Why Consumerism Harms Church Discipleship
What if church were different? What if we disciple instead of entertain? I recently read this striking description of church: “Sunday services are essentially a bunch of people gathered to sing along with a worship cover band.”[1] But church was always meant to be much more than an entertaining sing-along.
Jesus talked about the cross yet we encourage and support consumerism. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Lk. 9:23). What if the church growth method of coddling Christians is backfiring? Perhaps our emphasis on entertainment over discipleship is partially at fault for this startling statistic: “51% of Churchgoers Don’t Know of the Great Commission.”[2] Clearly, being a churchgoer is not the same as being an apprentice of Jesus.[3]
It seems like at least many of the biggest and brightest churches across America are the most successful vendors of “religious goods and services.”[4] As Kenneth Woodward said, “Some of the least demanding churches are now in the greatest demand.”[5] Yet, as has often been said, “What you win them with, is what you win them to.” Of course, most churches will not be able to compete with the world when it comes to amazing entertaining experiences, but “even if we could produce cool church events, we would create a generation of Christian consumers who look to the church to entertain them.”[6]
Plus, the church has what the world can never duplicate. We foolishly put the emphasis on the wrong thing if we put it on entertainment. America is drowning in entertainment. We are “amusing ourselves to death.”[7] We have the bread of life, if the world has butter, why are we offering more butter?! They need bread! They may not know it, but they’re desperately hungry for substance.
Further, when we entertain and coddle Christians, is it any wonder why Christians don’t want to take up their crosses as Jesus commands? Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in The Cost of Discipleship, said, “When Jesus bids a man, He bids him come and die.” We, instead, offer entertainment and amusement. The church often tries to compete with what the world offers all the while Jesus is calling us to put to death what is earthly in us. I’m not saying all entertainment is wrong, but entertainment as a church growth model is problematic for discipleship.
Christ tells us to take up our cross but we’re often worried about our coffee. Jesus tells us to lay our life down but “the sermon didn’t really speak to me.” This mindset is problematic and prevalent. And it’s been bred in our churches in America. Alan Hirsh has said,
Ninety percent or more of the people who attend our services are passive. In other words, they are consumptive. They are the passive recipients of the religious goods and services being delivered largely by professionals in a slick presentation and service. Just about everything we do in these somewhat standardized services and ‘box churches,’ we do in order to attract participants, and to do this we need to make the experience of church more convenient and comfortable. It is the ultimate religious version of one-stop shopping-hassle-free. But alas, all we are achieving by doing this is adding more fuel to the insatiable consumerist flame. I have come to the dreaded conclusion that we simply cannot consume our way into discipleship. Consumerism as it is experienced in the everyday and discipleship as it is intended in the scriptures are simply at odds with each other.[8]
We have so distorted the radical call of Jesus that the standard for Christian faithfulness has become somewhat frequent church attendance or checking out the church’s livestream. It is such the norm for pastors to pander to the middle classes’ desire for safety and security, comfort and convenience, that it’s hardly ever seen for what it is. It’s just the way it is, the way it’s always been. Pastors will run themselves ragged, be chewed up, and spit out, all the time catering to the church’s perceived “needs.” The pastor can feel good because he sacrificed himself—and probably his family—for the “good” of the church. But what if “good of the church,” is equal to “sufficiently coddled and entertained”?
A major threat to the viability of Christianity in America is consumerism. Revelation warns Christians of the beast and Babylon. Perhaps American Christians are unaware that one of the evils of Babylon is its consumerism. Consumerism and following Christ are contradictory, they are positive and negative magnets, they repel each other. Again, “We plainly cannot consume our way into discipleship.”[9] In part, because “The task of the church is not to make men and women happy; it is to make them holy.”[10]
Entertainers provide popcorn and reclining chairs. Coaches provide water to replenish sweat and bandages to stop bleeding. Fans sit in their seats and buy hot dogs. Players lay it all on the line on the field. When we entertain we make fans. When we coach we make players. Fans may not sweat and bleed from the stands but are often overweight and unhealthy.
When we overprotect and provide, we stunt growth. In this way, people and plants are both byproducts of their environments. Biosphere 2 was built in Arizona to test the possibility of creating an ecological system that would support plant and human life in outer space. Everything was thought of; everything was perfect—too perfect. The trees in Biosphere 2 appeared strong and healthy until they collapsed.
The trees did not experience the stress of real life outside their perfectly designed environment. There was no wind, which resulted in a weaker cellular structure and roots that did not grow as deep. Perfectly curated environments hinder actual maturity. In the same way, an emphasis on entertainment is antithetical to an apprenticeship with Jesus. Curated comfortable environments can curb our conformity to Christ.
Notes
[1] Justin Sarachik, “Everybody Loves a Good Cover,” 48 in Common Good
[2] https://www.barna.com/research/half-churchgoers-not-heard-great-commission/
[3] Being a disciple of Jesus is much more than knowledge but what we believe is very important. When we look at the beliefs of “evangelical Christians” there is much reason for concern. The 2022 Ligoniers State of Theology found that 43% of evangelical Christians agree with this statement: “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God” and 56% agree with this statement: “God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam” (See https://thestateoftheology.com).
[4] Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways, 110.
[5] Charles Colson and Ellen Vaughn, Being the Body, 22.
[6] Tim Chester and Steve Timmis, Everyday Church: Gospel Communities on Mission, 49.
[7] See Neil Postman’s book with the same title: Amusing Ourselves to Death.
[8] Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways, 110.
[9] Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways, 45.
[10] Colson and Vaughn, Being the Body, 26.
Rethinking Church: From Invitation to Evangelism
What if church were different? What if we evangelize instead of invite?
Admittedly, this is an old study, but in 1988 George Barna found that
Despite the fact that churches and para-church organizations have spent billions of dollars on evangelism. More than 10,000 hours of evangelistic television programming have been broadcast, in excess of 5,000 new Christian books have been published, and more than 1,000 radio stations carry Christian programming. Yet despite such widespread opportunities for exposure to the Gospel, there has been no discernible growth in the size of the Christian body.[1]
Could it be because invitation has replaced evangelism, and inviting people to the Christmas program has replaced dinner in our homes? The church was always supposed to incarnate the good news of Jesus and show the lived reality of His reign through Christian love. Francis Schaeffer went as far as to say that the love of Christians must be visible, for it is “the final apologetic.”[2]
Perhaps we must take a different approach than the church growth experts have promoted for decades. Instead of watching the neighbor’s kids, who is a single mother and in need of a lot of help, we are exhausting ourselves in the nursery supporting the church service. What if we did the opposite?! What if we didn’t serve in nursery, and instead knew and helped our neighbors? The church was never meant to be for itself. It exists to love Jesus and love others like Jesus.
