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| October 2008 |
| Billie Silvey |
| Christian Principles From the 60s |
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| The 1960s was a time of questioning and change. Some of the changes espoused in the 60s were Christian concepts, while others--drugs, free sex and dropping out of society--were opposed to Christianity. Let's examine a few of those changes we rejected, together with tie dyes and miniskirts, that may have been worth keeping: Equality The principle that all people are equal--are due, not just equal protection under law, but equal opportunity, equal respect and equal love--is not just a 60s concept, but a Biblical principle. As the Apostle Peter points out, "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism" (Acts 10:34). Nobody today will admit to being prejudiced, but how many of us count people of diverse cultures among our best friends? How often do our social calendars include activities with people of varied races? How many people do we visit and eat with who are of other socioeconomic strata than ours? |
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| Peace God wants us to live at peace with all people (Romans 12:18). Jesus is called the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).. "Blessed are the peacemakers," Jesus says (Matthew 5:9). So why are we so quick to go to war--with other countries, with annoying neighbors, with those in our own families? |
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| Grace It was in the 1960s that many of us Christians discovered grace. It had been there all along, in our Bibles, in other fellowships--even in black churches of Christ. We just didn't see it. We wanted to be able to work our way to heaven, or we expected God's justice to be the same as ours, or we couldn't imagine such a wonderful gift without strings attached. Whatever the cause, we'd overlooked it. The Jesus movement was what we called it when students from Pepperdine would go to the beach and tell people about Jesus and his grace. They might baptize them right there in the Pacific, or they might bring them back to church. I remember the long-haired young men with beards and sandals who looked a lot like Jesus worshipping with us at the Vermont Avenue church. Some of them would sit on the front row, while others sat cross-legged in the aisle. It was a heady time of equality, peace and grace, and I pray that those characteristic values of the 60s, and of biblical Christianity, may yet be restored. |
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