Saturday, April 29, 2017

A Wesleyan Alternative to an Irrelevant Church

  By Rudy Barnes, Jr.

The mission of the Christian church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ.  That evangelical mission should be distinguished from converting people to the Christian religion.  Discipleship is about following the teachings of Jesus, while orthodox Christianity emphasizes belief in mystical and exclusivist church doctrines and creeds that were not taught by Jesus. 

The church in its myriad manifestations claims over 70% of Americans, but it has failed in its mission to promote discipleship.  That became evident in 2016 when Christians elected Donald Trump as president.  He is a man who represents the antithesis of Christian morality.     

The church has put its popularity as a social institution ahead of discipleship.  That misplaced priority has undermined the credibility of the church and led to its decline.  Jesus taught that the way to God’s kingdom was narrow and that few would find it (Matthew 7:13,14).  But in its zeal to gain converts the church subordinated the relevant teachings of Jesus to mystical and exclusivist church beliefs that were more congenial to a popular religion.  It was a costly mistake. 

But all is not lost.  There is a Wesleyan alternative for today’s irrelevant church.  John Wesley (1703-1791) was a progressive Anglican priest who encouraged his Methodists to “think and let think” and to interpret scripture based on tradition, experience and reason.  He formed his followers into small groups called classes that met weekly to explore the meaning of discipleship and practice it.  In so doing, his Methodists put heart into a stiff and formal Anglican Church.  

Times have changed in the last 300 years, but some things remain the same.  Wesley’s Anglican Church was a part of an English monarchy dominated by wealthy aristocrats who exploited the poor.  The Constitution separates the U.S. government from the church, but the church has been complicit in giving Donald Trump and his Wall Street aristocracy political powers that have exploited the middle class and contributed to the demise of democracy.

Ironically, Wesley was skeptical of democracy.  He and Edmund Burke warned Americans that in a democracy they would “forge their own shackles.”  Given the evolution of American democracy, they may well have been right.  The vast majority of voters claim to be Christians, but most promote politics that contradict the teachings of Jesus.  To prevent the further demise of democracy in America, Christians must apply discipleship to their politics. 

The United Methodist Church (UMC) is Wesley’s progeny.  It is racially united in its structure, but has segregated congregations.  While black UM churches address political issues from the pulpit, white UM churches avoid mixing religion and politics.  Partisan politics are defined by race, with black Methodists supporting Democrats while most white Methodists support Republicans.  Like other protestant denominations in America, the UMC is in decline.

The decline of mainline Protestant churches is due to their moral irrelevance.  They have failed to apply discipleship to social and political issues and instead emphasized exclusivist church doctrines that do more to divide religions than to reconcile them.  The result has been an increasing number of “nones” who are leaving the church, or never joining it.

America needs a revival—perhaps even a revolution—in its religion and politics.  The UMC has been as unwilling as the Anglican church of Wesley’s day to address contentious political issues.  For the church to be relevant in today’s democracy it must promote the moral teachings of Jesus as a standard of political legitimacy for people of all races and religions.

The greatest commandment to love God and neighbor was at the heart of Wesley’s Methodist movement, and it is also a common word of faith of Jews, Christians and Muslims today.  It emphasizes discipleship in promoting a politics of reconciliation; and since the church has failed to promote that mission of faith and politics, a Wesleyan alternative is needed.

The concept of a house church is a modern adaptation of Wesley’s class.  It doesn’t need church facilities or a full-time pastor, and it could revolutionize the nature of the church and its clergy.  If traditional churches that employ full-time pastors continue to decline, those in the clergy will likely have to charge a fee for their services, much like lawyers and doctors.

The decline of the church in Europe and America will likely continue, but people of faith can find alternatives in small groups that are relevant to their needs of faith and politics.  The house church is older than Christianity itself, when people of the way met in their homes on their journey of faith.  It is an ancient prototype of the church that can restore its relevance.


Notes and commentary on related topics:


On Americans becoming less religious, see 


Ross Douthat has urged progressive believers to “ignore the minor problem of actual belief” and go back to church to save the mainline denominations. See https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/15/opinion/sunday/save-the-mainline.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0.

Jonathan Malesic has questioned Douthat’s advice and emphasized the importance of belief.  See http://religiondispatches.org/douthats-wager-go-to-church-even-if-you-dont-believe/.