The Bible tells us to “go and tell.” It doesn’t instruct us to “invite people to a building.” We are to be the church, not invite people to a building we’ve falsely labeled “church.”
“Letting our light shine” was never meant to become: “gather all the lights in the same building and keep them from the dark.” Too often, Christian life circles around propping up and keeping the institution of the church afloat. It becomes a vicious cycle. The church needs people at the “church” to keep the “church” going, all the while taking the church out of the world.
People often ask me, “Why is the world such a dark place?” Could it be, in part, because the church—the light of the world—has left the world and gone into a building? Sadly, churches are notorious for taking people out of actual outreach to put them on an outreach committee.
Further, we’ve hamstrung ourselves by encouraging and facilitating invitation over evangelism. Instead of the whole body being deployed in specific contexts where different people are specifically equipped to contextually share the good news of Jesus, we’ve allowed the onus to fall on professional clergy. Inviting someone to church is now the faithful thing to do. We’ve essentially taken an army off the frontlines where they are desperately needed and given a weapon to one person to wield from the stage.
UPS delivers packages to us, typically Amazon packages. What if UPS went around town and told us we could go to the distribution center one day a week between 9 and 11 AM and pick up packages? First, that’d be bizarre. Second, it would be very unhelpful and UPS wouldn’t be in business very long. Third, it would be a lot like our “evangelism” in America. Yet, as Bill Hull has said, “There are no commands in Scripture for non-Christians to go to church, but there are plenty about Christians going to the world.”
Instead of being missionaries, we expect those who would be part of the church to become missionaries. The responsibility is on them to cross boundaries and learn a new vocabulary. Instead of crossing the thresholds into people’s homes and inviting them into ours, we’re inviting them to a sterile church building. We’re inviting them to a strange and foreign institution. Jesus and Paul sought out people where they were, they didn’t invite them to a church service.
Jesus who is the good news, brought good news. He did not merely call us up to heaven. He came down from heaven—to walk, dine, and die for us—to bring us up. And Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you” (Jn. 20:21; 17:18). He has sent us not to merely invite people to a church building, but to compel people into the Kingdom.
Notes
[1] George Barna, Marketing the Church (Navpress, Colorado Springs, CO, 1990), 22.
[2] Bryan A. Follis, Truth with love: the apologetics of Francis Schaeffer, 58.
[3] Luke 14:23 says, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled” but the context (note v. 15) informs us that the parable is about the Kingdom, and not any one church. It’s certainly not about a church building.
What if church were different?
What if church were different? And what if church needed to be different? Different to better fit the biblical ideal and different to better reach North America? What might that “different” look like?
Christianity as we know it in America is receding. That’s what John Dickerson shared in his book The Great Evangelical Recession in 2013. The decline of evangelical Christianity in America “is not just that we’re failing at evangelism or just that we’re failing to keep our own kids or just that we’ll lose 70 percent of our funding in the next thirty years. It’s all those factors (and more) combined and gaining speed simultaneously.”[1]
If that’s the case, and it is, “We are in need of a new paradigm, not a mere reworking of the existing one.”[2] I propose a new paradigm in upcoming posts; but first, let’s look at the current reigning paradigm.
What is the typical American church growth model? What is seen as necessary for the continued growth of the church?
- Inspiring worship experiences by an excellent band and positive worship leaders.
- Dynamic and entertaining preaching related to the felt needs of the audience.
- Fun programming for kids and youth.
- Excellent parking and building facilities.
- Effective marketing and branding to set the church apart from other churches.
- Small group opportunities without commitment.[3]
- The latest and greatest visual technology.
- Increasing staff, buildings, and money.
- When the church grows, go multisite and export the brand.
With all of this, in the USA, we spend roughly $1.5 million on church functions per baptism of one new convert (notice, this is a convert, not a trained up faithful follower of Jesus).[4]
Further, the “market appeal” for this type of church in America is around 35 percent.[5] Most evangelical churches subscribe to this approach yet growth with this model is relatively rare.[6] It is quite hard to start a Saddleback, Willow Creek, or Mars Hill. It takes a whole lot of money and talent and can produce a whole lot of scandal. And sadly these churches often produce fans who sit in their seats instead of Jesus followers who serve.
I am sure church growth experts were sincere, well-intentioned, and did not perceive the ramifications of the consumeristic approach. Yet, they “have explicitly taught us how to market and tailor the product to suit target audiences. They told us to mimic the shopping mall, apply it to the church, and create a one-stop religious shopping experience catering to our every need.” In this way, “consumerism has actually become the driving ideology of the church’s ministry.”[7] Of course, in our preaching, we’re against consumerism but our practice often says something else.
One of the problems, however, is who is going after the roughly 65 percent of people not interested in the typical American church? How are we going to reach the people who think church branding is shallow? What about the people who long for authenticity and not a “positive worship experience?”
What if something else is needed in America? What if we don’t need more mega churches, what if we need micro churches? What if we need simple churches, filled with authentic Jesus followers? What if more money and more buildings aren’t the key?
What if many people are disillusioned not with Christianity, but with the American church? What if people don’t need better visuals during the service but someone to imitate in real life? What if people need a visual of how to live their messy lives as followers of Jesus? What if what we’re building is built with straw (1 Cor. 3:10-15)?
Notes
[1] John Dickerson, The Great Evangelical Recession, 22. Before that, in 2008, Christine Wicker wrote, The Fall of the Evangelical Nation. In it, she said, “Evangelical Christianity in America is dying… They are a remnant, unraveling at every edge. Look at it any way you like: Conversions. Baptisms. Membership. Retention. Participation. Giving. Attendance. Religious literacy. Effect on the culture. All are down and dropping” (Christine Wicker, The Fall of the Evangelical Nation: The Surprising Crisis Inside the Church [2008, Harper One], ix).
