Hollow Faith 4 - Deism

 One of the most fascinating aspects of the modern Western idea of God as wish-granting genie or self-help therapist is how it is completely contrary to another pillar of Western theology - the idea of deism.

Ingram uses an amusing metaphor to launch his discussion of deism.  In it, he describes his fondness for brunch, especially the bread course.  The only real problem with the bread serving at brunch is choosing between pancakes and waffles.  Pancakes are great, but he really loves waffles.  Why?  Because they have those deep wells that can hold the fruit, butter, syrup, whipped cream or other topping-of-choice.  By choosing which compartments get the toppings, you can make silly faces or other designs on top of the waffles.  Those compartments can be a lot of fun, to say nothing of the ability to pick and choose between flavors.

The concept of deism lets us treat God like syrup on a waffle, compartmentalizing the parts of our lives that God can control and the parts we keep for ourselves.  With the waffle-like faith of deism, we can pick and choose which parts of our lives we fit our faith into, how much faith to apply, and, most importantly, where that faith will not go.  We can keep God at arm's length, dictating when and where God should help us out and when God should leave well enough alone.  Both science and religion become offerings on a philosophical smörgåsbord in which we get to pick and choose which bits we wish to accept and which bits we will reject.

"This notion of the containment, or distance of God, has produced a version of the faith that allows the compartmentalization of different aspects of the Christian life.  This compartmentalization has allowed the modern Christian to relegate God and the values of Christianity to certain acceptable areas and has allowed others to exist and to function while void of the intrinsic influence of the Christian faith." 

I don't think God is too fond of waffles.  I believe God is more into pancakes, where the syrup just runs everywhere whether we want it to or not.

The Compartmentalization of American Life and Religion 

Christian Smith, in his book Soul Searching (Oxford University Press, 2005), defines deism thus: "Deism is the belief in a particular kind of God; one who exists, created the world, and defines our general moral order, but not one who is particularly personally  involved in one's affairs - especially affairs in which one would prefer not to have God involved...The God of this faith keeps a safe distance."  Juxtaposing this idea of deism with our discussion of Therapeutic Theology explains my statement in the first paragraph of this post.  It seems we want a God who will swoop in and save us from our suffering, but when it comes to our finances, our politics or our sex lives, we'd just as soon God politely demur.

Ingram tells the story of Mark, a student in his youth group who had volunteered to help serve at a homeless shelter.  While there, Mark struck up a conversation with a homeless man who detailed his life story.  He had once been a computer programmer.  He had lost his job, then his wife (who took the kids), then the house had been foreclosed and, before he knew what had hit him, he had found himself among the nation's homeless.  Mark was shocked.  This man's story did not in any way resemble Mark's preconceived notion of homeless people as being universally lazy, alcoholics or drug addicts.  Mark was stunned to learn how many Americans live two paychecks away from homelessness.  Ironically, Mark concluded that this man, and those like him, represented the exceptions, with the majority of the homeless population still fitting his stereotype.  "Mark was able to compartmentalize what he believed to be true from his real-life experience."

"I continue to be amazed at how many people will consistently argue against things that Jesus said about the poor, the outcast, and the dejected.  They don't argue that Jesus' teachings are outdated or should be interpreted differently.  The arguments generally go along the lines of 'that will not work' or 'that is just not what I believe.'  I've even had others tell me that 'Jesus had a naive understanding of the world.'  When I probe their statements, I find people's views are generally informed more by the political party they affiliate with, their annual income, or their place in society.

"So much of American religion...finds its foundations in a subconscious ideology based upon our...place in life."  When pushed on "their responses to social issues, I get vague answers, at best; and they typically respond with, 'Well, that is just how it is' or 'that is what I believe.'  These statements support the American compartmentalization of faith and religion.  We even go to great apologetic lengths to make compartmentalization work and still maintain that we make faith-based decisions.  This is modern deism at its best."

