Friday, April 25, 2008

American Spirituality

At the very core of Christianity is the belief that God has revealed Himself through the pages of the Bible, or as Francis Schaeffer wrote, “He is there and He is not silent.” Christianity stands or falls on the historical accuracy and truthfulness of Scripture. Faith in the historical events of Christ’s death on the cross and the resurrection brings salvation by God’s grace to sinners. The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:17, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” Thankfully, God has revealed himself through the person of Jesus Christ and in the pages of Scripture; otherwise humanity would not have known its own creator. God uses external means, such as historical events, the incarnation, the written word, preaching, the church, the supper, and baptism, to reveal Himself and to nurture faith in Him. Christianity is spiritual, but it is a spirituality that can never be divorced from the external and physical. One does not become a Christian by first looking within one’s own soul; one begins outside of one’s self with the truth of God’s objective revelation.

However, there has been a trend in the last several hundred years in America to move away from the external Word of God and look for spiritual truth inside the self. This trend is a result of the influence of German Pietism, Christian Liberalism, Christian Existentialism, and American Revivalism, along with the ever-present Gnostic tendencies. The result has been a uniquely American approach to religion and spirituality. This approach is a search for a direct inward spiritual experience through feelings and emotions. The danger of this inward subjectivity is that it marginalizes the external elements of the Christian faith, such as the Word, the church, preaching, the Lord’s Supper, and baptism. Michael Horton sarcastically writes, “Ultimately, it’s what I do alone with God that matters, not what God does for me together with his covenant people through public, earthly, material means that he has appointed.” If one’s feelings are the ultimate authority it will lead one far away from the doctrines revealed by God in Scripture. Commenting on American spirituality, an article in “Entertainment Weekly” states, “[S]eekers of the day are apt to peel away the tough theological stuff and pluck out the most dulcet elements of faith, coming up with a soothing sampler of Judeo-Christian imagery, Eastern meditation, self-help lingo, a vaguely conservative craving for ‘virtue,’ and a loopy New Age pursuit of ‘peace.’ This happy free-for-all, appealing to Baptists and stargazers alike, comes off more like Forest Gump’s ubiquitous ‘boxa chocolates’ than like any real system of belief. You never know what you’re going to get.”

This is precisely what happens when one moves away from the objective Word of God and becomes one’s own spiritual authority.

Next week we’ll examine how this spiritual trend in America has led us to “the church of Oprah.”

a pdf version of this entry is available here

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posted on  Friday, April 25, 2008    |  0 comments

Friday, April 18, 2008

The First Amendment

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;…”—The First Amendment to the Constitution.

When the First Amendment was adopted, the United States became one of the most unique nations in world history. But few people realize just how close we came to not having religious freedom. After the Revolutionary War, 9 of the 13 colonies still had state sponsored churches, and many people suffered religious persecution. Baptists were typically among those at the wrong end of a whip; perhaps this is what motivated the Baptists to champion the cause of religious liberty.

Before the Revolutionary war, Baptist pastor Isaac Backus documented many examples of religious persecutions. He formed the “Grievance Committee” in 1769, and wrote “Government and Liberty” in 1778. In Virginia, the General Assessment Bill, supported by Patrick Henry and George Washington, would have created a tax to support religious ministries, with the Anglicans as the intended beneficiaries. However, in 1784 the Virginia Baptist General Committee lobbied against the Bill. Baptist pastor John Leland lobbied and ultimately won the support and friendship of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Soon Madison drafted a petition entitled “Memorial and Remonstrance,” and in 1785 Jefferson introduced what he called one of his greatest achievements, “An Act for Establishing Religious Freedom.”

When a draft of the proposed United States Constitution was circulating, John Leland protested that there needed to be more explicit guarantees for the freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. Madison agreed and helped to insure these freedoms with the passing of the First Amendment.

Today, the First Amendment is as vital as ever to our nation. Other countries have adopted similar laws guaranteeing religious freedom, and even the United Nations, at least on paper, recognizes religious liberty as a basic human right. To the American citizen, the First Amendment guarantees the right of the individual to attend the church of one’s own choosing, or to stay at home and mow the lawn.

There is, however, a downside to the First Amendment. In his book, “Shopping for God,” James Twitchell suggests that the freedom created by the First Amendment has created a free-for-all in religion. This has left each group with the task of capturing a piece of the religious market. Today religion is marketed on television, billboards, and magazines like any other commodity. When religion is turned into a commodity, the consumer is king, leaving churches scrambling to build the nicest buildings, develop the best programs, create the most exciting worship, and incorporate the latest technologies in order to capture market shares (i.e., members). This competition leaves many churches vulnerable to the church down the street that does it bigger and better. Unfortunately, all of this marketing cheapens the Gospel of Jesus Christ by placing it on the same level as soap and exercise equipment within the broader culture. Lost in all of the marketing techniques is the pure Gospel, which the Apostle Paul calls “the power of God unto salvation.” (Rom. 1:16)

a pdf version of this entry is available here

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posted on  Friday, April 18, 2008    |  1 comments