Bullying has been in the news lately.
No one likes a bully.
We have learned as well that the results of persistent bullying can be
very dangerous. Studies have shown that
there is a strong link between bullying and suicide particularly among high
school students. As a result, many schools and activists are trying to stamp
out bullying
So why is it that bullying Christians seems to be in
vogue? Recently at an “Anti-bullying”
event, the speaker decided to go on a rant against the Bible. When he used an expletive to describe the
Bible’s teaching on homosexuality a number of Christian students walked out.
Not comfortable with their decent or departure, he decided to call
them ‘pansies’, much to the delight of the remaining students in the audience.
Unfortunately this is becoming all too frequent, particularly in our educational institutions. Our schools aren’t just about education
anymore; they are social change
laboratories. Students are taught what
is thought to be socially acceptable and tolerable.
The tolerance that they are taught however is a fragile tolerance for
the only thing that seems to be intolerable among these ‘anti-bullying’
activists is strong religious convictions.
The Bible tells us that we are to be careful and watchful
of this social engineering. The Apostle
Paul tells us, “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding
nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of
this world, rather than from Christ” (Col 2:8)
This antagonism against the Word of God and substituting
human understand for true wisdom has been around since the days of the ancient philosophers. The early Greeks admired purity, extolled loyalty and self-sacrifice but like the Romans, a decline in morals among the rich and the most educated led to immoral and promiscuous behavior. Ultimately, a total disregard for human life resulted in the awe and worship of gladiators who fought like savages in the arena. Clarke’s commentary on the Bible says that
an examination of the doctrine, wisdom and teachings of the most famed
philosophers of antiquity from any nation shows that they were “darkened in
their mind and irregular in their conduct.”
The wisdom of these empty philosophies stood in stark
contrast to the genius and true wisdom of the Bible. Students espousing a Biblical viewpoint are often ridiculed by their teachers. We should all be able to stand a little ridicule, a little disrespect and even some persecution. In the end however,we are to keep our minds on things that are noble, right, pure, lovely and worthy of praise.