Bishop John Hopkins cited three diverse commentators--Roger Starr, George Will, and Fred Barnes--who agreed that John Wesley’s Revival had saved 18th century England from civil chaos, and that such a spiritual revival is needed in the U.S. today. (Hopkins comments at a Connectional Table meeting at Fort Worth, TX, on Oct 23, 2006)

On the relevance of Wesley’s principles to modern religion, legitimacy and politics, see Lovett H. Weems, Jr., John Wesley’s Message Today (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1982). On think and let think (p. 8), on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (pp. 11-13), on classes (pp. 48-52), and on social holiness, or faith and politics (pp. 62-72).

On the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (the interpretation of scripture based on tradition, experience and reason), see Our Theological Task in The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church , pages 78-91, at https://www.cokesbury.com/forms/DynamicContent.aspx?id=87&pageid=920.

On various forms of gatherings for progressive Christians that go beyond traditional church services, see https://progressivechristianity.org/resources/gatherings-a-manifesto/.

On the concept of the house church, see Philip and Phoebe Anderson, The House Church (Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1975).      

On the greatest commandment as a common word of faith, see    http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/01/the-greatest-commandment-common-word-of.html.



On religion, race and the deterioration of democracy in America, see      http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/03/religion-race-and-deterioration-of.html.

On religion, democracy, diversity and demagoguery, see    http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/03/religion-democracy-diversity-and.html.

On irreconcilable differences and the demise of democracy, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/irreconcilable-differences-and-demise.html.

On discipleship in democracy as a test of faith, legitimacy and politics, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/12/discipleship-in-democracy-test-of-faith.html.




On the relevance of Jesus and the irrelevance of the church in today’s world, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/04/the-relevance-of-jesus-and-irrelevance.html.
 

Saturday, April 22, 2017

The Relevance of Jesus and the Irrelevance of the Church in Today's World

  By Rudy Barnes, Jr.

The relevance of Jesus and the irrelevance of the church are not new topics.  In 1804 Thomas Jefferson asserted that the moral teachings of Jesus were “the sublimest morality ever taught.” (see Notes below)  Since then the church has remained the dominant social institution in America, but it is now in decline.  That’s because church doctrines have subordinated the moral teachings of Jesus to exclusivist mystical beliefs, and belief in an inerrant and infallible Bible.

Restoring the relevance of Jesus and the church in a “post-Christian” and “post-truth” world of increasing religious diversity will require reversing church priorities.  The church must counter the trend toward fundamentalism in evangelical Christianity by restoring the moral teachings of Jesus to prominence.  It must also eliminate Christian exclusivity and accept advances in knowledge and reason in the interpretation of scriptural authority that defines truth.     

Jesus was a Jewish rabbi who emphasized a coming kingdom of God.   It was a spiritual, not a worldly, kingdom, and one based on the creative and transforming power of God’s love and mercy.  Jesus called his disciples to follow him and help God’s kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  His teachings are in the four Gospel accounts, but are not a verbatim account; they should be interpreted based on tradition, experience and reason. 

The passage that best summarizes the teachings of Jesus is the greatest commandment to love God and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves—including those neighbors of other races and religions.  The love of God and neighbor is considered a common word of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.  It is not only relevant but essential to promote a politics of reconciliation in our polarized and dysfunctional democracy.

The exclusivist beliefs of Christian fundamentalists oppose a politics of reconciliation.  They subordinate following the teachings of Jesus to belief in ancient religious doctrines that conflict with advances in knowledge and reason and are incompatible with fundamental human rights and justice.  In politics evangelical Christians have promoted division rather than reconciliation, as was evident in their overwhelming support of Donald Trump for president.

All of the ancient prophets, including Jesus, promoted collective values that emphasized providing for the common good and caring for the poor and needy.  They did not consider individual rights since those were not relevant to their ancient times; but Jesus challenged the religious leaders of his day to put love over law, and he was crucified for his efforts. 

Christians must take up that cross to resolve the Christian paradox of worshipping the messenger of God rather than following him, and that requires putting the inclusive love for those of all races and religions over exclusivist beliefs.  In politics, that means balancing individual rights with providing for the common good.

The relevance of Jesus and the church in today’s world depends upon belief in Jesus as the word of God to be followed, not as the sacrificial Lamb of God to be worshipped.  Without such a shift in emphasis the church will remain irrelevant, and as the body of Christ in the world it will soon be as dead as a body without the spirit (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 and James 2:26).


