Please excuse me!
I certainly do not intend to turn this blog into a feeder for Experimental Theology. However, I want to direct attention again to Dr. Beck's psychological/sociological descriptions of our religious thought processes.
In this post, he elaborates on the concept set forth in the previous post. You can read the entire post here -> On Why Hell Makes So Many Christians Happy
A sample:
Why is this? Why does hell make so many Christians happy?
I think part of an answer comes from the analysis offered in my last post. Specifically, given the existential anxiety caused by death and exacerbated by the prospect of hellfire, many Christians reach for tangible markers that allow them to verify that they are, indeed, saved. As I wrote in the last post, this is often accomplished by drawing clear ecclesial lines in the sand. We crave a clear circle that encloses the Saved, the Church. Outside of that circle are the Lost, the Damned.
This circle is existentially comforting. But its comfort hinges on its concreteness and clarity. If the line becomes fuzzy or indistinct then it no longer serves its existential purpose: Concrete reassurance of salvation. Thus, the boundary markers of faith, and their razor sharp clarity, become more important (and more prone to provoke an argument) than the essentials of faith. Churches fight over trivialities because those trivialities mark boundaries. And in the face of death it isn’t the core of faith that reassures us. Rather, what is critically important is the boundary and where I stand in relation to it. If everything outside the circle is bound for hellfire what matters most is not where the center of the circle is but where the edge is. The edge, the boundary, is what I need clarified. Thus, churches fight over edges, leaving the center, the core of the gospel, overlooked and unattended. For those who fear death, the core just isn’t as important. It, in a very real way, just doesn’t provide the needed reassurance.
And if all this is so, if the clarity of the boundary is what is so reassuring, then it stands to reason that we need, for existential soothing, a group of people to be clearly on the other side of the line. A clearly defined saved group by necessity creates a clearly defined damned group. And the more clearly defined the better. In short, many Christians need a clearly defined damned group to reap existential solace.
Friday, November 09, 2007
Some more fun
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3 comments:
That's very interesting, Jason.
Jennifer
Jason,
I really like what I've seen so far on the "Experimental Theology" blog. I don't comment or post much anymore, but have been extremely surprised lately about where God will speak to me, and his faithfulness. When I think about how different groups tend to put God in their own "box" in terms of how he operates and who he works through, I'm reminded of a verse I read in Psalms back in late summer when I was about to move to Rio. Psalm 139: 9-10
"If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast."
This reminds me that God is not limited by geography, or political boundaries, or even denominational boundaries.
Good thoughts and good post!
Eric,
Reading your comment reminds me of a title to one of Eugene Peterson's books, "Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places." I have yet to read the book, nevertheless, I love the title.
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