Everything You Know Is Wrong

For Christmas my wife bought me the DVD of U2's ZooTV concert from the early 90's. Watching it brought back memories from my first year in college, when I went with my roomate to see my favorite band in concert. As the first song began, Zoostation, with its clanky drums and cathchy feedback, huge TV monitors flashed words and slogans to the audience. The one that was most repeated, and seemed to be the core agument of the night, was boldly "Everything You Know Is Wrong." For an 18 year old just off to college this was a rather jarring and disconcerting statement, and unfortunately for me I missed the point, leaving feeling that U2 had maybe betrayed me. But, with more than enough years to reflect and think, I can now see the true genius of this statement. I can now see that this was a gospel message.

"Everything You Know Is Wrong," was the same message that Jesus was preaching. All that he had to say, grinded and clashed with the the world and its ways. God would not send his Messiah with human power and might. He would not crush his opponents. This was a world of power, retribution, and harsh justice. Yet, His servant would suffer and die on a cross. He would set up a kingdom where service and love ruled. He would seek out and identify the sinners, the poor, the least of all. He would stand up to the corrupt, the wealthy, and the oppressive. He would set up an upside down kingdom. You will be saved by grace and not of your own works.

And so U2 was screaming out a gospel message to a post modern, consumeristic, hyper-individualistic, relativistic culture that finds meaning through money, power, sex, in short in satisfying the ego. This is all wrong. Completely wrong. And there were the other messages as well..."Believe"... "The Universe Exploding Because of One Man's Lie "... "Mock the Devil and He Will Flee You"... "Guilt is not of God"... "Love."

I have come along way in my faith since 1992, but I have come to realize more and more, that the message of Jesus is that "everything we know is wrong." We are in a world gone mad, and often that madness seeps into our faith and expression of it. We pick up the Bible sometimes to find justification for our lives, our assumptions, and our cultures, but how often do we pick it up knowing that everything we know outside of Christ, outside of his word, is essentially wrong. Our message to the hurting and fragmenting world is that "everything you know is wrong," Jesus has a better way. Our message to ourselves is that "everything we know is wrong" and we need to really work to live out the Christian message, the Christian witness, of love, grace, truth, and hope in Christ.

The message of Christ should still be jarring and rebellious to the world and to our lives, just as it was 2000 years ago. It should leave us with forgivenss and mercy and at the cost of God's own suffering, peace with Him, but it should also remind us that we are called to change, to act, to serve, and to love in this world against the ways and powers that be, so that His kingdom may come. This world is all wrong.

But what does this look like in the just dawned 21st century. Over the next weeks and months I want to turn this blog to my thoughts on what it means to be a witness for Christ in the 21st century. I want to start by addressing the major trends of our world both positive and negative and reflect theologically on them. Then I want to develop some major theological points that must be held high and practiced for us as Christians to truly address this century as "salt and light."

"Everything You Know Is Wrong" and whenever we get closer to Jesus he will reveal the parts in us that are.