Assumption - 2. The act of taking for granted, or supposing a thing without proof; supposition; unwarrantable claim.
Inference - The act of reasoning from factual knowledge or evidence.
I'm going to make some general assumptions and or inferences, and these may be offensive or racist but they are assumptions most people make.
Asians are incredibly smart.
White people are rednecks and are prone to alcoholism (and psychotic break downs)
Black people are ghetto.
Indians either have dots or feathers.
Hispanics like tacos.
People from the south talk with a drawl and say y'all.
People from the north talk fast.
If you live in New York you're probably Jewish.
If you live on the west coast you're either a hippy or you're gay.
If you live in Florida more than likely you're a retiree.
European's do not necessarily have good hygiene.
If you're a teenager you're either sexually active or on drugs.
American's are pretentious.
Famous people are crazy.
Religious people are crazy.
America is a Christian Nation.
Don't worry I'm getting somewhere with this.
I was on the elliptical last night at the gym and saw several TV shows on that were crime scene shows. The first assumption/inference that I made was that Crime Scene shows are popular. Think about how many there are, and I'm not even going to google this I'm just going to name them off the top of my head. CSI, CSI New York, CSI Miami, Law and Order, Law and Order:SVU, Law and Order: CI, Bones, Criminal Minds, Ghost Whisperer (yes this is a crime show), NCIS. Ok I think you get the point, there are more. Americans are obsessed with crime shows. Or are we?
I began to seriously think about this and made another assumption/inference. If we're obsessed with crime shows we must be obsessed with finding answers. If we're obsessed with finding answers then we must be asking questions. Then it hit me. The reason we watch TV is because these shows are asking the same questions we're asking. That is why they're so successful.
TV shows dont' tell stories as much as they ask questions that are in tune with the general population.
What happens to people when they die? Is there retribution? How can we know we're doing the right thing? If there is a God why are all of these bad things happening?
Getting out of the crime shows you begin to look at other popular shows.
Lost - poignently asks the question is there life after death?
Heros - asks whether there is more meaning to this life than just to live it?
24 - asks whether or not there is an absolute moral system?
American Idol - asks if there is more to this life.
The Bachelor/ette - asks if there is someone out there who can fufill them.
These questions seem fairly spiritual in nature no?
I'm just going to make an assumption right now but I'm going to assume that we were created to ask these questions.
So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. - Genesis 1:27
Behold, God is great, and we know Him not! The number of His years is unsearchable. - Job 36:26
That all the earth’s people may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. - 1 Kings 8:60
We were created by God in God's image, if we are in the image and likeness of God, then it is safe to assume we are created to know him. Unfortunately we don't know him (sin entered the world and cut that off). It is not that we can not know him though, we have the ability to know God, know what He is about, we just have to look for him...or ask questions.
Now how do we apply this?
Everybody's got their ten cents on this one, here is mine.
As a church we're supposed to be available with the answers to these questions. Now the bible doesn't explicitly teach on each of these questions, but it gives us a pair of glasses with which to interperate facts. Take science for instance. No the bible isn't a science text book, but it gives a form and structure with which to interperate science. Otherwise, left up with our own devices we come up with self-centric solutions that make us god. Unfortunately a lot of churches are not equiped in general to offer answers to most questions that are raised in society today. Instead we think we have to go cram our own personal "bible" (interpretations) down people's throat. Jesus told it how it was when people raised questions, but didn't cram it on people who didn't want it. I think that is part of Jesus' attractiveness. Oh and what he did cram the bible down was the actual church...because they weren't getting it right...sound familiar?
Personally I think we need to dive in and start answering the questions we have our selves so that we in turn can answer others like minded questions. Making our faith our own.
Professionally I'm going to turn this more on the Christian productions that happen because of the crap that comes out of 'hollywood' under the guise of Christian media. Right now we produce media (not all but as a whole) that are answers. The media doesn't pose questions so much as force "answers" on people. The truth of God is as foolishness to those who don't beleive so why start with the assumption that they believe, then you are only trying to reach believers. Maybe instead of trying to produce "Christian media choc full of the 12 essential rules, regulations and answers that everyone needs to fufill their lives" we should start producing media that identifies with the deepest questions and yearnings that every person has.
Why do you think Touched By an Angel ever made it through and lasted. It dealt with the question of Life after Death. Yeah it was cheesey, was not necesarily a protestant view either (Neither was the Passion of the Christ and yet Christians claim that one as a banner). The Passion of the Christ didn't deal directly and identifiably with the diety and authority of Christ. It just showed the brutality of the Roman's toward a man (he died, it showed his humanity, the imagry around the satan and hell was honestly a big vague, and i appologize if it did deal directly but from what stuck with me was more the brutality from that movie, not Christ's diety). Christians understood it to be the reason behind our salvation, but an unsaved person could see it as just another gory history lesson, but it lead to questions. I think that is why it was so effective.
It allowed an open door for questions.
What are you doing in your ministry to allow for questions and dialogue with the community?
Let's get away from the assumption/inference that this is a Christian nation and that everyone knows at least informally about Christ or 'religion'. That was true in 1950. That is not so much true any more. Walk down the street, ask someone who God is....there are hundreds of definitions you will get and most won't be the God of the Bible. Who was Jesus? You're going to get a few odd looks on that one.
Instead let's assume that everyone has questions (and that is a VERY safe assumption).
What are you going to do about it?
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