-meaning Christian apologist is the attempt to "out-debate" the antagonistic and hostile unbeliever.  Something similar to dragging an unwilling elephant.  In 99% of the cases, one will never "convince" the unbeliever with a well-formed argument.  Man's mind is too stubborn and too clever.  The hostile unbeliever will use sophistry as a well-oiled tool to maneuver his way out of just about any argument.  Even if one would "close the mouth" of the argumentative unbeliever, doing so does nothing to move him towards God.  If anything, it will only harden his heart more in his unbelief and hostility.
The one thing that will work, in the manner in which God wills it to, is love and prayer.  We must pray much more and argue much less.  Love will move mountains, tear down walls, and soften hearts.  And prayer is that mysterious tool that accomplishes much in the heart of the righteous man.  As St Seraphim of Sarov has said, "Acquire the Holy Spirit, and around you thousands will be saved."  When we are continually filled with the Holy Spirit and striving toward holiness, those around us will be affected in a way far more positively and powerfully than any argument we can offer.

It's not magic

While there is certainly a large element of mystery in the Christian faith, it is not magic. This is where the Roman Catholics get it wrong. In a worldview sense, magic is the manipulation of impersonal forces through the means of ritual. This is not the case in the Christian faith. While there is much beyond our understanding and even beyond our comprehension, this does not mean its magical. The Christian faith is the communion between God and his people. We interact at an intimate level with God, often in ways that we cannot understand but never in an impersonal, manipulative manner. We shouldn't pray for what we think we need, but rather we should pray for God's mercy. We should never try to manipulate God or use means, either understood or not (ie logical or magical) to try to get what we want.  God is three persons with freewill and infinite understanding, while we too are persons with freewill but limited and sinful understanding. We need to trust God in all things.

Half the Truth

Years ago, in a dialogue with a coworker, he stated that he wasn’t going to go to hell because he hadn’t killed or raped anyone. Besides the obvious fallacy of deciding his own criteria for entrance into heaven, his statement only saw half of the truth. Our gaining eternal life is not about "not" doing some things. That is part of it.

The fruit we produce in our life reveals what kind of "tree" we are.  The other half is that of what we do. Its not enough to just not hate our neighbor, we need to actively love our neighbor.

The Christian life is one of "good action", not merely cessation of "bad action".

Love your neighbor

Jesus summarized the fulfilling of the law (old covenant terminology for living the faithful Christian life) as "loving God and loving neighbor".  Everyone needs love, literally everyone.  That means that the grumpy old man next door, the gay teen down the street, and the immodest and inappropriate woman at work.  It is our responsibility to understand what that means and to live that out.  The Mormans go door to door and make a small impact.  The evangelicals have their huge revival meetings, TV extravaganzas, and seeker friendly mega churches, but only make a small impact.  These things typically don't work that well because there is no personal connection.  In short, there is not "real" love going on.  When you interact with someone and communicate to them that you genuinely care about them, over time they will respond, usually in a positive way.  You might not lead them to church (right away) but the gospel never fails.  You will change someones life by loving them.
We must overcome our personal bias and learn to love the unlovely.  This is much easier to do when we remember that we, ourselves, are extremely unlovely and unlovable, but God took the first step and died for us when there was nothing good in us.
Take the first step and love your neighbor.  He might just love you back.

The Glory of the Gospel

I am in the middle of reading "Wider than Heaven", a collection of eighth century homilies on the mother of God. In an excellent introduction, the editor has done a great job of explaining the oratorical, rhetorical and linguistic structures of these sermons.

           Two things have struck me about this. One, if a pastor today were to deliver such a sermon, 99% of this material would go over the heads of 100% of the congregation. This is not meant as a putdown but a realization of how different people are today. Two, in delivering these sermons as they did, they were speaking to the people in a way they best understood.

This does not mean what you are thinking. These homilies are remarkable works of rhetoric as well as being theologically solid. To actually hear them required work. We must not dumb down our speech, either casual or sermonic. The glory of the gospel should not be delivered in a McDonalds box. Speak the meat and allow the questions that will come up to stimulate further dialogue and consideration.

May we always present the gospel in a way that is both fitting and faithful.

Salvation

For us, we have been saved. We were saved two thousand years ago when Christ took on flesh renewing our nature and making us fit to receive the Holy Spirit by putting sin and death to death by the cross.  For us, we are being saved as we live our life in faith, co-operating with God in the working out of our salvation, and crucifying our passions, dying to this world, and carrying our crosses daily.  For us, we will be saved, God willing, at the last judgment having persevered to the end.

- Father Mel Gimmaka, St. Innocent Orthodox Church