We came back from Yosemite late Thursday (4/28/12) and were reflecting this morning on tourist groups we ran into there and my son’s friend in China. The linkage was that the groups we ran into were also Chinese. There were several such groups. First we had hiked up to a giant redwood named The Grizzly Giant (photo above with Sue at the base 4/25/2011) in the Mariposa Grove, and then went off to find a trail largely covered by the remaining snow. Later we descended back to the road and as we popped out onto the road close to the trail to find our first group of Chinese looking a bit amazed that we seemed to come out of the forest, not on the trail and certainly not on the road. One lady asked directions to the named tree. After receiving those direction, she said, “but you came from there?” pointing into the forest. Yes, we came from there, from a road, as it were, less traveled. We were walking on dirt, mud, rocks, water, and snow. They were traveling comfortably on asphalt.
Later we were at Tunnel View, the lookout, at the end of the tunnel with the famous view of Yosemite Valley. Again, I crossed the road and went up onto the rock (not difficult) to get a good picture of the rocks, the water on them, and of the valley from a different perspective. When I returned Sue commented that a bus of Chinese that had pulled up and unloaded to enjoy the view had only one person who seemed to want to leave the group and see where I had gone, but resisted the temptation and conformed to his group dynamic. It isn’t only Chinese that do this, but there, the government reinforces the natural tendency for people to form groups and conform to group norms.
This morning my son reflected on his friend who had returned to his home in China and was doing AIDS activism work there. The government had refused to heed health warnings two decades ago and was not testing blood used for transfusions. They infected tens of thousands of people with HIV. He is making people aware of that and was recently beaten and hospitalized for holding a community meeting. Descent is not appreciated there, only conformity is acceptable. A friend who studied there for a year said, “They cannot understand why he doesn’t conform.”
I started to think about conformity and non-conformity and the role each plays in the world.
Salmon swim en masse up stream to breed and die in much the same location as they were born. But what if a new stream is created? How did the salmon get to these streams in the first place? These streams were once new. It is actually the case that 10-15% of the salmon do not conform, but explore different locations at different times as they swim upstream. When a new stream is discovered it is these non-conforming fishes that populate the new stream. It is also these fish that prevent excessive inbreeding with the fish returning to the old spawning grounds. It is sometimes the non-conformist that makes the difference. There is a place in nature for conformity and non-conformity and each has its appropriate time for expression.
How does this relate to our Christianity?
We are to conform to God’s Word, everything else, everyone else, is questionable.
As soon as humans enter into the equation error ensues at some level.
We remember the Roman Catholic Church and the problems caused by a hierarchy that claims the very power of God to act and to speak for him. The abuses of power that periodically occurred mar the Body of Christ. Power corrupts. The Church of England broke off and people died on both sides as England flip flopped back and forth according to which child of the previous King ruled. Finally the Church of England, the Anglicans prevailed.
Did this solve the problem?
King James II, the last Catholic King had no less than nine illegitimate children by his two mistresses and two wives. This isn’t a Catholic problem, it is a human problem. Yesterday one English Prince married the girl he lived on and off with for nine years. In a few years he will carry the title of “Defender of the Faith” when his father, but not the father of his brother, ascends to the throne. While the Current Price of Wales has had that title, he took the wife of another man and had a long affair with her before and after marrying Dianna. Dianna was devastated and finally divorced him, but not before having a child by a polo player. That child is now third in line to the Throne of England. Oh, what to do with Harry?
These are the “Defenders of the Faith?”
My own good friend of old, priest in the Episcopalian church, had an affair with a woman whose marriage was already in trouble, she came to him for help. They later married, and he cheated on her in nearly every manner possible before losing his position, and his family. The whole story is simply too ugly to repeat. Then there are the many evangelical pastors, including one of my own, who have fallen to this particular sin (of course there are many other sins to fall into). I asked my former pastor, before his sin was revealed, “On Sunday morning when you look out into a crowd of 1500 people do you think every one of them believes everything you say?” his words ought to chill us to the bone: “They had better.” His own infidelity with his secretary destroyed his family, her family, and several others before he is alleged to have stopped.
Are these the people we are to conform to?
I think not.
No, we are to be conformed to the image of Christ, not to particular men, not to particular positions they may hold. Anything less is simply, well, less. All other images are flawed. This is where it is up to the individual to understand what is true conformity to Christ and to his Word, and what is conformity to man, even if it is called ‘conformity to Christ’ by the particular church body.
The crowd sat comfortably in church. The deacon stood up and walked with his wife to the front of the church, and then instructed her to inform the congregation of the affair she was having with the pastor. She did, but what he left out was that she had gone to the pastor for help after finding her husband was not only on cocaine, but was cheating on her, and on it goes. People fall short of expectations. This was the same pastor that had made that statement above. This was the pastor that had tried to stop me from thinking independently. Of course, that never works with anyone as the communists found out.
Unfortunately I could go on and on, but that is not the point, the point is, where are you in your walk with Christ? Do you believe everything any pastor you have might claim is true or do you read the scripture for yourself to see if it is true or false? Your pastor has learned from his colleges and seminary to think about the scripture a certain way. Is it the correct way? It might be one thing if there were only one church, but that was tried, and failed. There are hundreds of denominations each with a different viewpoint. Which one then is correct in all of its views? I would hazard to say, none of them. Then what are we to do if not conform to our church leaders?
Conform to the Word of God.
It is indeed a two sided coin, conformity and non-conformity, but it is helpful to look at the failures of past church leaders if only to remember that many claim to be speaking for God but too often are simply attempting to preempt some human power for themselves, and for their own benefit however that may be defined.
But God has spoken. He has spoken for himself.
We need to understand when we are listening to a human speak we are not listening to God directly, we are listening to him directly only when we are reading or listening to someone read the Bible. Because he is learned does not make him correct, there are other learned men who disagree on many points about the same verse.
There are all kinds of people who go to church, and nearly as many reasons for attending. Some only because they think God will look favorably on them if they attend, some because their family or friends expect them to attend. Let’s talk about those that are going because they want to learn something. With all we know, only a smattering of which is repeated above, it could be self-destructive to attend any church and only accept whatever you were told by the leaders of the church, what is, to conform to any suggestion of the church leaders without considering your other responsibilities and without considering the Word of God.
There are things God tells us directly to do or not to do. For the rest, he gave us a reasoning mind and tells us to make good decisions.
I have heard one verse of scripture interpreted three different ways by pastors of the same congregation, and the different ways were incompatible with each other, only one of them could be true, but possible none were. The question then becomes, how are we to understand what the Word of God is telling us? I would suggest that the simply English, taken as it reads in the many trustworthy versions is sufficient. There really is very little in the Bible that cannot be understood by simply reading it and thinking about what it actually says.
That is the independent side of the coin. The conformity side is: Do what God tells you to do in the scripture. One of those things is, “do not stop meeting together.” At the same time, do not check your brain at the front door. The coin has two sides and spins round and round.
