Mosquitoes

There aren't a lot of mosquitoes in Addis Ababa. That can mostly be attributed to the altitude. I have been taking Malaria pills since I got here, because eventually I will be traveling down-country. Its a big problem once you get into the valley. I was thinking about the conversations I have had over the last few days here at the guest house. I pick of little bits and pieces of the ideas people hold to be true, the reasons they are here, the point of their ministry, and some of them are like tiny buzzings in my ears... irritating but small. These little ideas are seem so inconsequential when they come up in a tableside conversation.

They don't carry much weight, and the one introducing them may not even know what they are saying. What we don't realize is that bad ideas have serious consequences.

Two different ideas I have run across made me think of this.

The first is an approach to Biblical interpretation. It is called the "Redemptive Hermeneutic." The basic idea is that morality and truth are moving along a historical trajectory. The Bible is a snap-shot of that movement; it represents one slice of the slope. The end goal is God Himself, but we don't find that in scripture: only the slope that leads to Him. This is observed by the "shifting morality" between the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament slavery was good, in the New it is frowned upon. In the Old Testament woman were property, in the New they have the same role, purpose, and ministry as men. In the Old Testament homosexuals were condemned, in the New the power of love has removed all gender barriers: salvifically, relationally, sexually.

And it goes on.

So morality is moving onwards and upwards, God is "redeeming" it from the Biblical text. It stands to reason then, that slavery is even more immoral, men and women are even more liberated from gender roles, and love is freeing us for relational and sexual expression beyond even the confines of a New Testament standard of "right" and "wrong."

This hermeneutic is being propagated by those that would call themselves conservatives who hold to the inerrancy of Scripture. The great tragedy is that the application of this approach actually destroys the beauty and freedom found in the Kingdom of God. How are these ideas being addressed?

The second idea is from the "Christian" aid side of the work here. The simple paradigm is this: Men are victimizing women and leaving them as single mothers. Sometimes they even get AIDS. It is impossible for mothers to raise their sons to be godly men. So their sons will grow up and victimize more women. It is impossible for women to change that cycle; the men are completely at fault. Aid is given to the mothers to provide school supplies and food for their children. Nothing is being done to work with men, young and old, to change their behavior: they are "victimizers." Nothing is being done with women, young and old, to change their behavior: they are "victims." The "solution": millions of western dollars are spent on... pencils. Or paper. Or new trousers. Or lunch money.

None of those things fix the problem, and the real issue (SIN!) is not even being addressed. Women are above criticism (victim!) and men are beyond reform (victimizer!).

I would suggest that those of you who support aid organizations like World Vision, Compassion, Samaritans Purse, etc. do some hard research on where your money is going.

Is it fixing a problem?

Or is it feeding a system that has no solution in mind, and no desire to implement the hard changes. Is it using a material solution to fix a spiritual/social/mental problem? You get a picture of cute little boy or girl and read about the great new clothes your money bought them, but what kind of Man will he be? What kind of Woman will she be?

In 10 years will you be sending money to his abandoned responsibility, birthed from her foolish weakness?

These bad ideas are little mosquitoes, buzzing, that will give malaria to the weak, or the unwary. What are we doing about them?