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Your religion is nothing more than man’s failed attempt to turn faith into a science

Dan — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 08:30:53 +0000

“Your religion is nothing more than man’s failed attempt to turn faith into a science.” I actually said these words to a theology professor in 2003 shortly before my complete disillusionment with Christianity. I was tired of being fed dead, theological answers to life’s living, breathing problems and experiences. Don’t get me wrong, theology is immensely valuable to us when it comes to defending against heresy and combating error. When properly understood, it can also be helpful in grappling with the problem of evil. But when theology simply becomes a dead system of concepts and loses touch with people’s hearts and souls, we’re in the danger zone. I’ll call this academic theology for the purposes of the blog post, but keep in mind that I am NOT saying all academic theology is bad. I will simply use this term to refer to theology devoid of any practical application to people’s lives.

I recently came across a great article entitled “The Bible is About God’s Character, Not Concepts.” The article got me thinking about some of my own experiences and thought journeys. Here’s some highlights from the article:

“[The Bible is] not about ideas, it’s about people,” … “Ideas were not made in God’s image, people were.” Christians should not imagine that faith is merely about theological description….

People are tempted to pursue a conceptual understanding even of God because it gives them a sense of control amid a world full of uncertainty. But assurance for Christians does not come by way of their ability to describe unchanging truth…. They are secure in the knowledge of God’s character.

Christian confidence lies in a God who came to mankind in Jesus Christ, who loved, died and resurrected for them….

Making a science out of an attempt to understand God may give people a sense of power. Yet, like science, which it resembles, theology as it is done today cannot give insight into human meaning and ethics….

Philosophy cannot address the deepest needs of humankind. That is because human beings are not just thinkers. In contrast, writers of the Bible had a better understanding of what it means to be human. Human life revolves around the story and history….

[For example,] “How do you get to know somebody?

It is not by asking them about their weight or DNA composition. “You ask questions about their history….” That will offer a glimpse into the underlying person.

… People get to know others by observing them in different situations. Knowing people is about knowing their character, which is revealed through their behavior.

In the same way, “we get to know Jesus because we see Him in a whole range of different situations….”

The Gospels, stories about Jesus relating what He said and did, record His encounters with an adulterous woman and chief tax collector, among others. The “bias” of His disciples who wrote the accounts of His life and ministry is not an issue, contrary to contention in some academic circles. That is because every history is an interpretation….

This is so very true. I don’t believe in Jesus as a theological statement, I believe in Jesus because He was a real man who walked the earth, died for my sins, and rose from the dead, demonstrating His power over sin, death and Satan. I love Him because I have had the opportunity to get to know Him as the Word, where I also learn about Him (John 1:1, 14).

Do you think academic theology at times simply masks our desire to control our destiny? Do you think academic theology can obscure human meaning more than aid in its understanding? What are the positive benchmarks of academic theology? What has academic theology got right, and what can we learn from it?

Anti-intellectualism

Dan — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 20:07:42 +0000

I received two comments in the last few days that have reeked of anti-intellectualism, a dangerous heresy that infiltrated fundamentalist Christianity, Pentecostalism, and now many mainstream evangelical churches. I posted a video recently encouraging Christians to think, and a post about how most Christians cannot explain their faith that precipitated a lot of this. This began as a comment reply, so let me post the original comments:

TMLutas writes:

…The article assumes that living a christian life is insufficient to transmit the faith. Reason is good. It provides another support for faith in the truth. But true faith lived out in real life is a powerful witness, much more so than any apologetics….

Allyn writes:

I am not much of a Josh McDowell fan. But as a former knuckle-dragger, I can tell you that when a non-believer challenges my faith or questions it, I almost always quote scripture. That is the basis of my faith, period. Without it, all is lies.

If the questioner does not believe the Bible is the Word Of God, then we have no basis from which to begin.
However, the more scripture I quote, the more I believe the HS will pierce their heart of unbelief.
1John 5:13 makes a great starting point.

If you over-intellectualize (is that a word?) God, I think you take the HS out of the mix.
AL

For the reader’s benefit, HS means “Holy Spirit.” And my reply, which has become a post:

Hey Allyn. The verse you mentioned, 1 John 5:13, says: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” Notice that it is very clear that “these things” were written for those who ALREADY “believe on the name of the Son of God,” so that they may have assurance of their eternal destiny.

For those who don’t believe that the Scriptures are true, it is important to help them understand why they are true. The evidence is overwhelming, but few Christians take the time to learn any of it. It is true that God will pierce a heart of unbelief using Scripture, for He promises: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

But when someone doesn’t believe that God’s Word is true, we can help them overcome that obstacle. Ultimately, the Holy Spirit creates faith in people’s hearts, but we can help people see why God’s Word is true, which will give them cause to consider what it says. This is especially pertinent in a day and age where so many lies and so much disinformation is being spread about God’s Word. Paul continually combated false teachings and those that taught them, and his letters became a large part of our New Testament. The Church is still called to identify and denounce false teachings, including false teachings regarding the Word of God.

