David over at Jollyblogger asks if people agree or disagree with the statement: every right idea is eventually the wrong idea.
At first blush, I have a negative reaction to the statement and would say no, I don’t agree. However, after giving more thought to the topic, I believe that the statement is valid.
I struggle with the very first word in the statement — every. I certainly don’t believe that every right idea is eventually going to be useless or the wrong solution to a problem. However, there is a time and place for many things. If we apply an idea that worked in the 3rd century to modern times, I would imagine that the idea would seem antiquated and out of context. Even if we chose an idea from the 15th century, the upside potentials would be extremely limited.
In our current culture, I don’t believe we should cater to a world that revolves around “me” — especially from an evangelical perspective. Influencing factors (cultural, socioeconomical, or otherwise) are all telling people that they should seek answers that are right for them. In fact, the message of Christ and the dissemination of the Gospel is not a new idea but it is still an appropriate and valid idea. One could argue (as I would argue) that the methods for evangelizing the message become the new ideas.
Technology has also played a huge factor in this. Two thousand years ago, information had to be disseminated via papyrus or word of mouth. Two hundred years ago, it was much easier to disseminate information via books thanks to the printing press, carriers, etc.. Today, while books are not “out-dated”, the Internet is much more expeditious manner of conveying information broadly.
