How Did It Come To This?
How did it come to this?
From where I sit the countdown to the New Year is well on its way. Most of us have a jam packed schedule of Thanksgiving celebrations, Christmas shopping, company or school ‘holiday parties’, Christmas celebrations, and then the perennial dropping of the ball in…(drum roll…….) New York City.
Not all of us formulate New Year’s resolutions, but for many it is a time of reflection and thinking forward about the dreams, goals, and aspirations for the coming year. I want you to do something this year that might be a little different. I want you to look back before you look forward. I want you to join Theodain as the Uruk-Hai march on Helm’s Deep and ask, ‘How did it come to this?’ How is it that the western world and the church developed into what we currently see, experience, read about, and watch on TV? We are surrounded by contrasts in the world today requiring commitment, which in turn beckons knowledge and contemplation. I want to encourage you to read two books in the remainder of this year that I think will be incredibly profitable. Both will be available at the book table and can be read rather quickly. (It took me less than 6 hours to read both of them combined)
How did the Western World come to this?
The first book is entitled Why you think the way you do: The Story of Western Worldviews from Rome to Home. The author makes an extraordinary claim towards the end of the book that is worth repeating:
“All of the greatest achievements of Western Civlization, from the abolition of slavery to the idea of inalienable rights and the dignity and worth of each individual, from the rise of science and technology to the development of universities, from the emergence of economic theories that maximized production and raised the standards of living to representative democracies-all were the products of ideas that have roots in the Bible and a Christian worldview.”(211)
I should think we would all want to know the veracity of this claim as a means to increase our own faith and embolden us to live out this worldview further in our own lives. Dr. Glenn Sunshine (the author) happens to be a friend and former prof. of mine, and I can tell you he backs up the above points well in this volume. I have the privilege of knowing many gifted and intelligent men and woman, but Glenn is far and away the brightest. He is one of those rare people who not only possesses great wisdom and learning but can communicate it clearly and powerfully. In this book Glenn succinctly traces developments in belief and society from Rome through our present day, giving anyone from the novice to the graduate student a strong foundation in history, religion, philosophy, and the effects such changes had on society as a whole.
Glenn will take you past the storied façade of ancient Rome into the pagan religious backdrop, charting the effects this had on society; particularly the low value of human life that allowed sexual perversion, abortion, and a remarkably widespread slave system and the stratified social classes that developed. You will see that power, wealth, and family determined value, status and safety in Roman life, setting the stage for a conflict once the power of Christ was revealed through the church’s witness” “Not only are people created in the image of God, but all people are spiritually equal before God…Jews and Gentiles, men and women, slaves and free, Romans and Barbarians, all are welcome on the church as equals.” (42) You will see how Christ’s witness through the church had a remarkably powerful impact on the transformation of Roman life and culture.
The book intersects with many modern issues we regularly face.
• How often have you heard the idea expressed that to be a Christian you need to leave your brains at the door scientifically? Glenn describes the faith and labors of several scientists, including, Galileo, Copernicus, Johannes Kepler who grounded their work in the belief that God made and maintained the world by His power and various laws, enabling us to study and understand it.
• In our country today there is a raging political debate involving economics and free enterprise as we see the nationalization of various spheres. Does history give us any guide to thinking this through? Surely either position did not originate in a vacuum. Glenn introduces you to Adam Smith, whose Wealth of Nations lays the foundation for much in economics. Smith argues that “the economy functioned best if competition was allowed to run its course and determine winners and losers without constraints set by either governments or guilds.” (141)
• You’ve probably heard someone talk about our culture streaming further away from Christ, but what is the effect on society at the basic level? You’ll see this laid out even in the classic family of the Berenstain bears: “Nature is all that IS, that WAS or EVER WILL BE?” (144)
Glenn’s book is a must read for anyone looking to understand some basics about the history and development of ideas, equipping them to appreciate the power of the gospel lived out in the past, the great danger our society is currently in, and Lord willing, equipping them for thoughtful reflection on what needs to be done now at this time in Salvation history.
How did the church come to this?
A Lover’s Quarrel with the Evangelical Church by Warren Cole Smith is a profitable but challenging read. The author, clearly in love with God’s bride, rightly laments much of modern evangelicalism for its’ wrong values, doctrinal basis, methodology and practice. It is a hard read because at times it touches close to home when he discusses specific people or organizations many Christian appreciate. Instead of letting this bring you to reject him, consider it an opportunity to weigh things afresh and challenge some assumptions that might need to be challenged. I do not agree with all of Smith’s conclusions myself-though many were things I’ve thought myself and had not always articulated.
Broadly speaking, the book looks at the difference between the style and substance of the First and Second Great Awakenings in America and how that has affected church ministry and evangelism in America today. The First Great Awakening put a primacy on the Sovereignty of God to save sinners with the preaching of the Word as the means by which the Lord would do it. In many quarters the Second Great Awakening introduced many new measures in an effort to create an experience whereby people would put their faith in God. This is best expressed in the theology of Charles Finney, the principle preacher in the second Great Awakening: “A Revival of Religion is not a miracle, nor dependant on a miracle in any sense. It is a purely philosophical result of the right use of constituted means…” (139) Smith charts the affect this has had on America at large, particularly in the chapter entitled “Body Count Evangelism” which describes why so many people in America say they are Christian without bearing any fruit. They raised their hand at a rally at some point or made a decision, but the incomplete gospel they were presented with barely addressed sin, repentance, and a changed life, subsequently leading them to think they’re saved when they’ve never been converted in the first place! Smith will force you to evaluate the place of short term missions trips, church planting, megachurches, how Christians should spend their money, and whether we should organize our church so that people are comfortable or we are faithful. What is the place of preaching, drama, music? All of these will be touched on in what is a sorely needed, though indicting book of much of evangelicalism.
Socrates said the unexamined life is not worth living. I couldn’t agree more. Many of us run around hectically just trying to care for those around us and fulfill our responsibilities. Yet we live in a world many of us lament, wondering how it came to this. We all have things we don’t like about in the world and the church and we are the only ones who can really do anything about it. Take this season to gain a historical perspective and wrestle with the great issues that will shape your faith and inform where you take your stand in the years ahead!
For the Sake of the King!!
Pastor Christopher