Notes and commentary on related topics:

Thomas Jefferson wrote Henry Fry on June 17, 1804: "I consider the doctrines of Jesus as delivered by himself to contain the outlines of the sublimest morality that has ever been taught; but I hold in the utmost profound detestation and execration the corruptions of it which have been invested by priestcraft and kingcraft, constituting a conspiracy of church and state against the civil and religious liberties of man." Thomas Jefferson, The Jefferson Bible, edited by O. I. A. Roche, Clarkson H. Potter, Inc., New York, 1964, at p 378; While Jefferson was considered a deist, he wrote of himself: “I am a Christian in the only sense in which he [Jesus] wished anyone to be; sincerely attached to his doctrine in preference to all others and ascribing to him every human excellence, believing he never claimed any other.” (p 334)  Robin R. Meyers addressed the issues from a modern theological perspective in Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus, HarperCollins, 2009.  See note 2 at page 425, The Teachings of Jesus and Muhammad on Morality and Law: The Heart of Legitimacy, an interfaith study text posted at https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3gvZV8mXUp-TJubVlISnpQc1U/view.




On whether the culture wars really represent America, see https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/gorski-civil-religion/521751/.

On Americans becoming less religious, see 

On save the mainline denominations, Ross Douthat urged liberals to “ignore the minor problem of actual belief” and go back to church.  That’s not a minor problem in South Carolina.   See https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/15/opinion/sunday/save-the-mainline.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0.

Jonathan Malesic has expressed skepticism for Douthat’s advice to secular liberals.  See http://religiondispatches.org/douthats-wager-go-to-church-even-if-you-dont-believe/.

On interpreting scripture based on tradition, experience and reason, see Our Theological Task in The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church , pages 78-91, at https://www.cokesbury.com/forms/DynamicContent.aspx?id=87&pageid=920.


On the greatest commandment as a common word of faith, see    http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/01/the-greatest-commandment-common-word-of.html.

On love over law: a principle at the heart of legitimacy, see  http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/01/love-over-law-principle-at-heart-of.html.


On God and country: conflicting concepts of sovereignty, see     http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/03/god-and-country-resolving-conflicting.html.8




On balancing individual rights with providing for the common good, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/08/balancing-individual-rights-with.html.

On how religious fundamentalism and secularism shape politics and human rights, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/08/how-religious-fundamentalism-and.html.





On religion and a politics of reconciliation based on shared values, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/religion-and-politics-of-reconciliation_19.html.




On how Easter and the Christian paradox have distorted the role of Jesus and the church in politics, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2017/04/easter-and-christian-paradox.html

Saturday, April 15, 2017

Easter and the Christian Paradox

   By Rudy Barnes, Jr.

            Easter reveals a Christian paradox.  It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus as the focal point of the Christian faith.  The paradox of Easter is that a God of love and mercy would use a form of execution intended to cause intense suffering to sacrifice his Son as an atonement for original sin.  That is how Paul’s atonement doctrine explains Easter, but the crucifixion of Jesus seems more an act of human depravity than an act of God.     

            It is understandable that Paul, a 1st century Pharisaic Jew, would consider the crucifixion a blood sacrifice for the atonement of sin.  But that was the speculation of Paul and was not taught by Jesus.  What if the resurrection meant something else—something taught by Jesus?  What if the message of the resurrection was that God’s eternal word will never die?

            The teachings of Jesus are God’s word—a word of love and mercy for all humankind.  It is summarized in the greatest commandment to love God and to love our neighbors—including our neighbors of other races and religions—as we love ourselves.  It is a common word of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike that can reconcile our religious and political differences.

            The Christian paradox has subordinated the teachings of Jesus to belief in Paul’s atonement doctrine as the only means of salvation.  Exclusivist church doctrines have trumped the moral imperatives taught by Jesus.  That allowed popular evangelists like Franklin Graham, Jerry Falwell, Jr. and Paula White to ignore the teachings of Jesus and urge Christians to support a demagogue like Donald Trump, who is the antithesis of Christian morality.

