Virtues we dislike

We shouldn’t be shocked when non-Christians find Christian virtues out of date, incomprehensible or just plain hateful. The natural person, Paul reminds us, “does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him” (1 Cor 2:14).

But we also shouldn’t be surprised when the ‘natural’ world’s aversion to godliness starts to have an effect on Christians as well. We find it very easy to be influenced by the world’s way of thinking—to let the world ‘squeeze us into its mould’, as the JB Phillips translation of Romans 12:2 puts it. Some of the things the Bible regards as good and praiseworthy we begin to find a little daggy and distasteful. We rarely go so far as to reject these virtues outright; we just glide by them quietly when we see them in the Bible, and hope that we are not required to defend them, or focus on them, let alone do them.

For example, reading the Pastorals again recently, I was struck by the recurring word ‘dignity’ (and ‘dignified’) which appeared four times in the first three chapters of 1 Timothy and twice in Titus. Paul regarded it particularly important that elders, overseers and deacons be ‘dignified’, but it is also pleasing to God our Saviour that all Christians lead “a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim 2:2).

How long (I thought to myself) has it been since I have considered the importance of dignity (of all things) in the Christian life? It’s not something I’m particularly attracted to. When I think ‘dignified’, I think of a humourless, English gentleman sitting in the parlour on a settee—no, perched on the settee—back ramrod straight, grey-green suit, brown shoes impeccably shined, with, perhaps, an impeccable moustache to match. And a look of disapproval.

Dignity is not prized much in our world these days (which is probably why I don’t prize it). We like informality, authenticity and spontaneity, perhaps because our anthropology is basically humanist: we think that people really are good deep down inside, and so you should let whoever you really are just come bubbling to surface. A quiet and dignified life? This is hardly what we aspire to.

The Greek word in the Pastorals is semnos (or semnotes). It refers to a quality or character of life deserving of respect and reverence—a way of life that is above the ordinary, and thus worthy of special honour. The polar opposite of dignity would, perhaps, be flippancy—the behaviour of a self-regarding clown who always shoots his mouth off, behaves poorly or without restraint, and is thus accorded little or no respect by anyone.

Is that what Paul meant when he encouraged a “dignified” life? The only other time he uses the word is in that challenging little passage in Philippians:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Phil 4:8).

It’s “honourable” here in the ESV; the NIV has “noble”.

What does dignity mean, do you think, for Christians today?

[Stay tuned for more ‘Virtues we dislike’ from other Sola Panellists.]

10 thoughts on “Virtues we dislike

  1. Funny you should say that. I was just counseling a girl in my church yesterday about dignity—in the sense that the church ought to be a place where she feels like she is granted dignity.

    I don’t think I ever immediately go to what you described when I think of dignity. Instead, I believe that one of the fundamentally valuable results of the Gospel is that the dignity that we were created with—being image-bearers of God—is restored to us as adopted sons and daughters. If ever there was a word that describes the result of that, wouldn’t it be dignity?

  2. Fat man lookin’ in a blade of steel
    Thin man lookin’ at his last meal
    Hollow man lookin’ in a cottonfield
    For dignity

    Wise man lookin’ in a blade of grass
    Young man lookin’ in the shadows that pass
    Poor man lookin’ through painted glass
    For dignity

    Somebody got murdered on New Year’s Eve
    Somebody said dignity was the first to leave
    I went into the city, went into the town
    Went into the land of the midnight sun

    Searchin’ high, searchin’ low
    Searchin’ everywhere I know
    Askin’ the cops wherever I go
    Have you seen dignity?

    Blind man breakin’ out of a trance
    Puts both his hands in the pockets of chance
    Hopin’ to find one circumstance
    Of dignity

    I went to the wedding of Mary-lou
    She said she don’t want nobody see me talkin’ to you?
    Said she could get killed if she told me what she knew
    About dignity

    I went down where the vultures feed
    I would’ve got deeper, but there wasn’t any need
    Heard the tongues of angels and the tongues of men
    Wasn’t any difference to me

    Chilly wind sharp as a razor blade
    House on fire, debts unpaid
    Gonna stand at the window, gonna ask the maid
    Have you seen dignity?

    Drinkin’ man listens to the voice he hears
    In a crowded room full of covered up mirrors
    Lookin’ into the lost forgotten years
    For dignity

    Met Prince Phillip at the home of the blues
    Said he’d give me information if his name wasn’t used
    He wanted money up front, said he was abused
    By dignity

    Footprints runnin’ cross the sliver sand
    Steps goin’ down into tattoo land
    I met the sons of darkness and the sons of light
    In the bordertowns of despair

    Got no place to fade, got no coat
    I’m on the rollin’ river in a jerkin’ boat
    Tryin’ to read a note somebody wrote
    About dignity

    Sick man lookin’ for the doctor’s cure
    Lookin’ at his hands for the lines that were
    And into every masterpiece of literature
    for dignity

    Englishman stranded in the blackheart wind
    Combin’ his hair back, his future looks thin
    Bites the bullet and he looks within
    For dignity

    Someone showed me a picture and I just laughed
    Dignity never been photographed
    I went into the red, went into the black
    Into the valley of dry bone dreams

    So many roads, so much at stake
    So many dead ends, I’m at the edge of the lake
    Sometimes I wonder what it’s gonna take
    To find dignity

    Robert Zimmerman

  3. 1 Tim. 3:8 might give us a clue about what dignity isn’t:

    “Deacons likewise must be dignified, <b>not</b> double-tongued, <b>not</b> addicted to much wine, <b>not</b> greedy for dishonest gain.”

    Being double-tongued and greedy makes you untrustworthy. Too much wine makes us act foolishly and unpredictably, and again is perhaps related to trust. It is hard to respect and follow the example of leaders you can’t trust or respect.

