God & the World

McLaren said something in the most recent video interview that I posted last week, which stuck with me and has had me ruminating ever since. As he talked about the catalyst for writing his current book, Everything Must Change, he struck a chord that resonated with something deep in my spirit. The impetus for this particular book began many years ago as he was speaking at a youth gathering. He asked the youth to write down a list of the major crises facing our world - today we might list: ecological instability, economic brokenness, discrimination, war & violence, etc. In reviewing their lists, he came to the realization that the "church" as a whole, and especially our evangelical brand, was by and large silent on the major crises that the global community was facing. Beyond that, it seemed that in many of these cases we were contributing more to the problem than to the solution.

Now, this is not necessarily the intention of our modern Christian community, and it's not to discount the various churches and Christian organizations that are speaking and acting redemptively in our world. As with any generalization there are going to be exceptions. However, the overarching picture seems to indicate that the Christian community is disconnected from the realities of this broken world and is ultimately either irrelevant, or worse, significantly contributing to these crises.

If this isn't an accurate portrayal of our current situation - it seems to me that it at least captures the perspective of a large segment of our global population. I happen to believe that there is much truth in this perception. Regardless of how we respond to that proposition, we must reckon with the reality that we have lost our voice. Some react by shouting louder and louder, thinking that it is a volume issue. Yet, increased volume only widens the chasm. We need to do some serious introspection, and it seems to me that McLaren and others are attempting to help us in this respect.

I'm not exactly sure how we got here. Given that my reflections tend toward theological engagement, it is probably not surprising that I have been thinking about some of the underlying theological assumptions that have moved us in this direction. I'm confident that we can't be reductionist in our thinking and pinpoint a specific source. At the same time, I do think that exposing some of our inadequate theological assumption might begin to illumine a better path for us. In doing so, we may just find our voice again. These are some of my beginning thoughts, in that respect, that need further dialogue and development.

St. Athanasius wrote a powerful treatise On the Incarnation of the Word early in the fourth century. We need to go back and read him again and again because part of the underlying problem for our disengagement from the world and our irrelevance is the result of an underdeveloped reflection on the incarnation, especially as it relates to our atonement in Christ. If we are to engage the world through the depths of our Christian faith, we will need to rediscover a full orbed participation in the incarnation.

We have been inhibited in this engagement partly as a result of our dualistic cast of mind. Athanasius is able to creatively explore the incarnation of the Word because he was deeply shaped by a biblical and Hebraic way of thinking that doesn't operate from a dualistic paradigm. Aspects of "post-modernity" - specifically post-critical philosophy and Einsteinian cosmology - are encouraging developments in this area.

Our eschatological vision also shapes our engagement in the world. We tend to have a skewed and unbiblical eschatology - one that is influenced more by Greek dualistic philosophical categories than the revelation of God in the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Until we return to a christocentric eschatology that is pneumatologically oriented, we'll continue to run into the same problems.

All of this reflection came to a culmination as I read this excerpt today:

To believe in God is to believe in the salvation of the world. The paradox of our time is that those who believe in God do not believe in the salvation of the world, and those who believe in the future of the world do not believe in God.

Christians believe in "the end of the world," they expect the final catastrophe, the punishment of others.

Atheists in their turn invent doctrines of salvation, try to give a meaning to life, work, the future of humankind, and refuse to believe in God because Christians believe in Him and take no interest in the world.

All ignore the true God: He who has so loved the world! But which is more culpable ignorance?

To love God is to love the world. To love God passionately is to love the world passionately. To hope in God is to hope for the salvation of the world.

I often say to myself that, in our religion, God must feel very much alone: for is there anyone besides God who believes in the salvation of the world? God seeks among us sons and daughters who resemble Him enough, who love the world enough that He could send them into the world to save it.

~ From In the Christian Spirit by Louis Evely

We have not gone deep enough! May the Lord draw us deeper in to the life of Triune Love that we might participate in His redemptive mission. Any thoughts? Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS