Shame in Modern and Historical Times

As Americans, we are proud of our culture and how it has changed over time. But have all those changes been good? In some ways, the changes in our culture may have made it more difficult for people to relate to Christianity. In Chapter 4 of The Problem of Pain, Lewis discusses human wickedness and the fact that during the time of Paul and the disciples, "they [the apostles] could assume even in their Pagan hearers a consciousness of deserving the Divine anger (p.55)." Since that time, more people have moved away from believing in any god at all. That means that in order for people to recognize their need for Jesus, they must first be convinced that God would even have a reason to be upset with them. They need to realize that they are sinful. In Matthew 9:11-13, Jesus said that "it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick...for I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." If people do not recognize that they are "sick" or sinners, then they will not know to call upon the Great Physician in the first place.

Lewis also discusses the need for feeling a sense of shame about one's sins. In modern times, there seems to be a disconnection between one's sin and one's sense of shame-in essence, a loss of conscience. In another comparison to the times of the apostles, Lewis says that even Pagans felt shame about their sin. This implies that Pagans were not as deceived as we are today about how "good" or "bad" of a person they were. In feeling a sense of shame, all such misconceptions about being "pretty good" are lost. One can then truly say that they cannot live a good life by their own power and that they have a need for a savior.

Does this mean that changes in our culture have made people less receptive to Christianity? Do we, as Christians, need to rethink how we approach sharing the gospel? I would have to say that maybe we do. Sometimes people are told by speakers and in church that simply sharing with people that "God loves them" is the only thing they need to hear to convinced them to become Christian. While this is good to tell people, how can they really grasp the significance of the gospel-the complete grace and mercy of Christ-without first recognizing that they fall far short of perfection? Though the Gospel message will never change, perhaps we, as Christians, need to change our approach to sharing that gospel.