|
Christianity is in transition. That doesn't seem like much of a statement, but don’t run by it too fast. The word transition means “passage” or “movement,” but it also means “evolution from one form, stage, or style to another.” The latter is what I mean when I say Christianity is in transition.
Christianity remains the largest religious group in the world, but it is by no means as dominant as it once was. For one thing, it no longer has the relationship with governments it once had with the Roman Empire. Second, it has little or no formal political power in the world, unlike Islam that has established theocracies promoting it. Third, Christianity is in decline in most western nations like ours. This means the most powerful nations in the world political, economically, and militarily do not accommodate Christianity the way they did in the past. But more than any other reason, Christianity is in transition because of internal theological upheavals.
Up until forty years ago the triumphal nature of Christianity which insisted that it was the only true religion because Jesus was the only savior is rejected by more people than accepted. In fact, surveys consistently show that most Christians don’t even believe this anymore. In addition, the majority of Christians think they can question or outright reject basic teachings of the church and still be Christian. Still more, the flaws and weaknesses of the church have become so obvious and even newsworthy that the statue of the church itself has fallen in the eyes of its own members.
In the scholarly world, interpretations of scripture and theological arguments questioning traditional teachings of the church have been around for a long time. Today those views are now read and studied by large numbers of lay Christians who had previously never heard them. They now know what all ministers have been taught and most of them believe, but have never preached.
Taken all together, these developments suggest that Christianity is evolving in something quite different from what it used to be.
I want to say that I believe this is a wonderful and healthy evolution that will ultimately strengthen Christianity. The more people know about their faith, the more they are able to make it their own. Faith that consists of what someone else says you should believe cannot possibly be a strong s one you have laid claim to yourself. Ideas are transformative only as they become a part of us. Thinking for yourself and shifting through various views and interpretations is how that happens. Otherwise faith stays on the surface and does not penetrate our mind, heart, and soul.
Christianity is having to learn how to live in a world very different from what it has known. This is a relatively recent development and demands serious rethinking of basic claims Christians have made for centuries. That is how it has to be for any religion that has anything to say to new generations. But it is also how religions cope with changes in attitude that are more tolerant, understanding, and humble about religious claims. Exclusive beliefs that insist on being right and all others wrong will always appeal to some people, but no longer to most. Churches cannot refuse to accept this change, or they can figure out how to thrive in the midst of it.
I think Christianity will do the latter. There are many great minds already at work to help people articulate their faith in the context of the new realities all religions face. This is to say there will not be weeping and wailing by some who cannot bring themselves to give up cherished beliefs that made the Christian faith the one true religion. But their numbers are dwindling. The larger group is made up of Christians who are comfortable being Christians without also making claims to an exclusive relationship with God they alone share. Theologians will help this group find new words to express their faith so as to retain and even promote the meaning of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
Something else that can give us strength and comfort as Christians during this time of transition is the knowledge that in the end how we live matters above everything else. It was the great baseball legend, Jackie Robinson, who said, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”
Therein is both our comfort and our challenge. What we do is what matters, which means there is no greater task than making sure that what we do is what we believe Christian living is finally all about.
|