[2] Alan Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways, 26.
[3] These small are designed with on and off-ramps so if people are “too much” fellow Christians don’t have to “bear their burdens.” A sense of community needs to be available but needs to conveniently fit the limited schedule carved out for it.
[4] David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends AD 30-AD 2200, 520-29.
[5] Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways, 36.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid., 110.
Photo by Kenny Eliason
Does Satan exist? And if so…
Does Satan exist? There is trouble for us if Satan exists and if he does not exist. Let me explain…
𝐈𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭
If Satan does not exist, how then do we think about the existence of evil? If God is dead, as Nietzsche argued and many have quipped, then so is Satan, and so is our concept of good and evil. Personal likes and dislikes, yes, we still have individual tastes and preferences. Some people like lima beans, some don’t. Some think murder is in good taste, and others don’t. But there is no moral high ground, no actual good and evil.[2]
Andrew Delbanco wrote a book called The Death of Satan. In it, he explains that evil used to “have a face, a name, an explanation.”[1] But now, modern refined humanity doesn’t believe in an evil force at work in the world. Yet, this hasn’t been the case for most of history or even for most people across the globe, even now.
Germany went from being the most sophisticated culture to being a killing culture. They went from a people of art, architecture, and invention to the mass murder of some six million Jews. If evil and Satan don’t exist, then we can’t say the mass murder of millions is evil. We can say we personally don’t like mass murder, but we can’t call it “evil.” That’s problematic.
“We live in the most brutal century in human history.” “The work of the devil is everywhere, but no one knows where to find him.” We have a crisis in our culture. We experience evil, but many don’t believe in actual evil. “We feel something that our culture no longer gives us the vocabulary to express.”[3]
If Satan and evil don’t exist, then it’s bad because there is no real category for “bad.” Then there is no explanation for the things that seem evil; they would then just be, be a regular part of the world. Seemingly evil experiences would just be normal. The way the world is. Also, if evil is not real, it can’t be overcome, defeated, or done away with.
“Don’t be evil” used to be Google’s corporate motto. It’s not now. Did they change their motto because there is no longer a real category of “evil”? If evil is not a real category, people can’t be evil.
𝐈𝐟 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭
The truth is, however, it sure seems like evil and Satan exist. I’m reading The Others Within Us: Internal Family Systems, Porous Mind, and Spirit Possession. It’s essentially about what various cultures have to say about spirit possession. The author says spiritual possession is found in every major world religion. One of the researchers cited did a study in 488 societies worldwide and found that it is “probably universal and occurs in all societies.”[4] The book said, “spirit possession often gives the possessed physical abilities that are not explainable.” I have credible friends who have told stories of people who were out of their mind, were not on drugs, yet possessed physical strength not explainable from a merely material perspective. Could what they witnessed be spirit possession?
We are very likely to be outwitted by Satan and his fellow conspirators when we are unaware of their schemes, let alone their existence. As the movie The Usual Suspects says, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”
In Harry Potter, “Voldemort, Lucius Malfoy, and their associates are bent on hating and destroying the stability and structures of the wizard world. Dumbledore, Hagrid, Harry, and their friends are committed to saving them.”[5] In the real world, there’s also a battle going on. We’re in trouble if we’re unaware.
The world is at war. There is an enemy always seeking to harm. We are in a world of magic, good and bad. As C.S. Lewis has said, “There is no neutral ground in the universe. Every square inch, every split second is claimed by God, and counterclaimed by Satan.” But the Bible says that the boss of the universe is good. And that’s a good thing. The sinister Satan will finally and decisively be defeated, never to work his woe again. If Satan and evil exist, it’s bad because Satan and evil are bad. It’s bad because there are actors in our world who want to inflict harm and intentionally destroy.
(𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟) 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 & 𝐄𝐯𝐢𝐥
The Bible makes sense of the weird wild world we inhabit. The Bible is a big, amazing story. It surpasses Marvel and the Lord of the Rings. It tells us about God making the universe. It tells us about spiritual beings rebelling against God and starting a cosmic battle.
The Bible says in our world there is not one actor—humanity, but three—God, spiritual beings, and humans. Christians both believe in actual evil and resistance to evil. There’s a danger to not believing in actual evil; if there’s no evil, evil can’t be resisted. If there is no evil, individuals might label this or that thing “bad” or “good” but that’s just opinion.
For Christians, the understanding of evil and Satan is not simplistic. In regards to human beings, there’s not a clear-cut divide between good and evil. I want to do good but often do bad (Rom. 7:15-20). We all stumble in many ways (James 3:2). Yet, there is something beyond human dysfunction. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12).
The Bible says we are in a world where sinister evil lurks. But it also tells us about God’s rescue mission in Christ Jesus. Jesus fought the evil enemy, He defeated and cast out the great dragon’s evil henchmen. Jesus casts out demons like light expels darkness. Jesus, in contrast, to other exorcists “is presented as an authority in control of the unclean spirits. He typically rebuked and commanded them. He relied on the spirit of God and did not use charms or talismans or magical papyri, which were common in his day. He sent out his disciples, clearly stating that he gave them the authority and power to control demons.”[6]
There will come a day when every being will bow, and every entity in the entire universe will publicly acknowledge that Jesus is Lord (Phil. 2:10-11). As humans confess with every breath that we need air, it will be abundantly and eternally clear that Jesus is the boss of every creature. We can withstand anything the world throws at us, not in our power, but through the power of Jesus (Rom. 8; Eph. 6:10).
[1] Andrew Delbanco, Death of Satan, 4.
[2] See J. Daniel McDonald, “Natural Selection and an Epistemology of Evil: An Incompatible Pair.”
[3] Andrew Delbanco, The Death of Satan, 9.
[4] Robert Falconer, The Others Within Us: Internal Family Systems, Porous Mind, and Spirit Possession.
[5] John Killinger, God, The Devil, and Harry Potter, 178.
[6] Falconer, The Others Within Us.
Sports Betting: Christians and Gambling?
Sports betting is promoted all over the place. It is estimated that $35 billion will be bet on the 2024 NFL season. That estimate is 30% higher than last year. 38 states have legal betting markets.[1] Ironically, there are all sorts of commercials promoting sports betting and encouraging responsible gambling. If commercials are airing about responsible gambling, that is a clear sign that a lot of people struggle to gamble responsibly. That itself should be a warning.
