Tag / faith

by daviddawson462742281

When God Leads Through the Squeeze

squeeze

“17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. 18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham,… 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth,[e] saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” (Gen. 26)

Sometimes I wonder why I’m not more in tune with the prophetic. I was raised in a Christian community that emphasized the desire of God to lead our lives daily. My grandmother Joy used to use the example of Jesus saying that we live by the daily word of God to us just as we need bread for food. So true.

But we all experience how circumstances are also an undeniable part of the revelation of God’s will for our individual lives. This is true in every Christian’s life, but perhaps more for some than others, maybe we can call these the hard-headed ones.

Some of us just seem to have so much drive in us that we choose a direction in life, run after it like crazy, and turn a deaf ear to the voice of God. Many of us do this inadvertently, but it happens. Then it remains to God to remove His Grace and wait for us to run out of steam. God’s grace comes in so many forms – provision, opportunity, inexplainable joy, anointing, etc – and when it’s gone we know. You just get yourself into a situation that you can’t handle anymore. You’re in too deep and now you can’t even be what you need to be to those who depend on you.

Our sense of self-sufficiency is such an illusion. I think that missionaries have the privilege of experiencing this cross-culturally. It’s no exaggeration to say that the past year and a half that I’ve been back in the U.S. is just as hard of a transition as when I moved to Brazil in 2003. Kati and I were talking about how it feels to transition like this – new neighborhood, new church, new work, new weather, food, etc. I tried to put how it felt to me saying, “It feels cold”. We take for granted the warmth of the familiar – how it makes us feel significant, in control, and comfortable.

This is what God has to remove so His more strong willed children can be squeezed into the fulfillment of His promises lives. At these times we can cry out and say God make it quick, I want the transition to be over… please. But many of these turbulent souls are those the Father has chosen to lead others. The storm that rages within them can be an evergreen source of energy to inspire others towards the building of God’s kingdom.

So if you are like me, join me in praying that the Lord will continue to bless us in times of transition and teach us all we need to learn. Instead of praying that the transition be over sooner, let’s pray that we don’t miss anything the Father wants to teach us in the interim.

by daviddawson462742281

Rise of the Religious “Nones”

Sociologist of religion Linda Woodhead has done important work on the rise of the religious “nones”, i.e., those who claim no affiliation with any organized religion (Woodhead, 2017). Her reserach demonstrates that increased secularization in the UK is not due mostly to adults walking away from their religious traditions. The greatest demographic source of the rise of the religious nones is teenagers raised in religious homes that opt to not follow their parents’ religion.

Many nones do attest to some form of spiritual practice in their daily lives. It is interesting to note which form of spiritual practice they are most averse to. Think of what spiritual practices are most common – prayer, scripture reading, pilgrimage, worship, etc. Woodhead’s research indicates that attending public worship of some other form of formal gathering is the most unpopular spiritual practice among religious nones.

I found this fascinating – why is it that the UK population is increasingly averse to attending formal religious gatherings but still widely practices prayer, scripture reading, and meditation?

I love going to my local church, so much of whose ritual connects me to experiences rooted in my childhood. I have lived long-term on three continents as a missionary but I always found a local Christian community I grew to love. But I recognize that my faith journey really began in earnest with a radical conversion experience in my late teens. I can’t imagine myself ever having found interest in local church attendance if it wasn’t for the life crisis and conversion experience I had in my youth. It was during that formative time that I came to understand why people are drawn to faith communities.

This isn’t to say that I never miss a Sunday service. There have been periods where it took my wife and I months, even years to finally find a church we could call home. But I wonder how Christians like myself can help make the curch a place people want to come to in contexts like Western Europe.

References

The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. (2016, December 15). The Growth of “No Religion” — Secularisation but Not as Predicted | Prof. Linda Woodhead [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC-9hgBtwgM

Woodhead, L. (2017). The Rise of “No Religion”: Towards an Explanation. Sociology of Religion, 78(3), 247–262. Atla Religion Database with AtlaSerials. https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srx031

by daviddawson462742281

Lessons from Latin America on Secularism and Religious Pluralism

Towards an Ecumenical Vision?