            Shifting the focus of faith from following the teachings of Jesus to belief in mystical and exclusivist church doctrines has allowed Christianity to become a popular religion compatible with politics.  Unlike Moses and Muhammad, Jesus never sought nor held political power.  His teachings on altruistic and sacrificial love anticipated a spiritual, not a worldly, kingdom of God.

            The entrance of Jesus in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (the week of the Jewish Passover) illustrates the Christian paradox.  Jesus was welcomed by Jews who were looking for a messiah who would overthrow Roman oppression and restore the power and glory of ancient Israel.  Jesus was not that messiah.  A few days later the disillusioned crowds shouted “crucify him.”        

            The Christian paradox has produced two contrasting forms of Christianity: One that emphasizes following the teachings of Jesus as the word of God, or discipleship; and the other that emphasizes exclusivist Christian beliefs as the only means of salvation.  The two variations of Christianity are not compatible, and a church/house so divided against itself cannot stand.     

            To resolve the Christian paradox the teachings of Jesus must be given priority over belief in mystical and exclusivist church doctrines.  Emphasizing discipleship as the focus of the Christian faith may cost the church its popularity—Jesus said as much—but following the narrow way of Jesus is necessary—in Easter terminology—to resurrect Christianity so that it can promote a faith and politics of reconciliation in our polarized and dysfunctional democracy.

           
Notes and Related Commentary:


On the evolution of evangelical Christianity from its roots in the teachings of Jesus as the word of God and in the libertarian values of the Enlightenment, to its current fundamentalist focus on exclusivist belief in the inerrancy of the Bible and rejection of advances in knowledge and reason, and the paradoxical consequences of the 2016 election in which Trump breathed new life in the cultural war waged by evangelicals, see  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-trump-breathed-new-life-into-the-cultural-war-waged-by-evangelicals/2017/04/14/6262ac10-04ff-11e7-b1e9-a05d3c21f7cf_story.html?wpisrc=nl_popns&wpmm=1.
 
On the greatest commandment as a common word of faith, see http://www.jesusmeetsmuhammad.com/2015/01/the-greatest-commandment-common-word-of.html.

On promoting religion through evangelism: bringing light or darkness? see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/02/promoting-religion-through-evangelism.html.


On Jesus: a prophet, God’s only Son, or the Logos?, see    http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/04/jesus-prophet-god-only-son-or-logos.html.

On balancing individual rights with providing for the common good, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/08/balancing-individual-rights-with.html.

On how religious fundamentalism and secularism shape politics and human rights, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/08/how-religious-fundamentalism-and.html.

On legitimacy as a context and paradigm to resolve religious conflict, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/08/legitimacy-as-context-and-paradigm-to.html.
 




On religion and a politics of reconciliation based on shared values, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/religion-and-politics-of-reconciliation_19.html.

On irreconcilable differences and the demise of democracy, see   http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/11/irreconcilable-differences-and-demise.html.

On discipleship in a democracy: a test of faith, legitimacy and politics, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/12/discipleship-in-democracy-test-of-faith.html.





Saturday, April 8, 2017

Politics as a Religion and Religion in Politics

  By Rudy Barnes, Jr.

            If politics are about how we conduct public affairs and religion is about our beliefs, the two cannot be kept separate.  The relationship between politics and religion has always been muddled, but today politics seem more like a religion, and there is more religion in politics.

            Politics take on the sanctity of a religion when a political cause becomes sacrosanct to its advocates and immune to reason and compromise.  Unbelievers are condemned as sinners, and political zealots seek to banish their heretical political beliefs from the public square.

            In 1967 Robert Bellah characterized Dr. M. L. King’s opposition to the Vietnam war as a moral imperative of the American civil religion, a secular belief system with standards of legitimacy that transcend those of traditional religions.  Ending the war became a sacrosanct political cause that divided Americans even more than conflicting religious beliefs.

            Racism is another example.  In The Spiritual Shape of Political Ideas, Joseph Bottum described the leftist trope of racism as a form of sin endemic in all white people; and Mark Hemingway affirmed Bottum by asserting that “ethnicity has become a matter of original sin.”

            Andrew Sullivan has described intersectionality as a “neo-Marxist theory…of social oppression” that applies to race, gender, sexual orientation, class…in an interlocking system of hierarchy and power that prohibits the expression of objectionable ideas.  Like a communist manifesto condemning freedom and democracy, it sounds like a description of religious heresy.      