Christians are to be good stewards of the resources and responsibilities that have been entrusted to them (Genesis 2:15; Luke 16:1-12; 1 Corinthians 4:1-10; 1 Peter 4:10; Titus 1:7). Misuse of resources is a form of theft because it fails to honor God as the ultimate owner and one that has given those resources to be managed well. Christians have been bought with a price, so we are supposed to honor Jesus with our bodies and belongings.
If we have the world’s goods, we should heavily consider whether we are optimally using those resources. As 1 John 3:17 says, “Whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”
Here are some helpful questions for us to ask as we consider whether or not we should gamble:
- Are you hoping to get rich quick (Proverbs 13:11)?[2]
- Are you gambling because you are covetousness or trusting in wealth (Luke 12:15; 1 Timothy 6:17)
- Is it illegal (Romans 13:1-2)?[3]
- Are you addicted, or could it lead to addiction (Proverbs 6:27; 1 Corinthians 6:12)?
- Are you gambling for your own glory and fulfillment (1 Corinthians 6:20; 10:31)?[4]
- Is it going to cause others to stumble (Romans 14:21; 1 Corinthians 10:31-33)?
- Is it profitable, and does it encourage you to love and do good works (Titus 3:8; Hebrews 10:24)? Will it hinder your motivation to live your life fully for the Lord (Romans 12:1)?
- Will you be unduly tempted to run to it for refuge and a means of peace rather than the Lord who alone gives true peace (Psalm 18:2, 30; John 14:27)?
With all that said, I do not believe the Bible says, “Thou shalt not take part in any type of gambling.” If one considers the above questions and believes it is okay to occasionally gamble conservatively, then that is the individual’s choice. We spend money on entertainment sometimes, and I do not think that is inherently wrong. But I certainly believe we should not take part in gambling lightly.
[1] See David Purdum, “Estimated $35 billion expected to be bet on NFL this season.”
[2] Sadly, gambling tends to prey on the poorest in society (Proverbs 22:16, 22).
[3] It should be realized that some gambling is often associated with organized crime.
[4] “The ‘whatever’ is universal. It includes our eating and drinking, sleeping, waking, bathing, working, marrying, entertaining ourselves—indeed, every human activity. When we glorify God, we are doing right, and when we do not glorify God, we are doing wrong” (John Frame, The Doctrine of the Christian Life, 169).
Should Christians Vote for Christian Values?
Yes but realize…
Voting for Christian values is important. It’s difficult, however, when we cannot be sure elected officials will support Christian values. Politicians blow with the wind of popular opinion.[1] And what if there are potentially Christian values on both sides? Further, what if Christian values are not the most important? What if Christian witness also matters? And what if people find themselves conflicted because they can’t, in good conscience, go with either party?
What if people feel that sometimes Christians have appeared to idolize political leaders and thus compromise Christian witness? We must value Christ and love others like Christ. Those are Christian values that aren’t a matter of conscience.
Also, the good news of Jesus is the power of God to salvation and thus transformation, not Christian morality. When Paul spoke to people in the secular marketplace, he didn’t preach Christian values. He lovingly related to them their need for Jesus.
Voting for Christian values may not be as cut and dry as it used to be. Christian values cut both ways. Christian values say abortion is wrong and honesty and humility are right; it says sexual immorality is wrong and radically loving others is right.
Yes but be aware of hypocrisy
As much as caring about Christian values for our country is a way of caring about people’s good and loving them, I think it is appropriate and commendable. But our concern for Christian values can easily devolve into fear. Are we advocating for Christian values from a place of fear or care? The way that we advocate will reveal a lot about our motivations. When Christians are belligerent and unkind, it appears the motivation is coming from a place of fear and not because they want to love their neighbor and protect them from the consequences of an immoral lifestyle.
Our motivation for voting for Christian values should not be a desire to stay safe or the moral majority. Our motivation should be the good of our neighbor. I believe Christian values are a form of common grace that leads to human and societal flourishing. It makes sense for Christians to want even a secular society to practice Christian values. The expectation, however, should be that secular society will not be inclined to practice those values. Why should Christian values be valuable to nonChristians?
This is especially true when Christians themselves aren’t living out the virtues. When Christians fail to display the fruits of the Spirit, for example, they’re not making a good case for nonChristians living Christian values. What impact might it have if Christians lived a lot more like Jesus? What if Christians were loving, kind, moral, gentle, hospitable, and not fearful? People might be intrigued, and Christian values might be more attractive. It sadly seems like the average Christian will talk about the woes of politics in the world but won’t weep about the prevalence of pornography in the Church.
Perhaps Christians need to focus more on living Christian values than implementing those values for others. If Christians across the USA are not themselves living Christian values, it seems like the height of hypocrisy to force them on others. If Christians across the nation lived like Jesus and practiced Christian values, I believe people would be very interested in Christian values. And more importantly, they would be interested in Christ.
Yes but more is needed than voting
As it is, I feel like Christians trying to pull the spec out of others’ eyes has distracted us from the log in our own eyes. But again, that’s not to say I don’t care about the USA or any other nation practicing Christian values. I would like every nation and everyone to practice Christian values! I want everyone to be like little Jesuses. But judgment starts with the church (1 Peter 4:17). If the Church isn’t healthy and following the Lord Jesus’ commands, maybe that’s the bigger deal. We should want everyone to practice Christian morality, but we shouldn’t expect it. In a sense, we should expect them not to (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:10).[2] Just as the president is not our pastor and chief, Babylon will never be the new Jerusalem. To what degree should we be satisfied enforcing Christian values? I’d much rather the Zeitgeist in the USA be changed, which happens by the Spirit through His people.
I also think it’s a problem when Christians seem to wholesale lineup with one party. Christians should be willing to lovingly critique both the right and the left. If we care about Christian values, it applies to both parties. Just as we want America to practice Christian values, we want politicians from the left and right to practice Christian values. If we call out people on the left (remember Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky?), we should be consistent and call out people on the right. If we’re not consistent in our critique, we make it seem like we are not standing on the solid basis of transcultural truth but are biased and trying to protect our preferred political party. Then Christian witness is inconsistent and incongruent.
