Denominational Mood

I think some Christians' view of the Gospel is in some respects still flavored by the prevailing political environment in which their particular denomination was formed.

For example I reckon I can almost tell whether a preacher on TV comes from a former Confederate State, just by the mood with which he presents the Gospel.

Sometimes I've listened to the mood with which members of a particular denomination discuss Christian things, and I've felt like telling them, "Relax. It's okay. This is 21st Century Australia. You're not seen as a Dissenter".

Whole denominations seem to have retained the mood of their particular denomination's political struggle in Europe centuries ago, then unknowingly they impose that mood onto the way they understand and present the Gospel message itself today.

It also seems to affect the mood with which they respond to those who don't yet understand every detail precisely as they think they should.

For example some constantly present the Gospel with an us-against-them mood - you hear tones of defensiveness, aggression and protest in their delivery, even though they're presenting good news, even though no-one is disagreeing with them, or if they are no-one is threatening to imprison them for it. Yet the mood persists. Some can be quite volatile in the way they react to those who don't understand as they do.

I think I perceive this sometimes in believers from southern States; or in denominations with Scottish origins; or Dissenter origins; or Theonomist origins.

It's like a spirit that affected the founder of a denomination or of a theology can carry down from its founder - and even affects whole nations and history for centuries.

Meanwhile other denominations and entire nations have retained a far more docile outlook, some even err on the side of being too sociable at the expense of good theology and evangelicalism - and the reasons for it can sometimes be traced all the way back to the political environment in which their particular denomination or theology was forged. Or to the spirit of their founder.

Compare an evangelical Anglican church-worker with a Bible-thumping Bible-Belt fundamentalist, for example. Their denominations' former political climates had a lot to do with the mood that still prevails today.

Chinese believers can perceive a Bible-passage quite differently to the way believers in Beverley Hills perceive the same passage.

It's possible for us all to be unaware of what spirit is influencing us - even when we think we are defending the truth; even when we think we have a Scriptural basis. Jesus told His disciples of this.

So it might pay to consider whether we are perceiving the Gospel in truth; whether we are presenting the Gospel as the good news that it is - and whether we respond to others in a way that becomes the good news.

Our particular theology or denomination or family or culture might not necessarily always perceive nor express the true and good fragrance of the Gospel in all its intended beauty and power.