Purging my soul…one blog at a time.

The Demise of Evangelical Christianity

Everyone should read this article (and the imbedded links). I don’t agree with everything Boyd says, but he speaks of something that we should all be aware of.

http://www.gregboyd.org/blog/dont-weep-for-the-demise-of-american-christianity/

April 9, 2009 - Posted by Sam | Christianity, God, church, culture, religion, spirituality | , , , , , | 5 Comments

5 Comments »

  1. Would you be willing to share on what you disagree on?

    Great sermon by the way…I love when you teach about the historical contexts surrounding Jesus. They have always been my favorite sermons.

    Comment by jonathangroover | April 9, 2009 | Reply

  2. I would be interested as well in what you disagree with. I guess I”m kind of using this as a place to discuss his blog because I didn’t find a comment section on his.

    I personally am troubled by numbers 2 and 4 (and in relation to 4, a statement at his conclusion.

    (2): “If fewer people are identifying themselves as ‘Christian,’ this is good, for it means there’s one less major illusion that Kingdom people have to confront”

    - This sounds like he’s saying, “Let the moral decadence of the admitted secular people weed out the also-secular people who claim to be Christian, because those people claiming to be Christian are a burden. This may be putting a negative spin on his words, but his word choice of “illusion” and “confront” give me a space to do that I think. Also, he seems to be talking from a rather privileged position, a position where he has the ‘true’ faith, as opposed to those “illusions” he’s above and against.

    (4): “The Kingdom is, by its very nature, a ‘contrast society.’”

    - Well sure. I mean if you’re a part of a suppressed group, and this is due to your core values, the group will cling together and use the oppression as a way to portray the “dominators” as immoral and mal-intented. And because they feel oppressed, they must stick to their guns. I think a lot of “fringe” (he used “marginalized”) groups do this, but I don’t think this makes it a “good” thing. If anything, it would just seem to restrict contact with the outside world and exclude other forms of Christianity, which again, points to Boyd professing that he has the “true/right” faith, as opposed to the other forms.

    (from the conclusion): “the Kingdom thrives best when the broader cultural is falling apart” This seems like he’s making Christianity out to be second option. It’s as if he’s saying, “Let’s wait until society fails, then that’ll give people a reason to actually believe in the validity of the ‘Kingdom’.” Personally, giving the “kingdom” that secondary appeal takes some of the meaning away.

    I don’t know much about Boyd beyond this blog so I certainly don’t want to seem as if I know everything he stands for and that he’s wrong. These are just some personal, initial impressions based on his blog.

    Comment by Chris Hoover | April 10, 2009 | Reply

  3. Hi guys –

    I’ll get back to you soon – I’m off today and don’t have access to a computer for more than about two minutes.

    Sam

    Comment by Sam | April 10, 2009 | Reply

  4. by and large I might agree with his assessements – US American Christianity needs an overhaul in a big big way.

    Comment by brianfulthorp | April 10, 2009 | Reply

  5. Hey everyone –

    I don’t neccessarily disagree with Boyd’s assessment of the situation, but I think his conclusions are too “strong,” similar to what Chris mentioned in his comment. I believe this is good for Christianity as well, not because the doctrinal foundations of evangelicalism are off center, but due to the inappropriate “bedfellows” it has picked up along the way, most notably politics. Does that mean that having a liberal social agenda makes you more Christian? Many in the emerging tradition lean that direction, but that still elevates politics to a position of authority within Christianity that it does not deserve, in my opinion.

    As for point 2, I think the language Boyd uses could be more neutral – I get the same feeling that this is a way to draw out the “posers” and allow God’s true “remnant” to remain. Drawing that line in the sand is a little premature for me. Will a secularized context bring authentic Christianity to the fore? Sure. But we don’t have to rally around culture as if it acts upon us for the sake of Christianity. The Holy Spirit creates authenticity, not culture. Culture doesn’t “do” anything – it’s a description of what’s already happening. I think Boyd would agree with this – it just doesn’t come across in his post. It’s hard to address everything in 1000 words anyway.

    Point 4 is skewed in the same way. Culture is the proactive agent, rather than faith resulting in authenticity. And Chris is dead on about marginalized groups. Most groups of any sort start in the “fringe” mentality. Over time as they are absorbed as “mainstream” they become hampered with cultural indentities and social responsibility that moves them away from their original intent. Usually some “renewal” movement from within will attempt to re-instill the original goals of the group. But the problem now is that the context within which those original core values thrived no longer exists. Re-establishing them is nearly impossible. So, the “renewal” movement, when rejected by the group that used to embrace it, begins a new sectarian group. And then, they believe (and write books as if) they are the center of the new “Jesus movement.” You can probably name a few fashionable groups within Christainity like that today.

    I agree with Brian’s term “overhaul” – it doesn’t require a
    “for us or against us” attitude. The Christian model that exists is still valuable and workable. I get the feeling Boyd feels otherwise. Why alienate brothers and sisters in Christ for an extreme position when a very similar position could rally the church to reassess its spiritual health? That may make the Shane Claiborne’s of the world seem a little less “edgy” but last time I check God cared about the complacent and “tired” within the church as well.

    Sam

    Comment by Sam | April 11, 2009 | Reply


Leave a comment

« Previous | Next »