CHRISTIAN COUNTERCULTURE PART II. The second point made by the interviewees in the article on Christian Counterculture was that Christianity is about rebellion. But this is not true. Rebellion is about adolescence. It is about saying there is no authority by which I will abide.

Sin is about rebellion. Adam rebelled against God by disobeying his commands. We all rebel against God. We call that sin.

Rebellion against culture is usually just rebellion against authority. It usually means I will dress different and listen to different music. I will not embrace your values. This is not necessarily because your values are bad, but more so that I want to have my own and don't want you to tell me what to do.

Christianity is not about rebellion, but about abandonment and devotion. We do not rebel against the culture, we abandon it. We leave behind all that would bind us to the world so that we may embrace Christ. The Bible is clear that children are to honor their parents, not rebel against them. But, Jesus called men to abandon their parents, leave the comfort of parents behind, and follow him. He called people to abandon their money and their rights and their destinies to take up the cross and follow him in total devotion.

Jesus did not rebel against the Romans, even though many people wanted him to. He did not teach rebellion and neither did Paul. In fact, Paul taught obedience to the government, to the church elders and to parents. Both, however, taught abandonment and devotion. Paul considered every thing as garbage compared to the riches of simply knowing and following Christ.

The skate board, the do rag or the Van Dyke beard will not bring you to a pure and simple relationship with Christ. But, abandoning the pretenses and accouterments of your culture or subculture and embracing Christ will.