I recently read John Burke’s book No Perfect People Allowed. This is another book that every Christian should read.
In the book, he makes the statement that we no longer live in a postmodern era, we now live in a post-Christian era (p. 15).
Is our Society Post-Christian?
Apparently, Christianity has already lost the war against postmodernism.
(I personally don’t think it was a war that ever should have been waged in the first place. Christians are to engage, embrace, and redeem culture, not fight against it.)
In his book, John Burke explains how the church can operate and function in a culture that is “post-Christian.”
Atheists think Christianity is Growing
Ironically, as I was reading this book about how to live as Christians in a post-Christian era, I ran across an exchange between atheist Christopher Hitchens (author of the best-selling book God is Not Great) and Suchin Pak (correspondent for MTV news). She announced to him that our culture was becoming increasingly Christian. She said, “Our audience is more religious and conservative than we assume.”
When he heard this, Hitchens replied, “I really hate to hear that the young are becoming more Christian. If that’s true, that’s the worst news of the night!”
So here we have two leaders both coming to different conclusions about our culture. The Christian says we are becoming post-Christian, while the atheist is alarmed that we are becoming increasingly Christian.
I guess it’s like the debate over global warming. Some say the polar ice caps are melting while others, who note that this it the coldest year in a century, are predicting a new ice age.
So what do you think? What have you observed in your community and with your friends? Is our society and culture “Post-Christian”?
The Great “Post-Christian” Opportunity
If you want to know what I think, the following picture sums it up nicely.
While institutional Christianity is quickly dying, there is rapid expansion in the number of people who are seeking to follow Jesus in organic, missional, relational ways. While the number of people who “go to church” might be decreasing, the number of people who seek to “be the church” is increasing.
In my opinion, this is a good and healthy thing, and provides a great opportunity for a post-Christian church to truly live and love others like Jesus in the world.
This isn’t going to win me a lot of friends here, but this is what I think. I’m basing this on no more evidence than a little history, a lot of experience and an actor’s knowledge of human nature.
The world is getting smaller every day. Every day we learn a little bit more that explains the world around us, inside us and beyond us. To children being born today (maybe their children, but almost certainly no later), the interactive connection to foreign people, lands and ideas will be a given, much like TV is to us, and the concept of “foreign” will seem backwards and anachronistic. Ancient rules and customs will have little power over a mind that can soar thousands of miles at the speed of light. One can already see the beginnings of this as our own children reject the prejudices of the past. As humans become ever more advanced, abstract ideas of religion, god and the soul will be transformed into something we can only begin to comprehend. Maybe not rejected in their entirety, but different than they are.
Simply put, Christianity as the Western world has known it since the Reformation is dying. Instead of adapting to the changes around them, fundamentalist Christians (and others, but I’m just talking about Christians) are wildly attacking everything that comes close to contradicting an increasingly narrow worldview. The vicious fight we’re seeing right now over evolution may seem like a resurgence of creationism, but it’s a last gasp. The ever more desperate attempts to force the world into the shape of a text has been translated and mistranslated a million times into as many languages over thousands of years are the vicious attacks of a cornered animal.
In the last 20 years, a despised Catholic church has become allies with those who less than a century ago would have gladly snuffed them out. Judeo-Christian has become a common term to imply a relationship that has never existed with another people who would recently have been publicly reviled. Even Mormons have been invited to the party, such is their desperation.
The more they rail against the world, the more the world will fight back. Christians are losing the struggle and it’s making them angry. You simply cannot fight the future. It is necessary to adapt or die. Even the Catholics recognized this and tried to adapt with the Vatican Councils. This was either too late or too soon, because it has reverted from what was an increasingly accepting body right back into the tyrranical monster of old.
In the near future I think the word fundamentalist will become so dirty that we will see Orthodox Christians emerge. Quite a turn of events in a world where Protestants were once the rebellious freethinkers trying to escape Rome’s backwards and corrupt regime. And as all groups that refuse to accept the world moving on, they will be marginalized, just as the Hasids and Quakers are today.
To paraphrase one of the defining icons of my generation, “The more you tighten your grasp, the more will slip through your fingers.”
This is not simply a Christian problem. The Muslims are having a hard time of it, too.
So – more or less Christian? It’s that kind of thinking that will doom you.
Or, more simply, I agree with you. 🙂 Maybe I should read that book.
Jeremy,
I know we’ve talked about this before, but I’ve been wondering about some stuff. Do you think the fact that the family and community is no longer what it once was that church and Christianity is no longer what it once was? I think that the local church is dying because it has allowed culture to permeate and that is the same reason that mega churches do so well. Those big churches are based on nothing but compromise and giving the people what they want so they grow bigger and bigger. It kind of reminds me of a deer tick. They start out so small and insignificant, but they eventually get so bloated and huge that they just fall off. Then they are prime pickings for the birds to come and gobble up. I’ve completely lost myself on this analogy, would that make Satan the bird who gobbles up the bloated church? Or maybe the church is a parasite that sucks the lifeblood out of the community until the community can no longer support it? Or maybe the church is the tick which means churches can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever which is why people aren’t going to church anymore?
