It’s coming. I really think it is. Our generation is realizing it’s sin. People like Noah Riner of Dartmouth are standing up:
(WATCH THE VIDEO)
“Dartmouth, Riner told his peers, has turned out a lot of very talented, very intelligent individuals. “But if all we get from this place is knowledge, we’ve missed something,” he reasoned — citing examples, both historic and recent, of Dartmouth alums whose credentials were impeccable, but whose character was proven to be greatly corrupt. Turning to raise the issue of New Orleans — the looting, violence, and rape in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina — Riner clarified, “My purpose… isn’t to condemn just [the citizens of New Orleans], rather it’s to condemn all of us.”“The real problem in this world,” Riner argued, “is not lack of education [but] lack of character.”
“[C]haracter,” he held, “is what you do when no one is looking, but I’m afraid to say all the things I’ve done when no one was looking.” He challenged his fellow students to be honest with themselves and with one another. “We have the same flaws as the individuals who pillaged New Orleans,” he said, affirming the truth of the universal sin nature. “Ours haven’t been given such free range, but they exist and are part of us all the same.”
However, it is still very likely that — had Riner stopped at this point — there would have been little uproar. Vice president of the Student Assembly, Kaelin Goulet, would not have resigned in protest, calling Riner’s speech “reprehensible and an abuse of power.” The story would not have swept across the blogosphere like wildfire, nor been featured in magazines and newspapers across the country.
But Riner did not stop there. Instead, he did the unthinkable. He spoke of Jesus Christ. And he didn’t just use Him as his example, or a example of character — but rather as the “best example” of character. And he didn’t just use Him as an example of character — but rather as the solution to man’s inherent corruption.
“Jesus’ message of redemption is simple,” Riner said. “People are imperfect, and there are consequences for our actions. He gave His life for our sin so that we wouldn’t have to bear the penalty of the law; so we could see love. The problem is me; the solution is God’s love: Jesus on the cross, for us.”
“You want the best undergraduate education in the world, and you’ve come to the right place to get that. But there’s more to college than achievement. With Martin Luther King, we must dream of a nation – and a college – where people are not judged by the superficial, ‘but by the content of their character.’”
(HT: Rebelution)
Churches and pastors are saying the same things as I am. It’s very possible that we could be looking at a revival in our land in the near future.
I remember the Great Awakening–before it happened. The Puritans had turned from God. The Halfway Covenant allowed for unbelievers to become memebers of the churches. The Puritans focused on possesions and not on God. They didn’t believe in the Bible…they were turning away from the faith of their father’s. But men like Jonathan Edwards preached the gospel.
We face a similar dilemma. The church is full of unbelievers and those with corrupt doctrine. We have homosexual priests and pastors. We have men who preach that their is no hell. We as a nation focus only on ourselves and on what we want.
Who will rise to become today’s Jonathan Edwards or Samuel Davies or George Whitefield?
I shall continue to pray and call for revival, and I pray you will spread the fire. Is the awakening drawing near?
October 4th, 2005 at 11:00 am
Hey Tim,
I left a comment over at the Rebelution about this. It just so happens that I work for Noah’s dad, State Rep Tom Riner, as a legislative aide, and I worked in Georgia with Noah on a TeenPact event right after he broke his ankle in Quantico.
It’s one thing to read the transcript of the speech, but it’s quite another thing to see it on video. Go to http://www.vidkit.com/noahspeech/ to download the video taken by Rep. Riner.
You also oughta check out the dartmouth websites where students are writing in about how upset (or happy) they are about the whole fiasco.
BTW, what search engine do you use for this site?
In Him,
David
October 4th, 2005 at 3:38 pm
I share in your hope that God will, in his grace, draw an unusual number of sinners unto himself in our lifetime. But don’t forget that Edwards didn’t make his stand on the Halfway Covenant until after the Great Awakening. And there were reports of seasons of awakening throughout the ministry of Solomon Stoddard, his grandfather and predecessor at Northampton. Perhaps there is some truth to the idea that revival is wholly a work of the Lord, who, in his grace, works in spite of our own theological error and deficiency.
October 4th, 2005 at 4:01 pm
Amen to that…perhaps we are a generation that is planting a seed, or perhaps we’re seeing the fruits of previous “reports of seasons of awakening.”
October 4th, 2005 at 6:16 pm
Amen, Tim! I’ve been studying Revelation 2 and 3 for the past few months (!) and it constantly amazes me how God wrote so specifically to those churches in 95 AD and speaks so specifically to churches TODAY! I mean, there are so many similarities and problems that it’s just sickening!
As for who will bring revival – we already know God will but I think we need to be open to the fact that He might want to use us…or He might not – we must be open to His will and pray that He will bring the Church back to His love.
Grace and Peace,
David Ketter
October 4th, 2005 at 8:00 pm
I’d love for it to be true, Tim. Frankly, America is fast reaching the point of return culturally, so unless there is some change fairly soon, it looks as though we will go the way of ancient Rome.
I definitely see your point, and though one can’t predict these things, here’s hoping and praying for true revival!
October 4th, 2005 at 10:43 pm
Revival will come when we seek God and expect the best out of ourselves. It will come when we expect the church to be full of sinners and our communities full of Christians.
Revival will come when we seek the things of God in the most public and private areas of our life and loose ourselves from the confines of the church assembly. Great blog…great entry!
Travis Johnson
Travis Johnson
October 5th, 2005 at 10:03 am
That is so awesome!! That guy really has the guts.
