Column for the North Huron Citizen, Sept. 9/22 edition
When society is breaking down and lawlessness increases, people become desperate in their hurting and deprivation. They long for a strong leader to emerge who will guide them back to safety and security. That could describe the nation of Germany back in the 1920s & 30s which was struggling to make reparations for its part in the First World War. A charismatic dynamic leader rose to popularity who proposed Germans had the makings of a master race, their potential was great, they could be leaders in the world. His name was Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist party turned the nation’s economy around and whipped people’s fervour and confidence to new heights through various programs and propaganda.
Hitler was embodying the philosophy of one of his heroes, Friedrich Nietzsche, a German (actually Polish-born) philosopher (1844-1900). When Hitler officially congratulated the Italian fascist dictator Mussolini, he gave him a copy of Nietzsche’s book! Nietzsche introduced the concept of the ‘ubermensch’ or what we might call the ‘hyper-human’. Nietzsche perceived that humans at large had killed God – hence he coined the phrase “God is dead”. But if there’s no God, that paves the way for nihilism (“the rejection of all religious and moral principles, in the belief that life is meaningless”). Now that would be discouraging! For life to be meaningless, pointless, no sense of right and wrong, good or bad. Nihilism leads to despair. To fend that off, Nietzsche proposed this ideal of the “hyper-human’ or ubermensch, the human that transcends others and points a meaningful way forward.
Do you see how this fed into Nazi philosophy, tyranny, and eugenics? Hitler would believe himself to be the “strong man”, providing leadership and direction to others in society. Relegate society’s misfits – the disabled, those suffering from gender confusion, non-Aryans like the Jews – to the gas chambers. His approach “worked” to the point that his fellow citizens largely granted him and his cronies increasing power politically.
In Paul’s second letter to the church at Thessalonica, he looks into the future and warns of another “strong man” or ‘man of lawlessness’ who will arise to prominence in a time of rebellion and proclaim himself to be God. What else would you expect, if God is in fact ‘dead’? That creates a huge vacuum, a meaningless environment people find hard to tolerate. But Paul foretells the destruction of this ‘strong man’ or ‘hyper-human’ by One stronger yet – God (i.e. Christ) may have been dead in a tomb three days, but rose again!
But let’s explore a more productive and positive angle. What is the ‘hyper-human’ God is calling us to become through faith in Christ? How is He transforming us mere mortals from fallen sinners into overcoming saints? Let’s see who, through faith, according to Paul and by God’s grace, we are gradually fashioned to be!
First, believers are selected saints. “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit...” (2Thess.2:13a) Jews in the Old Testament were designated God’s chosen people, picked to be witnesses for Him to the nations. Christians are chosen by the Lord similarly to let our light shine before others in such a way that they see our good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven. The Holy Spirit indwells us and “sanctifies” us, making us holy, set-apart for God’s purposes, nudges us to increase in personal righteousness, living Jesus’ way.
Believers are truth-trusters. “...God chose you to be saved...through belief in the truth.” (v.13b) We are truth-trusters, putting our faith in the Gospel or message about Jesus – a message that will be shown to be true, according to reality, when Jesus comes back to gather us to him (v.1). Believing is key to salvation. As John put it in a most assuring way in 1John 5:13, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
Third, we are glory-sharers. The Holy Spirit is producing His fruit and gifts in our lives so we come increasingly to resemble Jesus, whose love and caring and peace drew people to Him magnetically. And when He returns, we will share His glory more overtly. Paul writes, “He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (v.14) The best beauty-treatment is to have the Lord’s joy, peace, and love bathing your heart and consciousness!
Fourth, believers are teaching-tethered, anchored in God’s instruction amidst life’s confusing messages and temptations. “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” (v.15) The phrase ‘passing on’ is akin to that in rabbinic Judaism where a rabbi repeatedly ingrained Biblical truth and sayings into the memories of his disciples. Also this hints that Paul’s teaching is not something he cleverly invented or ‘made up’ as he went along, but he was as a steward entrusted with a sacred deposit passing along to others the same teaching he had received – whether from Scripture, or others who followed Jesus before him.
Could you make it a personal goal to try to read the Bible and pray daily (even if it’s just for a short time)? That practice anchors your soul, gives you a solid base from which to construe meaning from life, and God’s voice will coach you on the path to take. As the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah put it, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.’” (Jer.6:16)
Fifth, we are core-encouraged. Do you find life discouraging or challenging at times? Does it seem sometimes the world’s gone to pot, and things just keep getting worse instead of better? Has an endless stream of negative news started to make you cynical? Find encouragement in your Lord. “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts...” (vv.16f) There’s God’s ‘love’ for us again (see point 1 ‘Selected Saints’). The Greek root here for ‘encourage’ is a term Jesus uses for the Holy Spirit, our Counselor, Comforter, one who comes alongside to help. Is there someone you know who might benefit from you sharing with them the comfort and encouragement you find in knowing Jesus?
Last, we are goodness-giving. Paul notes, “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father...strengthen you in every good deed and word.” (vv.16f) Our job is to share God’s goodness with other people, to dispel the rumour that ‘God is dead’ – or even worse, that God is malicious or a meanie. Would those who know you best describe you as someone eager to do good? Or, instead, eager to goof off and hog the remote, say?
Meaning is one of the four key things any worldview worth its salt must address (origin, meaning, morality, destiny). As society flounders on the verge of nihilism and the desert of value-bereft meaninglessness, the transcendent ‘hyper-human’ that can prove a worthy ideal drawing mortals forward is not Nietzsche’s ‘ubermensch’ (e.g. Hitler, Stalin, and their ilk) but the virtuous Christ-follower described by the apostle – Selected Saints, Truth Trusters, Glory Sharers, Teaching-Tethered, Core-Encouraged, Goodness-Giving. Our world will be better for it as we emulate Christ in those facets of character.
