I think one of the problems in British Christianity is not that too many of us are theologians, but not enough!
No one is able to think like the Reformers about how our beliefs ought to effect our political outlook. The Puritans were famous for connecting faith and practise, because they deeply understood faith.
Modern evangelicalism is full to the brim with biblicism instead of being biblical.
It is important for Christians to speak directly to the gift of salvation that was given to us by Jesus Christ. Yes, that's the ultimate Truth, a truth we should never forget.
However, I think there's something you might be underestimating here. Most people want to feel like "good people". Because of this, most people want to buy into whatever is the dominant moral paradigm of their time and place. In many times and places, this dominant moral paradigm was... Christianity. If being a Christian is perceived by most as the most reliable way to be a good person, then many people will *sincerely* become Christians. Souls will be saved.
Now, what is the dominant moral paradigm in the west right now? Well, at least in our institutions and workplaces, the answer at this time is... wokeness.
As Matthew 6:24 points out, "no man can serve two masters".
Perhaps you would argue that wokeness is merely a political thing. Well, let's compare it to purely political things.
When we ask the conservative, "what is the right way to live?", the conservative will answer "Go by tradition, and the faith of one's fathers." So in any country where Christianity is the dominant faith, conservatism is an ally to Christianity.
When we ask the liberal, "what is the right way to live?", the liberal will answer "It depends. I support a free open marketplace of ideas, including on moral matters. Perhaps you should explore the ideas within that marketplace." So liberalism creates a vacuum, a vacuum that Christianity is able to fill. Liberalism does not precisely support Christianity, but it generally does not impede it.
But when we ask the woke, "what is the right way to live?", well they have very lengthy and detailed answers. They have a thorough answer that they believe should apply to all times and places. Wokeness functions precisely like a religion here, just with God replaced by "History".
I believe it's very questionable if Christianity can truly coexist with wokeness. At the very least, as the one gets stronger, the other will get weaker. Similar to Christianity and Islam existing in the same country.
If we want to promote Christianity, if we want it to thrive, if we want to see as many souls come to Christ as possible, I think it's unwise to simply ignore Christianity's direct competitors.
I think the author has bitten off a bit more than he can chew with this one, partly for denominational reasons. Evangelicals do quite consciously place less emphasis on the outer elements of Christian practice (such as the liturgy, and the institutional Church), for theological reasons, so to tell us off for being too theological while delivering a fundamentally theological critique is both ironic and in character.
In contrast to Evangelicals, Catholics and Orthodox consider the liturgy to be something objective and fixed, a defined way of worshipping God in a manner pleasing to him, rather than just a tool we might select through personal choice because we happen to find it helpful. Many historical schisms were caused by liturgical changes that would seem entirely trivial to a contemporary Evangelical but which were deeply significant to those involved. The same is true of liturgical debates within the Catholic Church now.
As a Catholic I do not agree that "the purpose of the church service is to receive the word of God and to receive the sacraments". Rather, I think the Church teaches that the purpose of attending Mass (as a layman) is to worship God by witnessing a member of the sacred priesthood offer a ritual sacrifice to Him, a sacrifice which re-presents Christ's death on Calvary and which is hence the fulfillment of the temple sacrifices that the Israelites were bound to offer under the Old Covenant. Catholic traditionalists believe that the drastic changes made to the Mass in the 1960s were misguided, and that the Church hierarchy have thrown away the liturgy that was slowly built up under the guidance of the Holy Spirit for something produced by committee in response to passing fads, and that this is a very big bad thing.
No liturgical matter can have the same significance for an Evangelical who believes there is no visible Church and no sacerdotal Christian priesthood, and for whom the externals of worship are therefore only the means to the end of interior conversion.
This isn't meant to be a tirade against Evangelicals (still less against the specific Evangelical who wrote the article) but a warning to tread carefully. What looks like a second-order question to one kind of Christian can be very much a first-order question for another.
Fantastic article from this Christian Pimlico Journal contributor - who, I may be mistaken, also wrote a great contribution on the "Benedict" and "Constantine" options for Christians a year ago.
Christians must make our house on the rock of faith. Others may try to co-opt Christianity around their politics, but something this full-fat and fully-fledged cannot be anything other than the foundation to all!
I don’t like the fact that the author is anonymous. I like what he or she is saying very much but this anonymity casts doubt on my enjoyment. Do others feel the same? Any answers?
No mention of the Kingdom of God, which is in the believer? Or the authority of Christ in preaching the gospel? The gospel is for all nations, including the immigrant - the problem with immigration is that it imports another religion into our land which does not respect our values - but then the secularists have already worked against those values from within - returning to Christ is a political statement. "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chron. 7:14
I think one of the problems in British Christianity is not that too many of us are theologians, but not enough!
