Safety and Sensitivity

We live in such a reactionary culture these days - people will say things without thinking or post pronouncements on social media that can be mildly irritating or downright rude.  And, we can become so easily offended and respond poorly, if our emotions are not under the control of the Holy
Spirit. James 1 says:
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

There is a human tendency to fly off the handle when someone does or says something that we do not like.  And, we read about or personally observe instances of that sort of behavior on a consistent basis.  Rather than be easily offended and respond in anger, we can abide in the peace of God, carefully considering the words or deeds of another, but being so cognizant of the love of Christ within us that we display a response that reflects His presence in us.

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In Psalm 119, that great chapter about incorporating God's Word into our lives, we read this:
165 Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.
166 Lord, I hope for Your salvation, And I do Your commandments.
167 My soul keeps Your testimonies, And I love them exceedingly.

Verse 165, in the King James Version, says:
165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

So what are students learning on some college campuses these days?  It appears that Insulation from Offense 101 is a core class, followed by Shaming Those Who Disagree 102.  The sensitivity, it seems, has reached epic proportions.

One high-profile individual says that he is offended by things, but adds, "I’m not going to expect someone to stop that from happening, I should simply speak out about it.”

He went on: “Sometimes when people are offended they want someone to come in and say ‘stop that’ to whoever is offending them... There are some people I would wish to offend… The idea that you have to be protected from any kind of uncomfortable emotion is one I absolutely do not subscribe to.”

He has been warned from speaking on college campuses due to political correctness, and makes this point: 

"If people cant control their own emotions, then they have to start trying to control other people’s behaviors. When You’re around super-sensitive people you cannot relax or be spontaneous because you have no idea what’s going to upset them next.”

Now, this is not someone whom you would necessarily expect to say such things - it's British comedian John Cleese, of the legendary comedy troupe Monty Python.  These quotes are from a Big Think video referenced by Breitbart.

Over at National Review, Charles Cooke opens up an article on the concept of "safe spaces" on college campuses:

Read through any contemporary account of American on-campus silliness, and one word will pop out at you from the pages: “safe.” Up and down the country, the term is en vogue. At Yale, students are worried about the effects that insensitive Halloween costumes might have upon their “security.” At Colorado College, enrollees are concerned that the screening of a pro-gay film will put their “well-being,” their “identity,” and their “safety” at risk, if not inflict “violence” upon their bodies. At Wesleyan, undergraduates were so outraged by an opinion column in their university newspaper that they tried to shut it down on the grounds that its editors had failed to “provide a safe space for the voices of students of color.”

Oh, by the way, the protestors at Colorado College were reportedly gay activists!

Cooke was just warming up - he addressed this exclusionary point of view held by those who want to be insulated from ideas and opinions that don't line up with their own.  He writes:

At Mizzou, the protesting students did not hope merely to expel their critics from their private meetings, but to remove them from public ground. At Yale, the shriekers were not asking for a room in which to hold a “politically correct” Halloween party, but for the entire campus to conform to their preferences. When Christina Hoff Sommers visits Oberlin, her detractors do not contend that she is wrong, but that she should not have been invited in the first instance. Put simply, those who have taken to shouting “safe space” are guilty of an egregious category mistake. In pursuit of political power, they have adopted a set of rules that were designed for private groups and attempted to impose them on everybody.

In a Breakpoint commentary, John Stonestreet addressed this concept of trying to "protect" college students from that which might offend them.  He quoted from an article from The Atlantic by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, who note that: “The ultimate aim, it seems, is to turn campuses into ‘safe spaces’ where young adults are shielded from words and ideas that make some uncomfortable..."  As Stonestreet points out, the writers observe that the campus should be a place where tough questions can be asked without fear or favor, and where students are taught not what to think but how to think. They ask, "...What are we doing to our students if we encourage them to develop extra-thin skin just before they leave the cocoon of adult protection?”

John Stonestreet responds by saying:

It’s a good question we need to ask in the church, too. Censoring everything that makes our kids uncomfortable prepares them for a world that simply doesn’t exist. Christian Smith’s research on the religious beliefs of young people and the pallid “moralistic therapeutic deism” that many of them have withdrawn into suggests that we must not only help them develop a Christian worldview, but a robust Christian worldview, one that’s big enough for the brokenness, the struggle, the challenges, and the tensions of the real world.

Each of us have to hone our critical thinking skills and apply a Christian worldview perspective to address the questions that skeptical non-believers are asking.  And, in grappling with the big issues, we have to think Biblically and be challenged to teach our children to do the same. Unfortunately, there are young people - and adults, too - who have been coddled and taught that they should be insulated from ideas that don't line up with their own; then they take it a step further and attempt to silence those differing views.  It's insidious and characteristic of our culture.

But, when people attempt to silence us, we still cannot afford to adopt a position of being offended and stake out our own separate position in which dialogue cannot occur.  We don't win by taking our toys and going home.  We win - hearts - by engaging in critical thinking, carefully applying Biblical truth to modern challenges, and enunciating that truth in a firm manner, with conviction, but also with compassion.

In the midst of polarization, we can be proponents of peace.  That doesn't mean we soften our deeply-rooted convictions, but I think believers could stand to soften the tone.  We don't compromise the message, but we can customize the messenger.  Paul was able to relate to people of different backgrounds because he made a point to do so.   As believers, we have to make sure that we are not retreating into isolation, but advancing with well-reasoned, workable ideas that are rooted in Scripture.