Some have inquired about the Babylon metaphor, unsure that they’re getting it. Well, if it’s the first time you’ve considered this idea in this way, I hope you’re not getting. I’ve been pondering life in Babylon for years now and I’m just beginning to get it. It’s a paradigm shift, and these things always take a while.
Ever have that feeling that life has changed; that “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore”, feeling. I had it a few years ago when a friend from Vancouver told me he’d gotten a phone call from one of his kids begging him to pick up something at Canadian Tire on his way home from work. When he finally got a word in edge-wise he said, “Jason, I’m in Los Angeles and I won’t be home for three days”. At the time this was an amusing incident. Now it’s just life with a cell phone. But, while most of us find the pace of technological change dizzying, it’s insignificant compared to the avalanche of social and psychological change that has descended upon us over the past few years; an avalanche Alvin Toffler warned us about in Future Shock, way back in 1970.
If you’re over 40 (born before 1968) you started life in a very different world. For example, there was a ruling consensus in Canada, where the struggles of ethnic accommodation were about establishing French and English as the official languages. And this consensus was built upon conservative Christian values: most stores and nonessential businesses were closed on Sundays, divorce and common-law marriage were deeply frowned upon, and public prayer (Christian prayer) and Christian holiday displays were uncontroversial. And there were virtually no openly gay celebrities, no gay pride parades, and gay marriage was too absurd to even contemplate. Needless to say, all this has changed.
Now I’m not, as some might imagine, bemoaning “the degeneration of our society”. – Been there, done that. – I’m merely suggesting that there has been a fundamental shift in the way social life is constituted in our world. We no longer have a ruling “Christian consensus”. In fact, we have very little consensus at all. And we all need to learn how to live in this new world.
In Babylon, as opposed to Zion, pluralism is the rule. There are many gods in Babylon, and none have a corner on legitimacy, which is to say there is no dominant majority here, and social consensus is negotiated not decreed. And almost everything is negotiable as long as it doesn’t oppress a minority; we’re all minorities in Babylon. And, because of this, tolerance is the supreme value here. Which is to say, intolerance will not be tolerated. Ironic but unavoidable.
So, is this bad? It is for those who can’t, or won’t, get with the program. But those who will embrace the new situation, or as God says, “Build houses and settle down;…” can, not only survive, but do very well indeed. And that goes for all of us, not just the Christians.
2 comments:
I not sure if I agree with you concerning Babylon or maybe I'm misunderstanding what you are saying. I think of Daniel who lived in Babylon and did not compromise his beliefs and yet he florished in Babylon but was not popular at times with those in power in fact he was tested for his faith. Daniel was not tolerant of what was not right as he refused to partake and was willing to risk his life for it. I agree we are to love Babylon but I think we also tolerate the wrong and deceive ourselves by believing that it is not our place to saying anything nor to risk being humiliated or mocked. It's not easy to love Babylon like God would want us to
Response to anonymous - Daniel and his friends, of course, are the poster-children for Godly obedience in Babylon. They built their houses and settled down. And, as you note, they did not compromise. In Babylon they were given "unclean" food to eat, a golden statue to worship, and an order to stop praying to God. And their response in each case, even at the risk of life and limb, was simply to decline, without judgment or condemnation. Imagine what their response would have been back in Jerusalem. I think one of the differences is that, in Babylon, without accepting or approving, they were tolerant. I'll have lots more to say about this as we go along. Thanks for a thoughtful comment.
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