Escape Pod Theology

In many science fiction movies and TV series, spaceships come equipped with an escape pod, a small module that can be used to evacuate the mother ship when the conditions onboard become unlivable or is in danger of invasion or destruction.  We often adopt an 'escape pod' mentality when it comes to religion.  "Escape pod theology teaches that this world is bad or evil; that our bodies are bad or evil; that all of creation is in an unstoppable perpetual downward spiral into the deep, dark abyss of eternity; and your seat belt is stuck.  We're often trapped in a dualistic understanding of world and self, where the only good things are the ones to come or are beyond this current time and place, with us desperately trying to get to the escape pod before the ship goes down."

This post would be way too long if I were to start listing all the passages of Scripture that refute this idea.  Simply put, the Escape Pod Theology described here is completely contrary to the Biblical image of a God and creation that are perfect, beautiful, and worthy of our praise and adoration.  Escape Pod Theology essentially says "if this place is so bad that we have to escape it ASAP to go be with God, then logic tells me that there is no way in the world that God is here."

Some Ways to Address Modern Deism

Everything is Spiritual 

Ingram attributes the following parable to Rob Bell, so credit extended thereto:

Have you ever spent time in a pottery shop?  I don't mean someplace like Pottery Barn; rather a small shop with the artist on hand demonstrating her craft and explaining the various pieces.  Pick up any piece on a shelf and examine it closely.  I guarantee you'll find a slight flaw; a thumbprint here, a slightly asymmetrical turn there.  Ironically, these imperfections actually add to the value of the piece.  Those perfectly machined pieces at Pottery Barn that sell for $2.99 will likely cost $299 here, just because of the flaws.

"God leaves thumbprints all over creation.

"Whether it is a mountain, the setting sun, a child's laugh, the songs of a tribe in Uganda, or the faint breathing of an elderly man in the ICU, everything is spiritual.  The thumbprints of our creator are all over the great masterpiece of creation."

Every Place is Holy

There are places where I have felt the presence of God.  My brother's place in Colorado.  My sister's place in Montana.  My other sister's place in the Piney Woods of East Texas.  These, among many other places, simply take one's breath away, create a sense of awe, and somehow just feel holy.

The problem is, I don't live in any of these places.  The area where I live has long referred to itself as the Metroplex.  It consists of over 200 cities and towns all butted up against each other like one, continuous urban sprawl.  It covers 11 Texas counties, and Texas counties are huge.  The Metroplex has a larger geographical footprint than the entire state New Jersey, larger that Connecticut and Rhode Island combined.  It has so much asphalt that it creates its own weather patterns, raising ambient temperatures by 10-15 degrees and sending rain clouds scurrying the other way.  For every tree there are four buildings and a half mile of pavement.  Everywhere you look you can see the hand of humanity, but it is very difficult to find the hand of God.

But here's the cool thing: "God doesn't ask our opinion of where holy places can and cannot be."

I had the privilege of working with the Disaster Relief Team of the American Red Cross following Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Now, New York is another one of those places that I wouldn't call "holy."  And it was even less so when a huge chunk of the area had been ripped away and blown out to sea.  Yet here in the midst of untold devastation, I witnessed countless stories of help and understanding, of people coming together and doing what had to be done to put folks' lives back on track.  There was a miracle around every corner.

Everywhere is holy to God.

Every Moment is Sacred

 "Where were you when JFK was shot?" "Where were you on 9/11?"  Our lives are marked by special moments: births, deaths, weddings, graduations.  When we, as a church, put so much sanctimony on Sunday mornings, we end up allowing ourselves to "play the devil" for the rest of the week.  And I get it.  When we tell people that "yes, God is in every moment, but for this hour every week, God's really, really here," we ensure our own places as crucial for the religious life of our parishioners and centralize our own programming and influence.  If you've read this far, you already know where I'm going with this.  I needn't dwell further.

You know what we really need?  We need a good jailbreak!  We need to break God out of the jail of our little boxes, our compartments, our limited ideas of what Christianity means.  As C.S. Lewis said "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea.  We are far too easily pleased."  It's time to blow this thing up!

"What would happen if we were to stop acting like waffles and began to practice pancake spirituality, letting God into every part of our thinking, actions, decisions, and lives...?  What if we let God's goodness run through our choices and our lifestyles?  What if we stop believing that God has God's place on Sunday morning and begin to understand that every time and every place is God's?

The jailbreak is on."

Pax