Hold on, I’m going to go have a few beers and then I’ll try this again. Sorry.
Later
I wanted to refine my comment.
I’m not saying Christianity won’t survive, it just won’t survive in its current incarnation. I think to be successful in the 21st century and beyond, Christianity will have to become a religion of philosophy and not ideology. One that is in search of Wisdom and Truth and not one convinced that it has already found them.
Does that make sense?
I agree with Bullet, mostly, and believe Chrisitianity is becoming more philosophical – slowly. But I also think this is a cyclical progression, not in a bell-curve that fizzles out.
Hey, whadya know? I’m getting my seasonal optimism back! ‘Course, cyclical progression reminds me of the market – ups and downs with a consistent median progression, until it crashes.
Bullet,
I’m reading a book now called “The Forgotten Ways” and it’s as if he looked forward in time and read your first comment, then wrote a whole book about it!
Have you ever thought about writing a book on how Christianity can move forward in the future? Ha ha.
Missy,
I like optimism.
Also, have you read “The Forgotten Ways”? I don’t know a whole lot about your church/denomination, but I think the author might be of the same group. His name is Alan Hirsch.
Kyle,
Nice analogy! Ha ha. I’ve been trying to learn the art of analogy and metaphor myself. I stink at both.
I also stink at answering your questions. And actually, your question is an ancient one – which many books have been written about: How should the church respond to culture? I’m not about to try to tackle such a question here. Sorry! (Ha ha)
But my basic answer to your specific question is that in a day when families and communities are disintegrating, one of the best things a church can do is be a family and a community to those who won’t get it anywhere else. This means being authentic, open, honest, loving, forgiving, truly gracious, kind, compassionate, etc., etc., etc.
“Have you ever thought about writing a book on how Christianity can move forward in the future? Ha ha.”
Honestly, I think Christianity should move forward the same as everyone else. Compassion, empathy, acceptance.
There are a lot of Christians who think this, but they’re not driving the bus.
You keep giving me books to read. Arrgh.
Jeremy, I found a link to the 1st chapter of that book. It sounds exactly like the principles of the movement I am in (or at least what it’s agenda began as – and was very successful for a time) but I’ve discovered Hirsh, in fact, disapproves of our movement. He’s from the “mainline” Church of Christ – while we are often referred to as the “Boston” movement. Our two groups have been in the midst of a reconciliation in the time period that he has been in a leading role of Mission and Revitalization of the CofC (beginning around 2003). I’ve heard rumors that they have a desire to reproduce the missional aspect we have been successful at, and we’ve been trying out the autonomous structure they’ve been successful with. I’ll have to ask our evangelist if he’s read the book. We’ve been re-arranging our seating similar to Hirsh’s diagrams of late. 🙂
Much of what I am reading in this first chapter seems almost identical to the information I first studied with the group 7 years ago – and even then it was from a 20 year-old study guide. The hard part of it, and Hirsh seems to lean this way, is that the model really relies on a committed congregation. With the experience of living through the nasty consequences, we’ve learned that kind of commitment takes one right up to the line of Lordship Salvation, and it requires an incredible amount of restraint and humility not to cross that line.
I agree with what I read so far – on principle if not logistically. Didn’t know I was missional – just thought I was following Jesus!
And, amen to Bullet.
It’s a good and healthy thing we are becoming post Christian? So our society is locking us out of the open market place of ideas and we rejoice? I disagree. I feel very bad for the kids of this generation who are being led to believe that truth is either relative or non existent. When I was young it was a cornicopia of ideas and the question was “what is the truth”. Alice in Wonderland has been unleashed and words have lost meaning. No I don’t celebrate this at all.
Did you ever get a chance to read my book, Jeremy? There’s a chapter in there on this subject and I am curious what you’d think.
Pigeon holes pigeon holes. All is pigeon holes. Can you imagine jesus having some of these ridiculous conversations about post this and that. And nationality etcetcetc. Not likely!! I reckon he only laid claim to being a human Bean. Like me.
Mark, You may want to click on the picture or post title and go read the whole article. I only argue that the institutional side of Christianity is dying, which may be a good thing, while the spiritual, organic, relational side of Christianity is really taking off. This also is a good thing.
Grant, I need to finish reading your book. It is very good. I just skimmed that chapter, and love how you phrase it “Post Christendom.” That probably would be a better term than the one I used, “Post Christian.” Post Chistendom is a better description of what is going on, and as you point out in the chapter, offers some great opportunities for those who are willing to follow Jesus through the changes that are taking place.