  4. What does disappoint non-Christians like me is that Christians so often imply, with great modesty and humility, of course, that they are the exclusive owners and protectors of virtue, using, as Tony Payne does, irritating expressions like “Christian virtues” and “Christian values”. The values they are referring to are invariably also Bhuddist values, humanist values and pretty much universal human values.
    What Christians do have in common with believers of other religions, but not atheists, is a preparedness to believe propositions for which there is no evidence. This defines “faith”, and is always unethical, as the philosopher William K Clifford so eloquently pointed out long ago.

  5. “What Christians do have in common with believers of other religions, but not atheists, is a preparedness to believe propositions for which there is no evidence.”

    John, since atheists don’t fall into the same trap as us silly religious people, perhaps you could tell us what the compelling evidence is that God does not exist?

    And perhaps while you’re at it you could mention what propositions we Christians believe that have “no evidence”?

  6. Hi Ian,
    I’ll start with an example that will help make my answer to your questions clearer. Before meteorology, it was a puzzle that water flooded down the Nile. A religious story was invented to explain it. That story was false, as I think we would both agree. (I’m pretty confident that you don’t think that the Nile floodwaters are the tears of the goddess Osiris). Someone should have said “what evidence do you have for the goddess’ tears story?” This made-up story would have been impossible to disprove at that time. That does not mean that it should have been believed. All that should have been said about the cause of the floods was “we don’t know”. If there is no evidence one way or the other, you say “I don’t know”, not “I believe”. You don’t make up a story, and then challenge others to disprove it.

    Belief without evidence is unethical.  Imagine that someone accuses you of being a paedophile. Someone hearing that should say “what evidence do you have?” A reply from your accuser “Prove he’s not” would be outrageous. The person making the claim has to show the grounds for making it. If the ststement does not have a reasonable basis it is unethical to make it. It would also be unethical for anyone hearing it to believe it, in the absence of evidence. I have mentioned the philosopher William K Clifford, and he’s well worth a read on this matter.

    With all that in mind, here are my answers to your two questions.
    1. I don’t have to show any “compelling evidence that God does not exist” because the onus is on the person making a claim to show evidence for it. You claim there is a God. I can’t see any basis for the claim. I can see plenty of mysteries around, and plenty of reasons to say “I don’t know”, but no evidence to suggest that the existence of a God is any more likely to be an answer to any of them than Osiris turned out to be.
    2. This is a long list! Here are a few items. a) that there is life after death. b) that a supernatural entity infuences events on earth c) that there is a malign spirit known as the “Devil” d) that prayer has greater effect than placebo e)that individuals have a “soul”, which is separate from mind and body f) that there is a very pleasant place or state of being called “heaven” and a most unpleasant one called “hell” g) that I (as an atheist) will spend the rest of eternity in the latter…and so on.

    By the way, I know quite a few Christians who are very smart and likeable, and not at all silly. It is clear, though, that being intelligent and sensible is not enough to save some people from succumbing to the obvious temptations of wishful thinking when pondering our mortality.

  7. John

    Thanks for your answer. Here’s some thoughts:

    (1) Atheists do make a claim. By definition they claim that there is no God. If it is unethical to believe without evidence, then surely atheists must logically either provide the evidence that God does not exist, or step back from atheism and say they are agnostics (they don’t know whether God exists). So are you an atheist or an agnostic?

    (2) Thank you for your list. I accept that these are Christian claims. (Though as you pointed out originally, some other religions may believe some of these things too.) But for us the claims all flow from being a follower of Jesus Christ, which is, of course, what it means to be a Christian.

    For example, belief in life after death flows not only from what Jesus taught, but also from the fact that we believe he rose from the dead himself.

    So let me ask you this question: do you believe Jesus existed?

    If not, on what basis do you assert such a claim in the face of the well-established historical evidence that he did?

    If you do believe Jesus existed, what information about his life and teaching do you accept as historically accurate and why?

    I look forward to reading your response.

  8. I realise at this point we are a little off topic but I think what Ian has pointed out is quite important, and something not grasped by many Atheists I know.

    Atheism is a claim.

    If I decided to stop following Christ tomorrow I’d be an Agnostic.

  9. First of all, I’d like to apologise for crashing in to your site; you’re all entitled to share your beliefs without me barging in and arguing with you. Ian did ask for a response from me, though, so I’ll provide that and then quietly withdraw.
    1. I’m pretty certain that Jesus did exist. As you say, there does seem to be a lot of evidence in support.
    2. As for his life, the gospels were not written until some time after his death (maybe as much as 100 years in the case of John’s) so it would be surprising if some inaccuracies had not crept in. Certainly there are discrepancies in the timing of events in the different gospels. As I say, that’s quite understandable.
    3. As for his teachings, I obviously don’t believe in his (or anyone else’s) divinity, or in miracles or the resurrection. His divinity was a subject of debate in the early church itself, of course, finally being resolved through a political process at Nicea. I’m not even sure that his own disciples were convinced. On the Bible’s own account, Judas, Peter and Thomas all behaved very strangely if they REALLY thought he was divine.

    Finally, answering Phil, I don’t agree that atheism is a claim. Not believing something is not itself a belief any more than not playing sport is itself some sort of sport. There are puzzles in the universe and Christians claim they have some answers. I don’t posit any answers of my own. Actually, I would be very happy to believe your answers…everlasting life, an all-powerful being who has one’s interests at heart and responds to requests when in need…who wouldn’t want that? Unfortunately, integrity demands that belief be withheld in the absence of evidence.
    Anyway, I wish you all the best, and thanks for hearing me out.

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