Go to your local bookstore and you will find a slew of books questioning whether Jesus was a real man who walked the earth and whether or not the New Testament is entirely fabricated by Paul or by later mystics. We know that it is lunacy to deny that Christ was a real man who walked the earth, and that anyone with even an ounce of historical know-how cannot deny His historical reality. But most people have no clue how to do research (including many college graduates) and most people will believe whatever they see on YouTube or on the History Channel (like the Zeitgeist film). Very few people will take the time to do any research for themselves.

To insist that basic apologetics is a waste of time and is mere “intellectualism” is merely showing one’s anti-intellectual bias. The emerging church, a prevalent postmodern heretical movement, has largely been able to prove its legitimacy by pointing out mainstream fundamental evangelicalism’s anti-intellectual bias. And so far they’ve succeeded in making many look foolish, which is unfortunate. It’s unfortunate because we have a large body of academic, scholarly research that has been conducted and compiled by Christians like Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel that demonstrate the trustworthiness of the Scriptures and many other things. To ignore this would be foolish.

This anti-intellectualism causes religious people of all faiths to give simplistic answers to serious, honest questions and this attitude has caused many people to leave the church. Josh McDowell recently asked a group of pastors why the Bible is true and a young pastor responded, “Because I believe it!”, to which he received a round of “Amens” and applause. This is ridiculous! A Jehovah’s Witness believes his bible and a Scientologist believes in the writings of L. Ron Hubbard, but that doesn’t make them true. The Bible isn’t true because I believe it, the Bible is true and that’s why I believe it. Using the circular logic of anti-intellectualism only further proves to the world that religious people don’t possess critical thinking skills.

Rick M. Nañez is an Assemblies of God missionary who wrote a book about anti-intellectual trends in the Pentecostal tradition. In an interview with Christianity Today, he says:

In my estimation, the battle against anti-intellectualism is an ongoing global battle. Whether it’s a secular society whose population says that the elite should think for them or a religious community who has fallen for old-fashioned pragmatism; whether it’s evangelicals who are so busy building their material kingdom that they say they don’t have time to study in order to share or defend their faith; or whether its Pentecostals who claim that the heart and head are enemies—it’s all anti-intellectualism.

….Both our nation as well as our nation’s homegrown movements tend to battle with the temptation to pit doing against thinking, and spirit against mind….

Anti-intellectualism keeps us from affecting our institutions and their various departments with solid Christian thinking. It hinders our ability to think in terms of worldview, that is, to understand the hundreds of otherwise fragmented areas of life in a coherent way. If we are suspicious of the intellect, we are hamstrung when it comes to providing well-thought-out answers to difficult questions from critics and skeptics. Anti-intellectualism can also lead to dangerous forms of mysticism and a type of superstitious faith.

I believe that anti-intellectualism tends to lead Christians into relatively superficial spiritual lives, at least, in comparison to the impact they could make if they engaged in “thinking on purpose” for the glory of God. Also, mediocrity in the “life of the mind” leads the Christian subculture to criticize, fear, and condemn the secular institutions that their anti-intellectual, evangelical, and Pentecostal parents and grandparents abandoned the generations before.

The greatest problem with it is this: It flies in the face of Scriptures, which challenge us to prepare our minds for action, to train ourselves to give good reasons for our faith, and to learn to love God with all of our mind.

As Nañez stated, anti-intellectualism is a dangerous attitude that creates a false dichotomy pitting doing against thinking, and spirit against mind, and this goes against what Scripture teaches.

Media Convergence

Dan — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:30:55 +0000

This makes you think…

No related posts.

Looking for a job? Think outside of the box….

Dan — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 08:30:21 +0000

This is ingenious. A reminder to those looking for a job: Think outside of the box.

What if churches bought up interesting search terms like “Christianity sucks” or “Is God real?” On a more practical level, churches should buy up the search term “church (your city).”

Canceling church to do service projects

Dan — Mon, 24 May 2010 08:30:08 +0000

I’ve heard a lot about this lately. A church in St. Louis, MO recently canceled services in order to do community projects. Several people whose opinions I respect have mentioned the prospect of doing this lately, and several others whom I also respect have voiced strong opposition to this. Here’s a short video about this church event:

I guess a lot of this centers around your definition of “church” and “worship.” If Church is something we are, then wherever we go there is Christ’s Body. At the same time, what about those visitors who didn’t get to hear the Gospel that day? I’m not of the mindset that actions alone preach the Gospel, words are essential – specifically the Word of God.

If “worship” is something we do for God, then service projects are an appropriate substitute. But if worship is a place where the Church receives Christ’s gifts and is replenished for service, then what happened at this church in St. Louis is equivalent to sending starving people out to the fields to work.