            George Will has observed that competing versions of truth in the fact-free zones created by intersectionality in academia and by Trump’s alternative facts have gone mainstream in the social media and allowed everyone with a smartphone to create their own “custom-made reality.”        

            Politics as a religion is found at both extremes of the political spectrum.  On the left it is preached by secular intellectuals promoting fact-free zones and on the right by Christian preachers promoting alternative facts.  It is about politics as a religion and religion in politics.

            Politics as a religion is a form of secular fundamentalism similar to that of religious fundamentalism.  Both are based on exclusivist beliefs that advocate sacrosanct standards of legitimacy (what is right).  Reason is rejected and compromise condemned to protect true believers from apostates and blasphemers.  The result is political and religious polarization.

            In 1834 Alexis DeTocqueville saw America’s diversity as a strength rather than a weakness.  He did not foresee the coming apocalypse of civil war, which remains a vivid and terrible example of what political and religious polarization can do to a libertarian democracy.

            Can there be a politics of reconciliation in a nation of polarized political and religious beliefs?  Since most Americans are Christians, it is unlikely that secular intellectuals will have more political influence than charismatic preachers who offer salvation from eternal damnation.

            But thoughtful Christians who reject the plastic Jesus and cheap grace of exclusivist Christianity and others who want to restore compromise and reason to their politics can make a difference.  Many are now motivated to rectify the damage done by so-called evangelical Christians who elected Donald Trump as their president.

            The remedy is simple in a nation founded on Judeo-Christian values.  The greatest commandment is a common word of faith and politics for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.  It requires that we love God and our neighbors—including those of other races and religions—as we love ourselves.  In today’s divided America that love command may require a revolution.

            There is hope for a politics of reconciliation that can counter the polarization that plagues America’s politics and religion.  It requires that Americans rediscover the moral common ground of loving God and our neighbors as we love ourselves.  That will require major changes in what Americans believe, and how they practice their politics as a religion and their religion in politics.


Notes and Related Commentary:

On how Robert Bellah helped Martin Luther King oppose the Vietnam war. see  https://religionnews.com/2017/04/04/how-robert-bellah-helped-martin-luther-king-oppose-the-vietnam-war/.

On Joseph Bottum’s The Spiritual Shape of Political Ideas at http://www.weeklystandard.com/the-spiritual-shape-of-political-ideas/article/819707#%21.

On Mark Heminway’s, How the Left Is Transforming into a Religion, Maybe a Bit too Literally, asserting a “smelly little orthodoxy” that defines the sinful by their identity groups (e.g. being white or being male), see http://www.weeklystandard.com/the-left-is-transforming-into-a-religion-maybe-a-bit-too-literally/article/2007416.

On Andrew Sullivan’s concept of intersectionality as a fundamentalist secular religion in academia that seeks to purge dissenting views by shouting them down, see http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/03/is-intersectionality-a-religion.html.  For a recent example at Claremont McKenna College, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/04/07/heather-mac-donald-speech-on-war-on-cops-shut-down-at-claremont-partly-shouted-down-at-ucla/?wpisrc=nl_popns&wpmm=1.
  
On George Will’s observation that Trump’s alternative facts and the fact-free zones of academia have gone mainstream, see https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-alternative-facts-epidemic-goes-way-beyond-politics/2017/04/05/01a75ee0-1966-11e7-855e-4824bbb5d748_story.html.

On the muddled relationship between religion and polarized partisan politics, see a Virginia Democrat visits a mosque at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-virginia-democrat-visits-a-mosque-and-the-state-gop-puffs-up-with-phony-indignation/2017/03/28/acddb7a0-0e80-11e7-ab07-07d9f521f6b5_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions&wpmm=1; and on Trump’s church politics idea to repeal the prohibition of tax-exempt religious organizations to engage in partisan political activities, see http://www.thestate.com/living/religion/article131448699.html.


On the greatest commandment as a common word of faith, see http://www.jesusmeetsmuhammad.com/2015/01/the-greatest-commandment-common-word-of.html.


On how religious fundamentalism and secularism shape politics and human rights, see  http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2015/08/how-religious-fundamentalism-and.html.

On standards of legitimacy in morality, manners and political correctness, see


On religious fundamentalism and a politics of reconciliation, see http://www.religionlegitimacyandpolitics.com/2016/05/religious-fundamentalism-and-politics.html.