Daniel Ivey
CS 601
Dr. Edgar
The Ethical Role of Pastors: In light of Modernity and Postmodernity
In The Pastor as Moral Guide, Miles lays out the difficulties of the task of being a moral guide as a pastor, and gives several words advice, as well as words of warning in terms of ethical issues. In Choosing The Good, Hollinger clearly lays out the cultural changes of thought in the Western world for the past few centuries of Modernity and Post-Modernity. Now of course there are many ethical issues of boundaries that a pastor must maintain with one’s parishioners so as to not fall into misconduct, however I believe that the falling away from the Biblical mandate as a pastor in light of the pressures to change from the Biblical mandate to the philosophies of Modernity and Postmodernity would be the most unethical pitfall we could ever fall into. For the liability that a pastor carries is much greater than that of a medical doctor. If a doctor gives unethical advice to a patient, the worse that can happen is death. But if a pastor falls into the pressures of society, and declares peace when there is no peace, as the false prophets in Jeremiah’s day did, then death could happen not only on the physical level, but also on the eternal.
Pastors are still faced with the pressures of modernity, even though we live in a postmodern era. The main evil that happened during modernity for pastors and all the world was the dethronement of God, and the coronation of human reason and science. Society began to believe that they had evolved to the point that they no longer needed God. Religion began to only be tolerated if it did not carry over into the public specter. But still, pastors were faced with the burden to declare the truth of the Gospel, and to guide their flock in the way everlasting. The pressure was to keep their light hidden, and their lamps under a bushel. But this is no Gospel at all. Christ called us to be the light of the world, and not be hidden and private. Pastors were faced with watering down their message, and give way to the new gospel of the day, a humanistic world of progress, where humankind could evolve into greatness. There also was a great pressure to mix the holy with the unholy, and preach more from Psychology Today than the Bible. But as pastors and moral guides, we are called to lead and guide, regardless of what our parishioners and the world want to hear. Pastors had to take heart, and be bold just as Daniel’s three friends stood up to Nebuchadnezzar and all his princes, and declared that no matter what was being said about what or how to worship, they would only worship God, even if it meant their life. Many pastors had to risk losing their flocks who were being so persuaded by the philosophy of their day, and risk being without a job. Sadly, we saw many if not most pastors transition the Gospel of the Bible, to the gospel of modernity, and this is when Seminaries took a great nose dive into godless theology, and explaining away the power of God.
Today in the postmodern era, pastors are faced with a similar hurdle. They are faced with the pressure to change the message of Jesus from the narrow road where few enter in, to the message that all roads lead to Rome, and that any religion is as good as another. In counseling on ethical issues, they are faced with parishioners who have no loyalty to Jesus Christ and the claims of the Gospel, but are a la carte spirituals, with ears only ready to hear what will soothe their guilt away. Pastors are now faced with having to counsel in the age where the therapeutic is king, instead of the Lord of Lords. But pastors have the same duty to deliver the word of the Lord to all, no matter where they are coming from. It is the allure of being relevant in the masses eyes, so that they can continue to receive the praises of man, and enjoy their greetings in the marketplace. Pastors are faced with having to preach a message that is not popular today, just as it was in the times of the Bible. Pastors must decide whether their life will be ruled by Christian ethics, or the ethics of the time and culture. They must decide to either be satisfied with the praise of God, or compromise to receive the praise of man. This is the great ethical battle for pastors today.
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