Hollow Faith 8 - Summary

 In my series on ecclesiology, I commented several times that the Western church is overdo for a reformation.  Throughout my series on Christian life, I have repeated ad nauseam that everything in Western ideology is wrong.  I have, on several occasions, attempted to explain in greater detail what I mean by those statements.  I find now that a small book I initially despaired reading does a far more concise job of doing this than I have been able to achieve.  Within the six short chapters of Hollow Faith: How Andy Griffith, Facebook, and the American Dream Diluted the Gospel, Stephen Ingram, in his own words, summarizes the problems of modern Western ecclesiology thus:

1. "Our culture has influenced the Church and Christianity in such a way that the radical gospel of Jesus Christ, the one who proclaimed that the first shall be last, who ate with prostitutes and tax collectors, and who told us to love our enemies, has been diluted into a loose set of beliefs, the first of which is that to be Christian is to be nice, be kind, and have the best of intentions.  The message and mission of Jesus has been transformed into a moralistic set of rules that are supposed to make his followers into 'good people' by the contextual standards of class, country, and political ideology.  Our churches...have become 'safe' in the worst possible way.  We have created a bland, homogeneous culture which values 'not rocking the boat' more than 'stepping out of the boat and walking on water.' "

2. "Much of the modern Christian's understanding of the church is wrapped up in the idea that God, the Scriptures, and the church's primary purpose is to offer comfort and self-actualization.  Contemporary society has created a desire for the church and God to function as a sort of religious genie in a bottle/therapist whose purpose is to boost self-esteem, improve confidence, and help us work through our problems.  This understanding has taken a gospel whose focus is the reconciliation of the world and has made it about the improvement of oneself.  It has turned an inherently outward focused movement into an inwardly focused and sometimes stagnant group with very little understanding of the fact that we are called to usher in the kingdom of God on this Earth.  Church...can often sound and feel more like a pep rally or a therapy session, instead of being a place that practices the reconciliation of not only the self but also the world.  We've become focused on our own success."

3. "Modern deism allows God to come close only when God is needed to solve a problem...We usually [prefer to] pick and choose what parts of our lives that God is a part of and function in those parts as we feel that God would have us.  This is not the choice at all, however...The real choice is not where God is going to be involved in our lives - God is always there; the choice is whether we choose to see, acknowledge, and follow God's lead."

4. We are told from every corner that we are the center of our own universes, from both benevolent and malevolent sources. With so much repetition, this lie easily becomes truth.  But we are called to be so much more involved in the creation story far beyond ourselves that our own egos become, of themselves, meaningless.  Self-gratification becomes self-annihilation, our individual place in the universal whole becomes moot, and we become one with the world and its Creator.  This is what Jesus promised, nothing more, nothing less.  (Okay, so those weren't Ingram's words.  It'll be okay, I promise.)

5. "The primary technique used in advertising is to make the focus of the advertisement feel as though they have a deficit, need, insecurity or longing that can only be filled by the product being sold...[As consumers, we] want more and more and are trying to feed a hunger that cannot be satisfied...I have found it very difficult to talk to people about (our) addiction to stuff.  I usually get one of two answers: denial or justification...If, however, we can be in continual conversation with people...we will learn that their lives are not so nice and organized.  We will find a lot of pain, heartache, dissatisfaction, fear, loneliness, anger, anxiety, frustration, and an overwhelming guilt and fear that they are the only ones who feel this way [and this anxiety is fueled by advertising and the media]."  This is why we must start helping people ween themselves from the never-ending flood of messages of inadequacy received at every turn.  This can best be started within the security of the church.

6.  "We are a competitive people.  Our economy, entertainment, politics, and lifestyles are based on who is right or better and who ultimately can win.  This line of thought permeates in very deep ways how we understand our religion and faith.  It is amazing how Baptist and Methodist churches across the street from each other can bicker and argue as though they were from opposite sides of the universe, when, in fact, they should be loving neighbors.  We always want to be the best or at least have others believe we are the best.  The problem is that the way we differentiate ourselves is by propagating the image that everyone else is evil, weak, incompetent, or foolish.  We play this game, believing that these are the only rules by which to participate.  Jesus calls us into a different way of playing the game, which not only applies to issues of economics and politics; Jesus even calls into this third way of living as we interact with other religions."

 Honestly, I could have in no way said it better myself.  I know; I've tried! ☺

Pax