Also, as the Founding Fathers and Alexis de Tocqueville said in Democracy in America, this country is for a moral people.[3] As John Adams famously said, “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” In his farewell address, George Washington said, “Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.” Essentially, when the morality, virtue, and integrity of the people begin to fail, the American experiment will begin to fail. Yet, we can’t change people’s hearts by changing rules. As the University of Pennsylvania seal says, “Laws without morals are useless” (Leges sine moribus vanae). Sure, I believe in good moral laws, but it is short-sighted to think an election can hold off what’s coming down the pike. Many Christians focus too much on politics and not enough on loving hospitality to those who are different than them.
The USA may be helped through voting, but it won’t be saved. We need an overhaul of character and yet at this time, Christians don’t seem to care about character. Many Christians seem to be looking for rescue from the rash and brash.
If we trust a political party to keep back the flood as the damn breaks, we’re trusting in a façade. No political party is the hope of America. If our morality is to truly change, hearts must change. Politics might be able to patch a hole here and there, but our focus must be concentrated where more impact will be felt. Plus, our goal as Christians is not to save America. It sadly seems that a lot of Christians care more about morality than people. It appears like many American Christians want to save America rather than Americans and care more about an earthly country than Jesus’ Kingdom.
Notes
[1] See e.g., https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-the-gop-became-pro-choice/ and https://wng.org/opinions/the-veepstakes-and-the-sanctity-of-life-1720520906.
[2] “Most of the New Testament’s moral witness is about Christian morality inside the life of the church. But that focus about Christian moral integrity doesn’t welcome moral chaos outside the church” (Andrew T. Walker, Faithful Reason: Natural Law Ethics for God’s Glory and our Good, 68).
[3] Tocqueville, for example, said, “Society is endangered not by the great profligacy of a few, but by the laxity of morals amongst all” and “A nation cannot long remain strong when every man belonging to it is individually weak.” Also, “Without common ideas, there is no common action, and without common action men still exist, but a social body does not. Thus in order that there be society, and all the more, that this society prosper, it is necessary that all the minds of the citizens always be brought together and held together by some principle ideas.”
Photo by Elliott Stallion
Observations from a Hospice Chaplain
It is counterintuitive, but one of the wisdom literature books in the Bible, Ecclesiastes, says it’s better to go to a funeral than a feast. Why would it be better to go to a funeral than a feast? Because a funeral is the destination of all people, the living should consider that reality and take it to heart.
As a hospice chaplain, I think about the reality of death. Our culture often doesn’t. We live in a “society that often isolates death and dying from the flow of daily life, unlike almost every other society in history… The modern West is an anomaly in this regard: most ages and cultures have lived much closer to the fact of human mortality.”[1]
There are various benefits to being aware of the reality of death. For one, death is a reality. Future drivers ideally care at least a little bit about their education on how to drive. We, all the time, are preparing for things that are inevitable in the future. It makes sense for us to prepare for death, as well. As the psalmist says, our years are limited, “so teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:12).
𝟏) 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬.
Little everyday decisions shape us into the type of people we will be. We are in the process of becoming. Death reminds us that the way we live every day matters.
Be aware of your trajectory.
𝟐) 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones” (Proverbs 17:22). I have definitely seen this lived out. Our attitude and perspective matter in life and affect the way we die.
Cultivate a heart of thanksgiving.
𝟑) 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝.
I don’t think many people will wish they had spent more time on their iPhones when they are lying on their deathbeds. Ask yourself: “Am I valuing what is valuable?”
Don’t waste your time (what your life is made up of!) on pointless pursuits.
𝟒) 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.
On our deathbed, what will matter most is not the plaques on our walls or the money in our bank account. It is the relationships made, the people we invested in, and the people standing around our bed. Vivek H. Murthy, who served as the surgeon general of the United States, said, “When I think back on the patients I cared for in their dying days,… their status in the eyes of society were never the yardsticks by which they measured a meaningful life. What they talked about were relationships. The ones that brought them great joy. The relationships they wish they’d been more present for. The ones that broke their hearts. In the final moments, when only the most meaningful strands of life remain, it’s the human connections that rise to the top.”[2]
Make time for relationships even if it means less money.
𝟓) 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.
Christians specifically believe that “what is suffered by one can be suffered by all, and that every body is a fragile temple of God’s Spirit and worthy of care.”[3] The dignity of every person, even in their dying days, is a precious and important value. And caring for people and helping them die well matters. The truth is, dying for most people will be messy in a biological sense. However, those with knowledge and skill can provide compassionate care to the bodily needs of dying persons. I have been honored to see hospice nurses and aids provide this tenderhearted care.
Honor others (even if they’re radically different or difficult).
𝟔) 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞.
We all die in the same way. No matter how competent, tough, resilient, and successful, we will need help. We are all human. “Nothing human is alien; no joy and no sorrow, no way of living and no way of dying.”[4] As John Donne, the pastor poet, said, “Death comes equally to us all, and makes us all equal when it comes.” Or as Jerome, the theologian, said, “He whom we look down upon, whom we cannot bear to see, the very sight of whom causes us to vomit, is the same as we are, formed with us from the self-same clay, compacted of the same elements. Whatever he suffers, we also can suffer.”
Don’t assume that something bad that happens to someone else, can’t happen to you; it can.
𝟕) 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞.
There’s a lot more to everyone around us if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. What we see is just the tip of the iceberg; everyone has a lot under the surface, a history.
Take time to get to know people and don’t prejudge.
𝟖) 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐝.
“There is a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). Grief is the price we pay for love. Tears tell a tale of love.
When appropriate lean into both sorrow and joy, they’re important and related.
𝟗) 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.
People respond to the presence of people. Physical presence matters. I think of 2 John 12: “Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.” FaceTime is great but it can’t replace face time.
When present be present, and prioritize physical presence over technological alternatives.
𝟏𝟎) 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞.
Don’t wait to rest and relax until you retire. I’ve met people who have said, “When I retire I will ___.” But, when they retired, they got the diagnosis.
Remember you’re going to die, and you don’t know when, so live while you’re alive.
𝟏𝟏) 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥.
If we live long enough, no matter who we are, our bodies will become frail and fail. No matter how healthy, no matter how strong, our bodies can and will fail; and they can fail when least expected.
Take care of your body but know there will come a day when it will fail more and more.
𝟏𝟐) 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝.
