Chapter 3 of Ross Douthat's book "Bad Religion" starts the discussion of how we became a country full of various denominations. According to some sources, there are about 38,000 denominations worldwide. Even though that number double counts for churches that exist in many countries, the number of denominations is mind-boggling. We talked a little in our small group about how this diversity is a good thing, because it allows for everyone to find a place that fits their personality. While this is true to some extent, I'm hesitant to fully agree with that statement.
The culture of the day worships personalization. This is not news. But to the degree that the Church copies culture, this can begin to become a problem. Church becomes not so much a place of community where you are challenged and can grow, but rather a place where everyone else is similar to me, allowing us all to dwell in our collective blind spot(s).
The call of Christianity is convergence on Christ. So the measure of our success, I would say, is how much our churches converging on this goal? See John 17. So if unity is how others see through us Christ, then this needs some serious effort. This is not a call to squash out our uniqueness, of course, but rather one of allowing ourselves to be challenged so that we can be transformed.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Bad Religion - Ch 1&2
Chapter 1 covers the early to mid 1900s, describing how we came to what Douthat calls the golden age of Christianity. He discusses the impact of Reinhold Niebehr, Billy Graham, Martin Luther King Jr., and Fulton Sheen on the resurgence of Christianity in that time. Interestingly, all mainline branches of Christianity seemed to have influential leaders that were well respected in and outside of their respective communities. The confluence of having such leaders all at the same time is very interesting. Perhaps it was only because of the general popularity of the faith, but it is hard to say for sure. In general it was a time where Churches were growing, seminaries were full, and culture at large had a positive view of Christianity.
Chapter 2 talks about what Douthat calls "the locust years". Five factors that swayed the culture away from Christianity: political polarization, the sexual revolution, globalization, growth of wealth, and class. Politics became more polarized as the issues being debated were less about a common enemy (nazis, racism). Instead religion found itself aligning on one or the other side of the fence in gray areas, causing divisions. The sexual revolution came about largely with the advent of the birth control pill, which provided a cheap, convenient way to separate the pleasures of sex from the consequences for the general populous. This caused many to choose between the ethic of the church or the sexual freedom of autonomy. Globalization showed that there were many other cultures that adhered to many other religions. The growth of personal wealth meant that people were able to live comfortably and further away from each other, so they no longer had to rely on others or the church to provide for them in any way. The intellectual elites began to reject Christianity on an academic level, which trickled down to culture at large.
Chapter 2 talks about what Douthat calls "the locust years". Five factors that swayed the culture away from Christianity: political polarization, the sexual revolution, globalization, growth of wealth, and class. Politics became more polarized as the issues being debated were less about a common enemy (nazis, racism). Instead religion found itself aligning on one or the other side of the fence in gray areas, causing divisions. The sexual revolution came about largely with the advent of the birth control pill, which provided a cheap, convenient way to separate the pleasures of sex from the consequences for the general populous. This caused many to choose between the ethic of the church or the sexual freedom of autonomy. Globalization showed that there were many other cultures that adhered to many other religions. The growth of personal wealth meant that people were able to live comfortably and further away from each other, so they no longer had to rely on others or the church to provide for them in any way. The intellectual elites began to reject Christianity on an academic level, which trickled down to culture at large.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Law
This quote came from a post about cycling, but it got me thinking:
"At least once, and usually more, when I ride the road (US-40 a rural Kansas Highway), some <driver> will pass me, crossing into the opposite lane going up a hill. Inevitably, a car will be coming from the other direction and have to swerve, brake or something. It never ceases to amaze me that the guy in the other lane nearly always honks or flips me off when he comes by.
I just don’t get it. The car that was passing me is nearly always crossing a double yellow line on a blind hill and the other car blames the cyclist. What’s up with that?
It is even worse when I’m riding with someone else. The drivers of the cars think, mistakenly, that we’re breaking the law by riding two abreast. Somehow that mentality gives these people the need to try to enforce their mistaken thoughts by honking or coming by dangerously close, usually passing illegally themselves. It is super weird, like the law should even matter enough to endanger someones life."
I can resonate with this on a couple of levels. Obviously, as a cyclist, I experience the bad side of this mentality. However, I can also relate to this on a more philosophical level. A truth that was exposed be Jesus to the religious leaders of his time is that the church also has the tendency of doing this to our own detriment. We talked a bit last night in our small group that the church has always had these blind spots, where we are threatening people in order to keep "the law". I'm not sure what the best way is to deal with these things, but I know that we are called to keep learning from people different than us, keep looking to Christ as our guide, and being willing to have our worldviews continually be moved, as unsettling as that can be.
"At least once, and usually more, when I ride the road (US-40 a rural Kansas Highway), some <driver> will pass me, crossing into the opposite lane going up a hill. Inevitably, a car will be coming from the other direction and have to swerve, brake or something. It never ceases to amaze me that the guy in the other lane nearly always honks or flips me off when he comes by.
I just don’t get it. The car that was passing me is nearly always crossing a double yellow line on a blind hill and the other car blames the cyclist. What’s up with that?
