Jesus Cropped from the Picture

The Second Cropping Tool: Rationalism

The second group uses Truth as a tool to control life or make life better . Those who use Truth for their own benefit can be characterized in two ways— pragmatic and therapeutic :

1. Pragmatic: “The Christian life is a perfectly rational system for life. When you accept it and live by it you will really have life by the tail. You will be able to stand up strong and face life.” 35 This kind of pragmatic Rationalism is recognizable in many areas including evangelism training, discipleship materials, and parenting instruction. For example, drugs and sexual activity are not wrong because God said so, but because those activities are harmful and get in the way of God’s best. They are not sinful, causing separation fromGod, but are simply detrimental to one’s well-being. This leads people to look for pragmatic reasons for evaluating the rightness or wrongness of var- ious lifestyle choices, rather than living under the authority of God’s Truth. 2. Therapeutic: “What you need is an experience of Jesus Christ. When you let him come into your life and take over, you will feel much better. Everything will fall in place for you and life will be beautiful.” 36 This kind of therapeutic Rationalism assumes a good life results from Truth. Michael Horton wrote, “Another way of saying it is that we always prefer giving God a supporting role in our life movie—our own glory story—rather than being recast in his unfolding drama of redemption. How can God fix my marriage? How can he make me a more effective leader? How can I overcome stress and manage my time and finances better?” 37

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