Escobar (2012) describes the Crisis of Christendom in Latin America during the 20th century in which “vigorous minorities committed to evangelize” have challenged the Catholic status quo (p. 175). Dillon (2015) describes a similar situation in the U.S., where religious affiliation in the U.S. has declined in its “social desirability, or, and, in the actual relevance of religious affiliation” (p. 346). Although the historical foundations of US-America and Latin America are different, they share the common experience of a decline in Christendom. The first wave of challenge to Catholic supremacy in Latin America came with elites who favored the influence of Protestant missionaries as a means of promoting democracy and pluralism (Escobar, 2012, p. 176). The second challenge to the Christian status quo in Latin America came through the growth of Pentecostals, especially among the poor. Escobar (2012) describes Pentecostalism as “a movement coming ‘from below’, with its own religious and social dynamism and great expansive power” (p. 178). The rise from 5% to 15% of the US-American population affirming Pentecostal affiliation (Jacobsen, 2015, p. 208-9) since the 1950s shows the dynamism of this movement in that nation as well. 

The growth of Protestantism in Latin America during the second part of the 20th century was part of the larger phenomenon of a “massive exodus” from the Catholic Church whose centuries old form was “unable to cope with the challenges of the fast pace of social change” (Escobar, 2012, p. 177). And although the Catholic Church tried to these demands, such as with an emphasis on the marginalized poor, the poor themselves opted for Pentecostalism (Escobar, 2012, p. 178). Jacobsen (2015) describes the waves of growing Pentecostalism in US-America as reflecting the “increasing emphasis placed on experience instead of theology in almost all American churches” (p. 209). 

The growth of Pentecostalism in Latin America and the Catholic church’s response indicates the nuanced approach needed when Christianity attempts to follow the culture. While some adjustments of theology and practice have been fruitful throughout church history, some have not. Another way to view the matter of adjusting to culture is to be realistic about the results that may come. Whereas some Catholic faithful welcomed the new focus on the poor, others still found it to be too institutionally centered. This is perhaps an example of where a particular church must realize that its attempts at contextualization cannot impede people from opting for another church’s approach. An ecumenical vision that accepts God’s work through the diversity of Christian expression helps the different churches avoid discouragement and competition. 

Lessons from a Marginalized Christianity

The trend in US-America shows a different type of individualism since the 1960s expressed in a “culture of freedom and critique rather than of conformity and deference to external authority” (Dillon, 2015, p. 351). And more recently, the millennial generation has been described as “a generation of tinkerers” that adhere to a “mosaic of diverse beliefs and practices that is characteristic of the religiously affiliated and non-affiliated” (Dillon, 2015, p. 354). Particularly among younger US-Americans, the preference to be called spiritual than religious or to embrace double belonging to multiple religions indicates a “newly diverse and spiritually fuzzy landscape” (Jacobsen, 2015, p. 212). 

The challenge of the Christian status quo is present in Europe, North and South America regarding Catholic and Protestant opposition to same-sex relations (Dillon, 2015, p. 357-8). In contrast, although abortion attitudes vary much within the US-American Christian population, they have proven to be “highly stable over time” showing little variation among generations. Dillon (2015) interprets this phenomenon as indicating that “moral issues raise moral and value questions for individuals irrespective of religious identity and affiliation status” (p. 361). 

It seems that the Latin American Christian situation can inform the similar US-American situation of reduced centrality of Christianity in culture and society (Dillon, 2015, p. 363). There are significant demographic differences, such as the Latin American division between rich and poor versus the US-American fragmentation of diverse ethno-political interests. But the Latin American Catholic church’s two-pronged approach to cultural change is a lesson for US-American Christianity. Latin American Catholicism has attempted to change where necessary at the same time as it retains many foundational doctrines of the Christian faith. The decline of mainline US-American denominations can be interpreted as resting in part from the undermining of biblical authority which gives a sense of security and identity to its members.  

References

Dillon, Michelle. (2015). Christian Affiliation and Disaffiliation in the United States: Generational and Cultural Change. 

Escobar, Samuel. (2012). Christianity in Latin America Changing Churches in a Changing Continent. In C.E. Farhadian (Ed.), Introducing World Christianity (1st Ed., pp. 171-185). Blackwell Publishing. 

Jacobsen, Douglas. (2015). North America. In Global Gospel. 

by daviddawson462742281

How the Church Grew Without Evangelism and Missions?

The “Patient Ferment” of Early Christianity

After Constantine’s conversion in 312 CE, the growth of the church is easy to explain, but not before (Kreider, 2016, p. 9). Up to that decisive point, Christian writings focused on church order with the theme of evangelism practically nonexistent (p. 10). Leadership structure was elaborated but didn’t include apostles or evangelists, and worship services were not used to attract new adherents (p. 10-11). Kreider refers to the mysterious, decentralized, uncoordinated spread of Christianity during that time as “patient ferment” (p. 12). Cyprian, Justin, Origen, and Tertulian emphasized the effectiveness of Christian witness as depending on their lifestyle, how their patience intrigues and attracts people to faith (p. 14-29). 