No one is able to think like the Reformers about how our beliefs ought to effect our political outlook. The Puritans were famous for connecting faith and practise, because they deeply understood faith.
Modern evangelicalism is full to the brim with biblicism instead of being biblical.
It is important for Christians to speak directly to the gift of salvation that was given to us by Jesus Christ. Yes, that's the ultimate Truth, a truth we should never forget.
However, I think there's something you might be underestimating here. Most people want to feel like "good people". Because of this, most people want to buy into whatever is the dominant moral paradigm of their time and place. In many times and places, this dominant moral paradigm was... Christianity. If being a Christian is perceived by most as the most reliable way to be a good person, then many people will *sincerely* become Christians. Souls will be saved.
Now, what is the dominant moral paradigm in the west right now? Well, at least in our institutions and workplaces, the answer at this time is... wokeness.
As Matthew 6:24 points out, "no man can serve two masters".
Perhaps you would argue that wokeness is merely a political thing. Well, let's compare it to purely political things.
When we ask the conservative, "what is the right way to live?", the conservative will answer "Go by tradition, and the faith of one's fathers." So in any country where Christianity is the dominant faith, conservatism is an ally to Christianity.
When we ask the liberal, "what is the right way to live?", the liberal will answer "It depends. I support a free open marketplace of ideas, including on moral matters. Perhaps you should explore the ideas within that marketplace." So liberalism creates a vacuum, a vacuum that Christianity is able to fill. Liberalism does not precisely support Christianity, but it generally does not impede it.
But when we ask the woke, "what is the right way to live?", well they have very lengthy and detailed answers. They have a thorough answer that they believe should apply to all times and places. Wokeness functions precisely like a religion here, just with God replaced by "History".
I believe it's very questionable if Christianity can truly coexist with wokeness. At the very least, as the one gets stronger, the other will get weaker. Similar to Christianity and Islam existing in the same country.
If we want to promote Christianity, if we want it to thrive, if we want to see as many souls come to Christ as possible, I think it's unwise to simply ignore Christianity's direct competitors.
I think the author has bitten off a bit more than he can chew with this one, partly for denominational reasons. Evangelicals do quite consciously place less emphasis on the outer elements of Christian practice (such as the liturgy, and the institutional Church), for theological reasons, so to tell us off for being too theological while delivering a fundamentally theological critique is both ironic and in character.
In contrast to Evangelicals, Catholics and Orthodox consider the liturgy to be something objective and fixed, a defined way of worshipping God in a manner pleasing to him, rather than just a tool we might select through personal choice because we happen to find it helpful. Many historical schisms were caused by liturgical changes that would seem entirely trivial to a contemporary Evangelical but which were deeply significant to those involved. The same is true of liturgical debates within the Catholic Church now.
As a Catholic I do not agree that "the purpose of the church service is to receive the word of God and to receive the sacraments". Rather, I think the Church teaches that the purpose of attending Mass (as a layman) is to worship God by witnessing a member of the sacred priesthood offer a ritual sacrifice to Him, a sacrifice which re-presents Christ's death on Calvary and which is hence the fulfillment of the temple sacrifices that the Israelites were bound to offer under the Old Covenant. Catholic traditionalists believe that the drastic changes made to the Mass in the 1960s were misguided, and that the Church hierarchy have thrown away the liturgy that was slowly built up under the guidance of the Holy Spirit for something produced by committee in response to passing fads, and that this is a very big bad thing.
No liturgical matter can have the same significance for an Evangelical who believes there is no visible Church and no sacerdotal Christian priesthood, and for whom the externals of worship are therefore only the means to the end of interior conversion.
This isn't meant to be a tirade against Evangelicals (still less against the specific Evangelical who wrote the article) but a warning to tread carefully. What looks like a second-order question to one kind of Christian can be very much a first-order question for another.
Fantastic article from this Christian Pimlico Journal contributor - who, I may be mistaken, also wrote a great contribution on the "Benedict" and "Constantine" options for Christians a year ago.
Christians must make our house on the rock of faith. Others may try to co-opt Christianity around their politics, but something this full-fat and fully-fledged cannot be anything other than the foundation to all!
Very good thanks.
I don’t like the fact that the author is anonymous. I like what he or she is saying very much but this anonymity casts doubt on my enjoyment. Do others feel the same? Any answers?
No mention of the Kingdom of God, which is in the believer? Or the authority of Christ in preaching the gospel? The gospel is for all nations, including the immigrant - the problem with immigration is that it imports another religion into our land which does not respect our values - but then the secularists have already worked against those values from within - returning to Christ is a political statement. "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2 Chron. 7:14