As my brother, and I’m sure others have said, “The best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago, the second best time is now.” It’s the same with relationships, end-of-life planning, and anything important.
If there’s something important that needs doing, do it.
[1] Amy Plantinga Pauw, “Dying Well” in Dorothy C. Bass, *Practicing Our Faith*, 163.
[2] Vivek H. Murthy, *Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World*, 284.
[3] Stephanie Paulsell, “Honoring the Body” in Bass, *Practicing Our Faith*, 17.
[4] Henri Nouwen, *The Wounded Healer*.
Photo by Dominik Lange
Is the world broken?
Have you ever thought about the problem of evil and suffering? Have you ever asked, “Why is the world so cruel?”
My daughter came to me crying. “Why do Mom and Lyla have to be sick? If God exists and is good, why is there suffering?”
As I thought about how to answer, tears came to my eyes and an image came to my mind, a shattered platter. By looking at the shattered shards you could tell the platter used to be ornate and beautiful. Upon reflection, that seems like an accurate picture of the world. It certainly seems broken, but yet it has clear traces of beauty.
What happened? How did the platter get that way? If the platter is broken, it seems to make sense that it was previously whole. Otherwise, it would not be broken; it would just be. The shattering, the brokenness, is just the way the world is. There, then, was no previous better state, nor should we expect a future better state.
So either the brokenness of the world assumes a previous state of the world that was whole and good, or there is no wholeness, only shattered shards that were never part of a whole and never will be. Everything is either light with little pockets of darkness, or everything is darkness with little pockets of light.1
Are beauty, goodness, and love innate, or are they random meaningless sparks in a universe that is growing cold? A world without God may have a few pockets of light, but chaos should be expected.2 If God exists, however, and Christianity is true, then chaos is not the final state of the world.
We intuitively sense that the world is broken. We feel it in our bones metaphorically, and some of us feel it literally. How could the world be broken if it was not at some point whole? It seems, therefore, we can make a deduction from the broken state of the world to the original good design. Or else our hope and intuitive sense that something is wrong is wrong.
Whole
The Bible says God created the world whole. The original creation was very good (Genesis 1:31). The platter was ornate and beautiful, so to speak. No disease or need for dentures. No sin or suffering. No turmoil or tears. No fighting or fears. No death and no destruction.
Christians believe “the bedrock reality of our universe is peace, harmony, and love, not war, discord, and violence. When we seek peace, we are not whistling in the wind but calling our universe back to its most fundamental fabric.”3 Christians believe in evil, and they believe it’s a problem. The world was not supposed to be a place of suffering. Evil and suffering are not a hoax, but they don’t have a place in God’s good intentions. The world is broken.
Broken
The platter shattered. The world broke. Sin unleashed suffering, disease, destruction, and death. The brokenness of the world and the messed up nature of humans are teachings of Christianity that can be confirmed by turning on the news.
Christianity explains the origin of the problem of evil and suffering and makes it clear that it is a problem. That is, Christianity says suffering is not innate in the way the world was supposed to be. And Christianity traces the problem of suffering to a historical cause.
Christianity not only says there’s something wrong with the world, it says there is something wrong with humans, with you, and with me.4 It’s not easy to admit our faults, but to deny there is anything wrong with humanity is to say that this is as good as it gets.5 That, also, is not a happy conclusion. Better to face reality head-on than to stumble in a land of make-believe.
Naturalism, in contrast, does not seem to give a sufficient answer, other than suffering is just the way of the world. We’re essentially animals, so we’re going to be animalistic, and so suffering will result. We’re in a world of chaos and chance, so the world will be chaotic. There is no real problem of suffering, there’s an expectation of suffering. Or, there should be. And for naturalists, there is no category for evil.6 Evil gives off no kinetic energy. There is no entity to evil. Various people may have opinions, likes, and dislikes, but from a strictly naturalistic perspective, there is no evil.
Another problem is that “modernity cannot understand suffering very deeply because it does not believe in suffering’s ultimate source.”7 Modernity will then never find the true answer to suffering. If I fix a leaky sink in my house because I notice a puddle and mold, that may be helpful, but it will not fix the problem if the problem is a leak in the roof. If we don’t know the origin of a problem, there is no hope of fixing the problem. We will be left with external shallow bandages. As I say elsewhere, naturalism cannot truly identify evil as a problem because evil, for naturalism, does not exist. If evil is not seen as a real problem then it certainly can’t be solved.
As Peter Kreeft has said, “If there is no God, no infinite goodness, where did we get the idea of evil? Where did we get the standard of goodness by which we judge evil as evil?”8 Or here’s how C.S. Lewis said it: “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing the universe to when I called it unjust.”9
The Bible says sin and suffering are not original to the world; sin and suffering have a beginning in history, and they are not a feature of humanity or the world as originally created.10 That is good news. We do not have to be left in our broken state. We sense that not all is right in the world or in our own hearts and lives. The Bible agrees. Yet, that is not all; it says there is a solution.
The Broken Healer
While writing this, my daughter came into the room and said her bones hurt. That is part of her condition. She has CRMO, which stands for chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis. Basically, her body attacks her own bones, inflammation causes liaisons and fractures her bones, which can lead to deformity. It could stop harming her body when she stops growing, or it could continue her whole life. She currently gets infusions at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in hopes of putting it in remission.
How does Jesus relate to her pain? As Jesus’ biographies relate, “Jesus on the night that He was betrayed took the bread and broke it and said, ‘This is my body which is broken for you’” (1 Corinthians 11:23-24). Jesus was broken for her. Jesus’ bones did not break (John 19:36; Exodus 12:46; Psalm 34:20), but His body did. He did writhe in pain. Jesus may not heal all our brokenness now, but He was broken so that the fractured world could be healed.
The Bible says God took on human flesh (John 1:1-3, 14) partly to experience suffering Himself. God, therefore, understands suffering, “not merely in the way that God knows everything, but by experience.”11 Jesus became fully human in every way so that He could be faithful and merciful, and provide rescue and forgiveness to people (Hebrews 2:17). The Bible may not completely answer the mystery of suffering and evil, but it does give an answer: Jesus. Amid the struggles and psychological storms of life, the cross of Christ is a column of strength and stability. It signals out to us in our fog: “I love you!” The cross is the lighthouse to our storm-tossed souls.
