From a Prominent Christian: Losses (or Gains) are not Manageable



Russell Moore was high in the Southern Christian organization before getting in some fights and leaving. Now, he is editor of Christianity Today. He wrote recently about a favorite topic of the Christian right, "revival."

A Christian revival he said will not happen as so many Christian pundits predict or long for. It will happen, Moore writes, when there are believers who show up in church. Whether they show up, or do not show up, is not up to the church. He makes light of "a marketing strategy." Believers seem to just show up in Moore's world and are not the product of preachers or "the message."

I think Moore's understanding has more intelligence than that of most Christian pundits. For example, how can we explain why the majority of young adults do not believe and simple leave the faith they were born into? There is no "marketing plan" by nonbelievers to force or attract these young people away. They just don't see anything there for themselves and walk out. What I think Moore is saying that if there is a "revival", it will be people walking into churches because they see something there for themselves. The theme of the link is that all of this is not controllable nor manageable.

Moore might scoff at the observation he is talking like a behavioral scientist, especially a sociologist. Yet, what he is describing is cultural change. He is saying changes in the public's notion of what makes sense is something that occurs by itself and neither preachers nor politicians nor angry protestors can influence. The culture creates religious beliefs and it destroys them. Church attendance and polling tell us Christianity is following the same path downward all other religions and gods have traveled during the 300,000 years of human beings. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ancient God, Bel (Baal), the Main Character in an Ancient Play

Image
In a British museum is a preserved stone tablet from Babylon. It dates to about 2,000 BCE. Someone labored patiently to inscribe an entire passion play featuring the god Bel. I reiterate this is a stone tablet, not a recopied papyrus. The play begins with the god Bel arrested by soldiers and taken off the stage. He reappears at a trial in the Hall of Judgement. Bel is innocent but is sentenced to death. In the next scene Bel is accosted by a mob. He is despised and rejected. The actor playing Bel is then taken by guard to a hilltop in a sacred grove. Two criminals are taken with him. One of these is released. The the audience then leaves the theater and follows the actor Bel and his guards to the top of a hill where the death scene is enacted by hanging from a tree. The audience returns to the theater for the dramatic final scenes. The dead Bel is stripped and prepared for burial. On a theatrical hill to the side of the stage is a tomb where the body is placed. A stone is rolle...
Read more

What Was the "Argument" in the Election

Image
I hate to add my blog to the piles of blogs and pundits analyzing and pondering the meaning of the just passed election. But that's what I feel like doing today. I've always like Senator Ted Cruz's summary of politics. He once said, "First, win the argument. Then, win the election." I think there is a way of applying that to anti abortion Catholics and Protestants. The link talks of Catholics who now feel they have no political home because Republicans let them down with Trump but they remain against abortion rights. Taking Cruz's win-the-argument thesis, I'd call the past election about an argument between two groups. One group's argument was, "Trump's a jerk." The other's argument was, "Abortion is wrong." The group, "Trump's a jerk," won the argument and then the election.  While one can argue the election, or any election, it about more complex issues, I believe in the end elections hinge on very simple ar...
Read more

Time to Forget the Christian Nation Thing

Image
While women are forbidden from being priests/preachers in some branches of Christianity thank goodness they are not forbidden from writing and lecturing about Christianity. A great article about the "Christian nation" notion shows us the U.S. is not a Christian nation and hopefully never will be. It is written by a woman with nerve and was published on a very Christian site, Christian Post.  Among the pilgrims were a few that wanted to establish a utopian Christian society. Some of their brethren stayed behind in Europe hoping the push aside worldly forces there and bring sinners to God. Today, whether it is the anti abortion, anti gay/trans, anti immigration or the put prayer back in schools branch there are those who want a version of what some pilgrims wanted, a utopian Christian society. The pilgrims were disappointed. Today's Christian utopians will be also. Here is why. The children of pilgrims did not believe the same things as their parents. Parents were roundly d...
Read more