The New Atheism

A new book was reviewed in the local paper this past weekend. It was an interview with five Protestant ministers who had lost their faith but were still leading their churches. The book was published by a group that is representative of a movement called "The New Atheism," which I understand to be a more assertive and organized effort by atheists to undermine the tenets of faith. The recent book achieves the goal that the authors wanted. It stirs the pot and gets people talking and wondering, "Gee, is my preacher faking it?"

I say, "Big deal." Five ministers who have lost their faith seems like a miniscule sampling compared to the tens of thousands who are out in the fields doing their work with integrity and perseverance. I have no hostility toward the "new atheists," nor am I threatened by them. I grieve for them that they feel compelled to undermine people of faith. I grieve for the five ministers and their congregations who are living a lie. But I celebrate the faithfulness of those churches and their leaders who keep true to their calling in word and deed in spite of the ridicule of culture.

In another century, a man of faith named Friedrich Schleiermacher wrote a book addressed to religion's "cultured despisers," in an attempt to win them over with the "reasonableness" of religion. It reminds me of the apostle Paul's address to the philosophers in Athens in Acts, Chapter 17. Paul met with little success there and you will note there are no letters from Paul to the church in Athens. Some folks, too sophisticated I suppose, are beyond convincing, but it didn't stop Paul from trying.

There was a time when I thought I was too sophisticated for religion. I had read Ayn Rand and a few others whose names, interestingly, I have forgotten, and became convinced by the "reasonableness" of their atheism. Then, some years later I re-read the Gospels and was so compelled by the life of Jesus and the "unreasonableness" of following him that I could not deny the call he made on me. Since then I have discovered scholars who are every bit as sophisticated as the most brilliant of atheists, and yet they see a life of faith as no contradiction to reason.

In any event, the life of Jesus continues to compell me, even beyond reason. There is something irrational about giving one's life for others, but there is a Truth to that way of living that goes beyond my ability to explain it, or to explain it away. I invite you to read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, whose names I have not forgotten, and see for yourself what is so compelling about the person named Jesus.

Psalms are for Psinging

The prayer book of God's people is the book of Psalms, located somewhere close to the middle of the Bible. Psalms are meant to be sung, but singing them meaningfully in modern melody can be a challenge. The meter and rhythm of Hebrew doesn’t always translate into tuneful contemporary songs in English. Still, there are some songs that have been made successfully out of many psalms. There are a number of wonderful hymns or songs based on the 23rd Psalm, for instance, and one of my new favorites is based on Psalm 63.

Someone has said, “the one who sings prays twice.” I don’t know if that rings true for you but it does for me. When the words of prayer and devotion are set to music in some creative or melodic way, my sense of connection to God seems deeper. Such a connection may simply be an emotional response to a tune that grabs me in some way, but then God did come in the flesh to be with us, so I don't discount emotions as an avenue for God to reach us. Some of the scripture I love best is that which I have sung in choirs or with congregations.

This Sunday I am struggling with Psalm 13 (and it is a psalm of struggle), a rather melancholy prayer lamenting God’s absence. Many of the psalms speak of a yearning for God, a longing that is often hard to satisfy. Popular Christian duo, Shane and Shane, have a wonderful interpretation of Psalm 13 which will keep it in my heart for the rest of my life. I recommend it as a resource for your own devotional life.

Another psalm which speaks of our longing for God, and which has been set to lovely melody is Psalm 42, “As a deer longs for the water, so my soul longs after you.” Praying the psalms can be a way of learning how to pray. Singing the psalms deepens prayer. I advise singing the psalms even if you can't carry a tune in a bucket. Give it a shot, and surround yourself with a singing community so they can make up for your lack of melodic confidence. Psalms are meant to be sung.

Church and State - Christ and Culture

Last week as I was preparing for this Sunday's sermon (The Fourth of July!), I was in tortured conversation with some of my preaching colleagues regarding the relationship between church and state. After an hour and a half of conversation, we were still unsettled, perhaps because it is an issue that can't be settled in this life.