Christianity teaches that the Potter made the platter and was heartbroken over it breaking. So, because of His love for the platter, the Potter allowed Himself to be broken to fix the broken platter (John 3:16). The Bible does stop with the Potter being broken. The Bible concludes with resurrection. Jesus dies, yes. But He does not stay dead. The shattered shards are mended and whole. Jesus is the foretaste, and His rising proves that the whole world will be put back together.
Healed and Whole
The mathematician, scientist, and philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote this thought, which, at first, is a little confusing: “Who would think himself unhappy if he had only one mouth, and who would not if he had only one eye? It has probably never occurred to anyone to be distressed at not having three eyes, but those who have none are inconsolable.”
What does Pascal mean by this? He means that we only miss something if it’s missing. We only miss something if it’s gone. We don’t notice an absence of things that were never there. Hunger points to food, thirst points to water, and a sense of brokenness points to a previous wholeness. As Peter Kraft has said, “We suffer and find this outrageous, we die and find this natural fact unnatural.” Why do we feel this way? “Because we dimly remember Eden.”12
Within our very complaint against God, there is a pointer to God and the reality of Christianity. Christianity gives a plausible explanation as to how the brokenness of the world happened in space and time history. But it also gives us a credible solution; the Potter who made the world and died for the world, promises to one day fix the world.
Christianity gives a logically consistent explanation for the brokenness of the world. And it supplies the solution. We certainly long to be healed and whole. Every dystopia, true and fictional, starts with a desire for utopia. But inevitably dissolves into dystopia. Jesus, however, is not only all-powerful and thus able to bring about a different state of things, He is also all-good so He actually can bring about a utopia. He can heal and make the world whole.
The Bible says that the Potter who formed the platter will reform and remake it in the end. The shattered shards will be put back in place, and everything will be mended and whole. The last book of the Bible says this:
‘Look! God’s home is now among people! God will live together with them. They will be his people. God himself will be with them and he will be their God. God will take away all the tears from their eyes. Nobody will ever die again. Nobody will be sad again. Nobody will ever cry. Nobody will have pain again. Everything that made people sad has now gone. That old world has completely gone away.’ God, who was sitting on the throne, said, ‘I am making everything new!’ (Revelation 21:3-5)
For now, we make mosaics out of the shattered shards of life. We paint as best we can with the canvas and colors we have.
Conclusion
We started with a few questions. Here are a few to consider at the end. What if you are not the only one that has walked your path of pain? What if you are not the only one that has faced your terrible trauma? What if there was someone who, because of their experience, knowledge, wisdom, empathy, sympathy, and their own suffering of trauma, could relate to all that you have gone through? What if that person loved you? What if they wanted to help you heal from your pain and protect you? What if they would go to any length to free you from what you have suffered?
What if the problem of evil gives a plausible argument for the reality of Christianity? What if naturalism does not even have a way to believe in the reality of evil? What if we do not like God because of all the bad things in the world, but God Himself actually took the bad things of the world on Himself to fix the broken world?
What if Jesus was shattered so that one day you could be mended and whole? And what if He promises to help pick up the pieces and make a masterful mosaic?
Photo by Evie S.
- Peter Kreeft, Making Sense Out of Suffering. ↩︎
- As Christopher Watkin has said, “in a world without the sort of god the Bible presents, there is no necessary stability to reality because nothing underwrites or guarantees the way things are” (Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible’s Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture, 225). ↩︎
- Watkin, Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible’s Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture, 55. ↩︎
- As N. T. Wright has said, “The ‘problem of evil’ is not simply or purely a ‘cosmic’ thing; it is also a problem about me” (N. T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God, 97). ↩︎
- Watkin, Biblical Critical Theory, 166. ↩︎
- Consider that “Physics can explain how things behave, but it cannot explain how they ought to behave. If the universe is the result of randomness and chance, there’s no reason to think things ought to be one way as opposed to another. Things just are.” (Michael J. Kruger, Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College, 116-17). ↩︎
- Peter Kreeft, Making Sense out of Suffering. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (London: Fontana, 1959), 42. ↩︎
- See Watkin, Biblical Critical Theory, 168. ↩︎
- D.A. Carson, How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering & Evil, 179. ↩︎
- Kreeft, Making Sense out of Suffering. ↩︎
4 Benefits of a Book Club
I recently became part of a book club. It has already been beneficial. I also asked my sister, a long-time “book cluber,” for her perspective. She, in turn, phoned her book club friends and they shared their thoughts too. Below are the 4 benefits of a book club that especially stuck out.
Accountability & Encouragement
Reading is important. There is much to gain from reading but we have to read to get those gains. And what we get from reading is not tangible. We can see a book but it’s difficult to see the impact a book has. Reading also takes concentrated effort. Reading is difficult in our age of distraction, especially if we’re out of practice.
With anything difficult, positive peer pressure is helpful. Atomic Habits, one of our book club books, says this:
One of the most effective things you can do to build better habits is to join a culture where your desired behavior is the normal behavior. New habits seem achievable when you see others doing them every day… Your culture sets your expectation for what is “normal.” Surround yourself with people who have the habits you want to have yourself. You’ll rise together.1
Discovery & Expansion
There are some books I would never choose to read. I used to only read nonfiction books but now I read about every genre. In fact, and I feel embarrassed to admit this now, there was a time when I didn’t want to read the Harry Potter book series. I told people that when I’m sitting in a nursing home then I’ll start them.2 Thankfully my son convinced me. I have the last book to finish but it’s been really good.
C.S. Lewis talks about the importance of reading old books “because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction.” Reading widely gives us a perspective we would not otherwise have. Reading can also help us “walk in someone else’s shoes.” Thus, reading widely can help us obtain wisdom and empathy. Getting out of our reading “comfort zone” might just help us see something we would otherwise be blind to. Of course, we must always be discerning readers.