Here are a few questions I have about this:

What about the visitors? Did they hear the Gospel? (Hearing the message is important, see Romans 10:17).
Did everyone have an opportunity to serve? What about the disabled, those with special needs, elderly, mothers with many children, etc.? Did they attend this event and if so, were they able to contribute in a meaningful way?
Why couldn’t service events be scheduled after the service, or over the weekend? Were people not willing to devote additional time to service projects?
What does this convey about this church’s theology of worship and why we gather?

Those are some questions to consider. I’d love to hear your responses. Please comment with your thoughts here or on Facebook. Do you think this is a good idea? Why or why not?

For a great audio clip discussing this very issue check out this episode of Issues, Etc.

H/T: Cyberbrethren and Issues, Etc.

Socialnomics

Dan — Mon, 17 May 2010 08:30:25 +0000

Social media isn’t just a fad, it’s a shift in how we communicate:

H/T: Cyberbrethren

3,000 in one day? That’s nothing!

Christian Wrestling…

Dan — Thu, 13 May 2010 08:30:55 +0000

I’ve actually attended a church that does this, very interesting. I think it’s good that these guys tie it in to Christ at the end and share the good news about Christ, despite my theological quibbles with the “altar call” methodology.

So long as this is truly being done to the glory of God, I don’t see any problems with it as a Christian event. Others seem to have problems with it. I can see it being a problem if the message of salvation is not shared each time. That is, the message that everyone in the audience is a sinner in need of God’s grace, and then announcing that grace that can only be found in Jesus Christ. If the message is missing, then it isn’t Christian – no matter what it’s called or how many Christians attend or wrestle. The message pointing sinners to Jesus Christ is what makes it Christian – without that it’s just a secular wrestling event. But with the Gospel, I think it’s a great outreach opportunity. What do you think? Do you think a truly Christian wrestling event is a good way of sharing the Gospel?

H/T: Museum of Idolatry

The customer isn’t right

Dan — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 10:00:28 +0000

I was listening to a podcast on Issues Etc. earlier this week and I was struck by a profound thought. The title of the podcast was “The Vocation of Minister.” I’d normally link directly to it but the site appears to be down as I’m writing this, nothing will load.

The guest speaker was talking about how the word minister means “servant,” but most churches today prefer to look to ministers as leaders or CEO’s, and ministers are all too happy to accept this role. The proper role of a minister is that of a servant, and his chief task is to “administer” what God has given, His gifts.

The guest speaker then said this:

“We approach [the vocation of the minister] as a social issue, we look at what the people want. Let’s look at the word ministry. There’s an old saying… ‘The customer is always right.’ The customer knows what he wants and if you’re going to serve the customer, you better give him what he wants or you’re not going to do business with him. That’s precisely wrong when it comes to the church, because the customer is always wrong. And God is always right.

In other words, we must approach the vocation of the minister theologically (not socially). A minister of God must often preach God’s Law and His Gospel to people who don’t want any part of it. Often people don’t realize the depth of their sinfulness (including me), and they must hear God’s Law. Other times the Law has done its work and people have been cut to the heart, then they need to hear the Gospel. The customer (not a good term but I’m using it simply to make a point) is always wrong. He doesn’t want what he really needs. I am so often guilty of this. I often want authenticity, community, and whatever – but what I really need is the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. These other things are secondary to this primary need.

It is too easy to lose sight of Christ as the focal point of our churches when we operate with the assumption that the folks in the pews are right. That’s how we get mega-churches that acquiesce to, rather than transform, culture. Give the people what they want and you will grow numerically, but that’s not how ministry progress ought to be measured.

Loaded with iTunes gift cards, but Christian music sucks

Dan — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:39:05 +0000

I got a bunch of iTunes gifts cards for Christmas, and I have found a couple albums I am currently enjoying, but for the most part, a lot of Christian music sucks. Almost every worship song is playing the same 1-6-5-4 chord progression in the key of E, and most Christian sub-genres look and sound the exact same as their secular counterparts. I thought Christians were to be “in the world, but not of the world.” Is the Christian music industry an exception? Where are the creative artists?

I’ll be reserving my iTunes gift cards until I get some good recommendations. For now, these are some Christian artists I have been enjoying:

Derek Webb
Shane & Shane
Indelible Grace Music
Caedmon’s Call
Scott Phillips

What artists have you been enjoying? Any recommendations for artists that glorify God and don’t try to look and sound like the status quo?

Only Through The Cross of Christ

Dan — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:30:54 +0000

In John 14:6, Jesus says “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” But how often we leave Christ out of the picture. Or we introduce a false Christ who simply wants to better society and love people. We forget that He had to die for us, and that we must also die in order to become a part of His family. All sinners must die, for the wages of sin is death. They can either die eternally, or they can die baptismally. I saw this picture at Veith’s blog and thought it exemplified Jesus’ words in John 14:6 pretty well:

Is this picture accurate? Could it be improved? What thoughts does it elicit?