It is even worse when I’m riding with someone else. The drivers of the cars think, mistakenly, that we’re breaking the law by riding two abreast. Somehow that mentality gives these people the need to try to enforce their mistaken thoughts by honking or coming by dangerously close, usually passing illegally themselves. It is super weird, like the law should even matter enough to endanger someones life."
I can resonate with this on a couple of levels. Obviously, as a cyclist, I experience the bad side of this mentality. However, I can also relate to this on a more philosophical level. A truth that was exposed be Jesus to the religious leaders of his time is that the church also has the tendency of doing this to our own detriment. We talked a bit last night in our small group that the church has always had these blind spots, where we are threatening people in order to keep "the law". I'm not sure what the best way is to deal with these things, but I know that we are called to keep learning from people different than us, keep looking to Christ as our guide, and being willing to have our worldviews continually be moved, as unsettling as that can be.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Bad Religion - Prologue
Just started the book Bad Religion by Ross Douthat in our small group last week, covering the prologue.The book focuses on Christianity in the US today and how it got to its current state. Douthat's thesis statement is that the interplay of orthodoxy and heresy has been essential to the formation of Christianity, but recently, the heresy has been dominant.
He discusses the value of having a both/and stance, showing the paradoxical causes us to wrestle deeply with issues. The black and whiteness of orthodoxy being challenged by heresy keeps us moving forward in a flexible way, allowing what is considered orthodoxy to shift and fit into cultures.
Our group discussed how this movement bred our many denominations allowing people to find churches that mesh with their personalities and tastes. We also discussed how today's Church goers may be more devout, as a whole. than those past generations, due to the inherent cultural differences between today and our grandparents generations. In the early to mid 1900s, church was an accepted social activity, what most people did simply because that is what everyone else did. Today this is no longer the case. And while there now seem to be so many variates of churches that anyone can find a place that suits them best, the tradeoff of the multi-denomination/many-church model is that in some ways we have lost a bit (or more) of the generational hierarchy that used to exist within the church, where the older generations of Christians are able to mentor and pass along wisdom to the younger generations.
In all, the discussion was interesting and lively. Looking forward for the material to come.
He discusses the value of having a both/and stance, showing the paradoxical causes us to wrestle deeply with issues. The black and whiteness of orthodoxy being challenged by heresy keeps us moving forward in a flexible way, allowing what is considered orthodoxy to shift and fit into cultures.
Our group discussed how this movement bred our many denominations allowing people to find churches that mesh with their personalities and tastes. We also discussed how today's Church goers may be more devout, as a whole. than those past generations, due to the inherent cultural differences between today and our grandparents generations. In the early to mid 1900s, church was an accepted social activity, what most people did simply because that is what everyone else did. Today this is no longer the case. And while there now seem to be so many variates of churches that anyone can find a place that suits them best, the tradeoff of the multi-denomination/many-church model is that in some ways we have lost a bit (or more) of the generational hierarchy that used to exist within the church, where the older generations of Christians are able to mentor and pass along wisdom to the younger generations.
In all, the discussion was interesting and lively. Looking forward for the material to come.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Quote(s) of the day 6/1
From the blog of Pastor Larry Shallenberger:
"Jesus is in the business of this reclaiming us and restoring us into beautiful versions of ourselves. Ortberg uses the analogy of a mechanic restoring an old motorcycle, believing that the old rusted bike has its best years ahead of it:
We religious people, meanwhile, tend to handle each other like airport luggage handlers. This leads to the false belief that its better to lower our heads and fit in."
"Jesus is in the business of this reclaiming us and restoring us into beautiful versions of ourselves. Ortberg uses the analogy of a mechanic restoring an old motorcycle, believing that the old rusted bike has its best years ahead of it:
My friend, Jeff, started a blog where he writes about buying and restoring old motorcycles. I’ve never seen Jeff as animated as when thumbs through his iPhone and finds pictures of the last old bike he rescued from rust and neglect. His idea of a good afternoon is to drive to an old barn in some forgotten part of Ohio and to sift through mountains of defunct bikes. He’ll find a handful of motorcycles with promise and negotiate with the owner until man is willing to part with his treasures. Jeff, then, spends months nursing the old bikes to their former glory, pouring time, money, and parts into his projects. Once he’s finished, Jeff photographs his prizes, and sells them. Then its back to the junk heap to do it again, simply out of his love for motorcycles.
This is, I think, why God is so committed to our change. It’s easy for us to get frustrated with God tinkering at our lives all the time. Didn’t Jesus or George Beverly Shea sing the words “Just As I Am” at a Billy Graham Crusade? If he loves us so much, why he is discontent with our current condition?
We tend to get insecure and imagine that God is critical and angry at us. Or that his love is somehow conditional, based on our ability to jump through a series of rings aflame with holy fire. The truth is that God is a bit like Jeff, or vice-versa. He loves us and recalls what we looked like before corruption and decay pocked the sheen on our lives. He is committed to changing us because he know who we really are.
We religious people, meanwhile, tend to handle each other like airport luggage handlers. This leads to the false belief that its better to lower our heads and fit in."
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