April 2020 — pg. 2
I increasingly hear about “cancel culture” these days. (!is
phrase has nothing to do with the cancellation of events for the
coronavirus.)
!e phrase means di"erent things to di"erent people. Here’s
how a teenager described it to the New York Times: “When it
comes to cancel culture, it’s a way to take away someone’s power
and call out the individual for being problematic in a situation.
I don’t think it’s being sensitive. I think it’s just having a sense
of being observant and aware of what’s going on around you”
(fmchr.ch/cancelc).
Social media users o#en post that celebrities, politicians,
theologians or entire institutions are “canceled” for saying,
doing or promoting something o"ensive. According to CNN (a
target of people tweeting #cancelcnn), this attempt to “cancel”
controversial people is meant “to diminish their signi$cance,
whether it’s a personal boycott or a public shaming” (fmchr.ch/
cnncancel).
Cancel culture seems to have positive and negative aspects. On
the one hand, it can discourage o"ensive or even sinful behavior.
On the other, cancel culture can sti%e discussion and marginalize
people created in God’s image.
!e act of cancellation can also be counterproductive. As
an article on the Merriam-Webster website notes, “!ere is a
performative aspect to canceling, one that (it could be argued)
paradoxically ampli$es that which it seeks to squelch, if only
for the moment. To cancel someone publicly o#en requires
broadcasting that act, which then makes the target of one’s
canceling a subject of attention” (fmchr.ch/mwcancel).”
!is month’s issue focuses on unstoppable grace. I was going to
type that no one’s tweeting #cancelgrace. !en I checked Twitter
and saw people actually are (sorry, legal commentator Nancy
Grace and a $ctional TV character named Grace). !ankfully,
no one can cancel God’s amazing grace “that saved a wretch like
me” in the words of hymn writer John Newton, who transformed
from slave trader to abolitionist.
Twenty years ago, U2 lead singer Bono sang, “Grace, it’s the
name for a girl. It’s also a thought that changed the world.” In
this month’s issue, Brett Heintzman o"ers a better description of
grace as “a holy, powerful force that beckons.”
In a line reportedly inspired by the writings of Philip Yancey
(who is referenced further in this month’s Focal Point article
by Chet Martin), Bono also sings that grace “travels outside of
karma.” Catholic Bishop Robert Barron similarly contrasts grace
(a key concept in Christianity) and karma (a key idea in Hinduism
and Buddhism): “In terms of a karmic religion, wretches deserve
a wretched fate, and it would be unfair for wicked people to be
given a great gi#. But devotees
of a religion of grace exult in this
generosity. !ink in this context
of the parable of the workers hired at
di"erent times of the day or the story of the
Prodigal Son. !ose make sense only in a religion-of-grace
context” (fmchr.ch/barron).
Barron’s brother, John, served as the publisher of the newspaper
company that previously employed me. He showed grace by not
canceling the journalism career of this ink-stained wretch when
a local politician’s supporters bombarded the publisher’s o&ce
with complaints about my editorials. Voters didn’t show as much
grace the following year when they canceled that politician’s
career in a recall election. (Maybe it’s not gracious of me to
mention that.)
I’m thankful I serve a God who is gracious as in Merriam-
Webster’s de$nition of the word as “merciful, compassionate.”
According to the Free Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline
(fmchr.ch/bodorder), “!rough prevenient grace He seeks to bring
every individual to Himself but grants to each the responsibility
of accepting or rejecting that salvation.”
You can read more excerpts from the Book of Discipline in
the debut article of our new Leading Edge section where Bishop
Linda Adams discusses the “fever pitch” of revival. According to
the Mayo Clinic (fmchr.ch/mcfever), fever can play a key role in
helping the human body $ght infections. !e Holy Spirit may use
this fever of revival for combatting infections like dissention and
spiritual lethargy in the body of Christ (the church).
Rather than canceling people whose faith and devotion fade, let
us encourage and pray for revival that leads to God’s sanctifying
and glorifying grace in their lives. We may need to cancel a
person serving in a particular role or ministry because of their
behavior or struggles, but we don’t cancel our commitment “to
respect the worth of all persons as created in the image of God”
(another phrase from the Book of Discipline). Keep reading for
more about God’s prevenient, saving, sanctifying and glorifying
grace.+
Je! Finley is this magazine’s
executive editor. He also serves as
a delegate for John Wesley Free
Methodist Church in Indianapolis.
He joined LIGHT + LIFE in 2011
a"er a dozen years of reporting
and editing for Sun-Times Media.
Sanctificatio!
"r Cancellatio!?
/cancelc
/cnncancel
/mwcancel
/barron
/bodorder
/mcfever
/cnncancel