I'm not speaking about "the establishment clause" in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. I'm thinking about the broader context, the relationship between Christianity and culture, a concept explored in greater detail, and with deeper insight, by H. Richard Niebuhr in 1951 in his book, Christ and Culture. In this book, Niebuhr described five different ways the church has responded to culture, and elucidates the strengths and weaknesses of each position, without making a value judgment on each one.

I'll try to give a nutshell description of each one, and forgive my oversimplification:

Christ against Culture: This view is one of separatism and can be seen in monastic and sectarian groups such as the Amish. These see the only valid witness of Christian people as one of separation from culture.

Christ of Culture: This view is perhaps the opposite extreme to the more sectarian view - sees the will of Christ in harmony with the highest aspirations of humanity. This view was in great ascendancy during the triumphalism of 19th century Protestantism.

Christ above Culture: This view sees both harmony and disharmony in the relationship between Christ and culture, that the good in culture can be harnessed and ordered in Christ. The Catholic tradition often reflects this view.

Christ and Culture in Paradox: This view sees less harmony and more tension between the desires of Christ and the desires of Culture. There is a rightful role for the culture, but it is distinct from the role of the Christian and the church, and the Christian must never confuse the two. The Lutheran tradition exemplifies this view.

Christ transforming Culture: This view sees culture as sinful but affirms the regenerating effect of the gospel, shaping culture to Christian purposes. The Puritans held such a view, and in more recent history, so did the proponents of the social gospel in the early 20th century.

I can’t say that one view is more “right” than the other view. Each has Biblical support. As a result you will often find respected Christian leaders and thinkers in vocal disagreement on the role of the church in relation to the State. I would argue that, historically, John Wesley would have been a proponent of the “Christ transforming Culture,” position and we Methodists have inherited that tradition.

However, recent voices in Methodism have sounded a more “Christ against Culture,” view, specifically, Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon. I have heard Bishop Willimon diminish the value of exercising the right to vote, for instance, as a Christian witness that we not be caught up in the things of this world. On the other hand, Bishop Peter Storey, who spent his life and ministry in the pre- and post-apartheid climate of South Africa, is a strong advocate for Christians being deeply engaged in the political life of their respective cultures, to bring about justice at any cost.

I have a friend who has been a pastor and seminary professor who also is a mayor. Obviously not Amish.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a voice for pacifism, yet he engaged in a plot to assassinate Hitler, so apparently even individuals can hold two contrary positions at once.

I see churches decorating their lawns with American flags on the Fourth of July (Christ of Culture). And as pleased as I am to be a citizen of the United States, I am not comfortable with that, which means I’m more influenced by some of the other models that Niebuhr described. Still, I humbly admit that I don’t know which view is right. But it helps me understand why we have such differences of opinion within the life of God’s people.

Maybe there are even more variations on the five types that Richard Niebuhr tried to define. I suspect there are. I wonder if we can discern, with any objectivity, the position of Jesus? “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar, and to God the things that are God’s.” That gets us started. I wonder if Jesus had had the right to vote, if he would have? And for whom? Or would he have simply ignored the political process and kept going about his mission of proclaiming good news for the poor, recovery of sight for the blind, setting free the oppressed, and declaring God’s kingdom? Hmmm, can you do all that and ignore the political process?

A modern parable describes a man pulling people out of a flooding river, saving their lives. But then he thinks, “Maybe I should go up the river and see why the river is flooding in the first place?” Saving the individuals, or fixing the cause of the flood, are both valid ways for a Christian to witness to the culture in which we live. Either way has merit. I wonder if we can avoid arguing who is right and each of us live out our calling, as we each discern what that calling is, and let Jesus be our conscience. One thing is sure, we live in the midst of our culture, as Christ did in his. Let me be a witness to the reign of God in the midst of it, as best I can.