Diverse Perspective
To misappropriate “A Whole New World” from Aladdin:
Books show you the world
shining, shimmering, splendid
books can open your eyes
take you wonder by wonder
over, sideways, and under
on a magic book ride
a whole new world
a new fantastic point of view
Or as Peter Kreeft has said, “There’s a real place you can go where you can really find magic. You can get into other worlds there… Like getting into Narnia through the wardrobe. There are thousands of other worlds there, and holes to get into each one… It’s called a library.”3
A book club is like a magic boost. One of the great things about book club is you not only read books that you otherwise might not read but you have conversations with people and perspectives that you otherwise wouldn’t have. When echo chambers are in vogue, it’s important to seek out real conversation and even, perish the thought, disagreement. If we are to learn to be patient with people with different perspectives, it’s helpful to sit across from those people, to hear them and not just soundbites.
Seeking out diversity in book clubs, both in books read and people reading, is important because “even as we live with increasing diversity, it’s easier than ever to restrict our contact, both online and off, to people who resemble us in appearance, views, and interests. That makes it easy to dismiss people for their beliefs or affiliations when we don’t know them as human beings. The result is a spiral of disconnection that’s contributing to the unraveling of civil society today.”4
Social Connection
Social connection is vital. In fact, in Vivek H. Murthy’s book, Together, he says, “People with strong social relationships are 50 percent less likely to die prematurely than people with weak social relationships… weak social connections can be a significant danger to our health.”5 So not trying to oversell this, but being part of a book club can help you live longer!
One mother said one of the benefits of book club is “guaranteed grown-up conversation once a month.” In my observation, “grown-up conversation” is sadly lacking in many people’s lives. We might talk with people a little or a lot, but is our talk deep and meaningful? A book club can help people have not only relationships but also meaningful relationships through the important themes discussed in the books that are read. Many books, as one respondent said, “show us the depths and height of the human heart.” A book club also allows deep and meaningful conversations for introverts and extroverts without it being too awkward.
If you’re not part of a book club, you should join one. You will reap a bunch of benefits. You might even live longer.
- James Clear, Atomic Habits, p. 117. ↩︎
- I now say this about the Wheel of Time series. Although, I have enjoyed a Wheel of Time graphic novel as well as the Wheel of Time TV show. Most of my nine siblings get angry at me for talking about their cherished book series in this way. ↩︎
- Peter Kreeft, Making Sense of Suffering. ↩︎
- Vivek H. Murthy, Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, p. 134. ↩︎
- Vivek H. Murthy, Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, p.13. ↩︎
The Bible Shows the Worth of Women
The Bible over and over again shows the worth of women. This is in great contrast to the culture of its time. At the time of the writing of the New Testament women did not have equality with men. For example, there was no approved public place for the self-expression of women, and women could be subject to the death penalty if caught in the stands at the Olympics.
Christianity was also different from the surrounding culture in that it demanded holiness and honor not just from the wife but also from the husband, and both partners had sexual rights. This was not the Roman way. Sexual loyalty was required of women but not men, but the Bible counter-culturally taught that both partners were to be exclusively loyal to the marriage partner.
The Bible shows and defends the value of women. It repeatedly defies the expectations of the surrounding society. Christians turned the world upside down in many ways, for one, it showed women have inestimable worth and so their names are written across the word of God.1 There are some 202 women listed in the Bible. This is significant, for example, because the Quran lists just one and the Hindu Bhagavad Gita lists none.
Women have worth not as sexual objects, not as carriers of kids, and not as cooks. Women have worth because God loves them and Jesus died for them. Christianity also teaches that women are not to be mistreated. That, however, was not the expectation in the culture from which Christianity sprang. We see the contrast between Christianity and the culture of the time when we compare the contemporaries Plutarch, the philosopher and historian, and the Apostle Paul.
Plutarch allows husbands to have sexual relations outside of their marriage. It was actually expected that married men would have sexual relations with other women, such as prostitutes, female slaves, or mistresses from lower social classes. Demosthenes even famously said, “Mistresses we keep for our pleasure, concubines for our day-to-day physical well-being, and wives in order to bear us legitimate children and to serve as trustworthy guardians over our households.”
Paul, by contrast, calls for loving marital commitment for both the husband and the wife. Plutarch does not let wives speak in public, but Paul does. Plutarch says a wife should follow the religion of her husband. Paul says both spouses should love their spouse regardless of their religion. “For Plutarch, it is the husband who takes the initiative in sexual matters. For Paul, both partners have mutual obligation and should act in agreement.”2
Plutarch said husbands should rule their wives “as the soul rules the body.” Whereas Paul says in Ephesians 5 that “husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh.” What Paul and Plutarch say about how husbands are to live with wives is very different. Paul’s instructions to the churches he wrote to were subversive. He showed love and respect for both women and wives and told others to do so.
When we read the New Testament we see “Women were among the early churches’ most active and respected members.”3 The Bible shows women in high roles of leadership, compliments them, greets them, and considers them fellow workers in the gospel. Jesus spoke to and cared for the outcast Samaritan woman at the well. Even Jesus’ disciples were surprised. “They marveled that He was talking to a woman” (John 4:27). Yet He was. Jesus loved and cared for women. Of course, He loved women. He created them. And He created women as part of His good design to image Himself through humanity.
The Bible is emphatic that women have worth. Women are precious and made in the image of God. Women do not have less worth than men. Sadly, this has not always been understood or communicated as it should be. But thankfully Jesus once and for all communicated it on the cross when He bled and died for precious women. He never treated them like meat to fulfill His pleasure but died like meat to provide salvation.
Photo by Joel Muniz
- Romans 16 mentions 29 people and 10 of them are women. Here is the list of the females mentioned: Phoebe (Rom. 16:1-2), Priscilla (Rom. 16:3-5), Mary (Rom. 16:6) Junia (Rom. 16:7), Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis (Rom. 16:12), Rufus’ mother (Rom. 16:13), Julia and Nereus’ sister (Rom. 16:15). That may not seem like a lot but it is very significant for the time that over one-third of the people Paul greeted were women. Women were valuable colaborers in the early church. Here are some other women Paul mentions in his letters: Claudia (2 Tim. 4:21), Priscilla (Acts 18:25; 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 Tim. 4:19), Chloe (1 Cor. 1:11), Nympha (Col. 4:15), and Apphia (Philemon 1:2). ↩︎
- Benjamin Marx, “’Wifely Submission’ and ‘Husbandly Authority” in Plutarch’s Moralia and the Corpus Paulinum: A Comparison,” 88 in Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism. ↩︎
- Sarah Ruden, Paul Among the People: The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined in His Own Time, 86. ↩︎
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