When times get tough, people get strange. There are times, rare in history, when a distinct demographic group suddenly is fascinated by God's truth, eager and responsive. This usually happens at times of national catastrophe. However, a more common reaction is to tune in to comforting lies. In the aftermath of the American war of Northern aggression, our people brooded over the smoking ruins of two Christian nations. The losers had lost the war, and suffered punitive military occupation. The winners lost their souls. This was the time when "dispensationalism," a perverted heresy that ran rampant through popular Protestantism, sank its roots into the hearts of this subculture. Paul warned Timothy using graphic language:
2Ti 4:3 Çünkü öyle bir zaman gelecek ki, sağlam öğretiye katlanamayacaklar. Kulaklarını okşayan sözler duymak için çevrelerine kendi arzularına uygun öğretmenler toplayacaklar.
2Ti 4:4 Kulaklarını gerçeğe tıkayıp masallara sapacaklar.
And today's word is:
- okşamak -- to caress, to fondle.
People who see nothing but increasing distress ahead are easy prey for those who seduce, caress, and fondle their ears. Who trot out rationalizations for why things turned out so bad.
And Paul's advice to Timothy was -- expect it, and soldier on.
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