During my years at Pacific Lutheran University, there was a church located just off I-5 at the 38th Street exit. Towering above the church was a large sign, illuminated at night with vintage neon, and declaring JESUS IS THE ANSWER! Some of my college classmates and I used to entertain ourselves in speculating just what the question was. A little creativity, some cynicism, mixed with a dose of impious humor resulted in quite a few possible questions.
On a more serious note, as I contemplate the challenge before the Church in the 21st Century, I am more and more convinced that prior to our being able to declare that "Jesus is the Answer" we have to begin by listening to the world in which we live and discern just what the questions are that lurk deep within the human heart. The proclamation of the Gospel cannot be dependent upon our first convincing the world that their questions, the questions of this generation, are NOT the appropriate questions to be asked. No, people should be asking yesterday's questions. Why???? Because we have had ample time to formulate answers, confessional statements, and doctrines gallor centering around the questions of a bygone era. We are not so sure that we have the answers to today's questions, so please, world, don't ask them!
One example of this that got me thinking was stimulated by an observation that my former Brother-in-Law Mark made. Mark is a Japanese American who grew up in Hawaii, and whose familial background included both a smattering of Christian and Budhist inclinations. Mark related how he had been sent to Sunday School as part of his upbringing, and had seriously considered adopting Christianity as his faith. However, there was one thing he could not get over. "Before they would let me become a Christian, they insisted that I needed to be a sinner. That didn't make sense." And so Mark declined the offer. That for me is a prime example of how we continue to insist that the questions of a bygone era are the only relevant questions for today. "Jesus is the Answer!" The question is "Who will save us from our sinful nature and the consequence of our sins?" Oh, wait. That is not the first question that comes to mind for the typical person on the street today. That is a question that we have to learn to ask. That is a question we are taught. And so if you are a fully indoctrinated Christian, maybe that question makes sense. But if you aren't, it is not likely the question that will motivate your quest for faith and meaning in this life.
I recently preached a sermon in which I shared that I did not believe that every human being deserved eternal damnation and torturous punishment, nor did I believe that God created the vast majority of humanity simply to condemn all but a select few to hell. These are theological convictions rooted in the Middle Ages and which have shaped our religious consciousness ever since. But again, for those outside of the Church the questions that are raging within their souls do not, in my experience, center around the wrath of God, hell, and escaping from the punishment that we truly deserve. And to suggest that an innocent man could die in the place of the guilty, and so fullfill all of the demands of perfect and divine justice, simply no longer rings true. We are seeking to answer questions that are not being asked. That is a definition of irrelevance. And yet I never cease to be amazed at how we cling to these old answers, and insist that the old questions are the 'real' questions. We have studied. We've learned the questions and the answers. We are not prepared to venture into the whole arena of contemporary relevance because our well rehearsed answers to preprogrammed questions just don't work in the real world.
Perhaps the reason why the Church has ceased to be relevant for the majority of people in the Western World has to do with the fact that those outside of the Church have understood long before those of us inside the Church, that the questions have changed. And the answers we've been giving are not speaking to the heart of the matter.
What are the questions that drive the worldwide dialogue today? What is the drama at the center of a contemporary world view? What are the polarities that drive the dynamic struggles of today? These are the questions that I will be exploring on this blog. Welcome to the Journey.
5 comments:
I will be with you on the journey. Too many of my friends/acquaintances no longer even ask questions concerning faith in God. Some in my family, too. I’m interested in your views on the matter, and I look forward to reading more.
I too would like to join you on the journey.
I would suggest that a question, if not THE question, for people today is, "What does it really mean to be human?"
To Sharon,
One of the questions on my mind is just what are our friends/aquaintances asking, if faith questions are 'off the table'?
And to Eugene, absolutely. What does it really mean to be human? How many ways do we try to answer that question today? My own journey, joys and sorrows, have begun to focus on the whole concept of intimacy as the defining characteristic of our humanity and the pursuit of true intimacy as our Spiritual quest.
Faith in God seems to be irrelevant to many, so they do not question what it means to believe in God, or why it’s important. To them it’s not. Politics and governments are important to them. I am thinking of a handful of people close to me when I answer this way. I hope that there is a seed of faith somewhere inside them that has the possibility of growth, but I don’t know how to nurture it if the door is never opened by questioning, etc. Perhaps it is not for me to nurture? Perhaps I am too idealistic and/or simplistic in my own interpretations of faith and belief in GOd?
Sharon,
One of the threads running through my thoughts is that we have spent so much time answering questions that nobody is asking that we have become irrelevant to many. One of my convictions is that we need to be able to respond to today's questions with integrity, if we are to become relevant in these conversations, whether that be with friends, family, or the larger community and national dialogue. What I continue to struggle with is that much of our theology is rooted deeply in yesterday's questions. I do very much like Eugene's comment above that one of our major questions today is "what does it mean to be truly human". One might also ask that question not only individualistically, but as a society. Politics and government are more important in the public discourse today, precisely because many see them engaged in contemporary issues of great importance. Until the church is seen in the same light we will probably remain irrelevant to the masses.
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