The growth of Christianity was more accelerated, whose characteristic patience became degraded (p. 245, 251). Constantine “Christianized” the law, but without abandoning his “unreformed habitus” (p. 263.1-2). Ge governed according to the traditional Roman approach, favoring the church and suppressing dissidents (p. 267, 269). Constantine offered Christians control over missions endeavors (p. 274), power of state for conversion (p. 275) and suppression of dissidence (276). And the emperor was in a hurry to implement these changes to Christian practice (277). 

By the 4th century, “the papacy and the imperial court seemed wobbly” and Augustine (354-430) felt “out of control” (p. 281). Augustine failed to see the corrective in the Christian habitus of patience to Roman habitus of impatience (p. 290), Augustine shifted focus in his teaching emphasizing the inward Christian life rather than on praxis (p. 290). In the 5th century Augustine’s increased anxiety leads him to shift hears encouraging political powers to use “top-down methods for Christian ends” (p. 295). 

Rewiring the Convert’s “Habitus”

While after Constantine’s conversion Christianity offered social benefits, before this catechesis and worship were the two means Christian communities sought to rewire convert’s habitus (p. 41). This term refers to the deeper motivator linked to socioeconomic and psychological realities coined by Pierre Bourdieu, “corporeal knowledge” we carry in our bodies (39.2). 

The heroic witness of Christian victims of persecution before the reign of Constantine demonstrate that they had allegiances that didn’t fit the Roman structure (p. 45). The Christians were of different social classes (p. 46). They could not control their surrounding circumstances but “they could be themselves” (p. 47). Christians used public persecution as an opportunity to witness to crowds regarding impending judgement (p. 48). Thus, such heroic Christian habitus was transmitted through role models who embodied the message (p. 50). Habitus was transmitted in the repetition of powerful phrases for context of suffering (p. 50), and the kinesthetic effects of worship (p. 51). 

In the Roman world during the emergence of Christianity, private associations provided adherents with face-to-face relationships and sense of participation and responsibility (p. 52). These associations “sustained the life of local people” and “formed their habitus” (p. 56). Christianity offered an alternative association which offered some preferable conditions (p. 56). Contribution was voluntary and members saw themselves as a family which transcended gender and class boundaries (p. 59). However, Christian associations were secretive, leading to rumors of “cannibalism and sexual license” (p. 58). 

The growth of Christianity before Constantine happened despite a lack of planning and control (p. 74). They believed God’s sovereignty was involved, and thus didn’t seek to discern and record strategic insights. Christians prioritized developing Christian habitus over evangelism, and believed the main agents of change were marginal members of society – the humble and anonymous (p. 74). Even during this period, however, increased numbers led to a degradation of habitus which precipitated more vigorous preaching and catechization (p. 125). Evangelization shifted in some contexts from the witness of the community to that of individual piety of monks (p. 126). Inflated communities led to a greater presence of lukewarm members (p. 135), and full meals were replaced by symbolic liturgies (p. 136). 

Is Christian Habitus Attractive Today?

In my context of secular, nominally Roman Catholic Latin Europe – Portugal, Spain, and Italy – a focus on Christian practice versus doctrine has been an emphasis for some time now. The Catholic Church has taken strides to emphasize involvement in social justice and assistance of the poor. I have been impressed by the number of social projects that are present in the dioceses in the Lisbon metro area. 

At the same time, my informal inquiries inform me that the number of young Portuguese Catholics doing formal catechism is low. Much more popular are small group models like Alpha Course which has been used to introduce many nominal churchgoers to a deeper understanding of the faith. 

The pre-Constantine Christian emphasis on the habitus of the humble and anonymous as the primary evangelistic strategy can be restored as part of Catholic tradition. Within the Catholic Church the hierarchy’s influence is powerful and evident. But in the wider secular society, the witness of servant-hearted Christians who seek the common good is a welcome change. The predominant caricature of the church is an institution only concerned with defending the leverage of its doctrinal positions on issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage, and Christian religious supremacy. 

References

Kreider, Alan. (2016). The Patient Ferment of the Early Church: The Improbable Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. Baker Academic.