Televangelists of a “Greater” Piety – the Social Experiment

Televangelists of a “Greater” Piety – the Social Experiment June 3, 2016

The remarkable thing about statistics is that they just don’t lie. While no statistical analysis can nuance the fine details of any given survey – they do give an excellent framework for people to make some basic judgment calls. One survey of note would be the May 21, 2015 Gallup poll titled:

Americans Greatly Overestimate Percentage of Gay, Lesbian in the U.S.

To sum up the poll:

  • 33% of Americans believe that more than 25% of the total population identify as LGTB
  • Only 3.8% of the American population does identify as LGTB

Again, this poll simply cannot account for all the variations within a given study. What this specifically means is that it cannot account for those who do not wish to disclose this information, may not meet the criteria of others who make up the LGTBQQIAAP acronym who do not self-identify as the first four categories, and that it does not distinguish between self-identity and expression. However, it still provides a succinct example of how a third of the population grossly overestimates how prevalent these sexual identities truly are. The Gallup poll further explains the subject field by age, education, and so forth – yet it doesn’t speculate as to how this happens.

 

Enter the Televangelist of a “Greater” Piety.

Americans love their celebrity “culture” and tout nearly everything the celebrity is and does. As a general rule, most people, especially of younger age, know more about the Kardashians than what is happening around them. We are a country fascinated by the titillating nonsense of social media newsfeeds and instantaneous gratification in the mundane. As C.S. Lewis remarked of Christians, though it is equally applicable to those outside the faith, “…We are far too easily pleased.”

Thus, it is both the vacuous hearts of men and the depraved minds of other men that set the scene for the degradation of moral values in favor of adopting things, which satisfy; we love indulging the senses and appeasing our hedonistic egos. Yet all the while we stroke the moral fiber of our beings with delusions of grandeur in liberal social ethics, wherein true freedom is believed to be the suppression of truth through the lazy, emotionally charged rhetoric of those inclined to justify the absurd rather than critically engage the idea.

Remarkably, this is the tolerant view – wherein any opposed to the status quo are positioned in the stance of the intellectually inferior and morally reprehensible. This evolution of man frames the argument in a manner that gives the appearance of the ability to dialogue; yet what actually takes place is simply the regurgitation of the Televangelist of “Greater” Piety. Hollywood and Pop-Culture iconography rules the discussion amongst slanted media bias, providing us with front-row seats to the greatest social experiment of our epoch: studying just how quickly and enthusiastically the masses will cling to the heap of excrement rolling down hill at Mach speed.

Case in point: Jesus: The First Transgender Man

Truthfully, the whole transgender bathroom debacle in America has been just one more step in the iconoclasm against Christianity. Here we have simply .3% of the American population being granted liberties above and beyond most of the general population. But if the Gallup poll is correct, at least one-third of the population believes that percentage to be much higher than it statistically is. The Televangelist of “Greater” Piety has supplied this belief, namely through the continued proselytization and normalization of these ideologies.

Theatre arts has generally been the forerunner of the homosexual agenda throughout history – and our current capacity for entertainment certainly knows no bounds with pushing the envelop further and further, gradually, as the general consensus gravitates toward accepting the ideology behind it. We give our hard-earned money to the entertainment industry, not only for entertainment’s sake, but the subtle (and not-so-subtle) indoctrination of our families and ourselves. Yet what it truly does is simply give rise to the undertow of unbridled autonomy coursing through our veins.

It gives us reason to indulge and gratify – and we are all about gratification. If the end goal is happiness and gratification, so long as it follows the ides of secularist ideology throughout all time, then let us eat, drink, and be merry – for tomorrow we die. This is the mantra of the Televangelist of “Greater” Piety. Not only does one find the tenuous foundation wrapped up in the sentiment of moralistic therapeutic deism – but it vastly over-reaches the stars under the auspices of social enlightenment. Any attempt at critique earns the lofty status of “apish” on the evolutionary scale.

At the end of the day, the greatest sin of man through the eyes of secularism is infringement upon autonomy. Though this pertains to another discussion on reproductive rights (or as I like to call it, baby murder) – a particularly liberal acquaintance put it so eloquently:

“I’m confident that soon this argument will be a thing of the past, and those who don’t believe in abortion will have no choice but to refrain from getting one, rather than asking others to ascribe to conservative/oppressive values.”

Carry this logic through to all conservative ideals, and you’ll find the Televangelist of “Greater” Piety thoughtfully engaging the narrative.

While this process might be frightening to some – as it reveals the greater agenda of silencing views opposed to the status quo so that unbridled autonomy should reign, it should give the church hope to know that this is simply a return to what the church has historically experienced. We have known a time of unprecedented prosperity within the Western church, wherein we have been granted the privilege (not the right) to be free of much hardship from opposition. It seems we are on trajectory for a much harder road than we are used to, yet this is an exceedingly good thing.

In times of unprecedented hardship – the true church flourishes. Few who count doctrine worthy of suffering will endure; the sheep will be separated from the goats (if that hasn’t become clear already to many). People will not confuse the liberal/progressive church with the true church. Simply stated: people will come to know that a genuine love for Jesus encompasses a genuine love for His word – and that manifests in a genuine outpouring of the gospel. The gospel is truly the only thing that can bring light to a people hell-bent on rebellion to their Maker. The gospel is truly the only hope the church has in the midst of fierce opposition. While we are not quite there yet – we may find ourselves in that glorious position, and I do not use the term “glorious” liberally.

May we be content to know that even if things should turn for the worst; that even if we are jailed for calling something sin, beaten and scourged, or even murdered for holding the full truth of the gospel – nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ Jesus. We must persevere for a little while to attain glorification and receive the fullness of redemption in Christ. Surely, this is no time for compromise within the church. This is simply the time for returning to what the church knows so well: yet being heralds of the good news of Christ even when the message is supremely foolish (or counted as hateful) toward those who are preached to.

As Tertullian aptly wrote, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”

 

Featured Image: Hollywood Sign by Gnaphron; CC 2.0


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