Top 10 Tuesday: Coming Issues The Church Will Face
July 31st, 2007 | by Scott |I’m no prophet and make no claims to be. I’m not even a skilled prognosticator. If I was I’d be playing the horses.
However, there is no doubt that there is a coming tidal wave of issues that intellectually honest and sincere Christians will face in the future if not already. And surely many of us are confronting these topics in the here and now.
And these issues will make many of our previous issues look as ridiculous as so many of them are. So this list is not that of issues that will appear out of the blue but will gain steam and momentum in the years to come. In other words, these issues are already among us.
Before I begin the list let me emphasize two points:
First, I am not taking a position on any of these issues. I am merely stating that what might be settled in our minds may not be settled in the minds of people coming after us. In the future I will talk about each of these but not today.
Burying our head in the sand and pretending they aren’t really issues at all will serve no benefit for the kingdom. Nor will drawing our line in the sand and proclaiming that there is no need to deal with these issues because everything is already settled. We must be engaged, honest, questioning and concerned enough with the thoughts of others that we are willing to wrestle with tough issues.
Secondly, these are in no particular order. I make no claims as to which will consume the most of our energy.
Again let me re-state. I’m not taking a position on any of these issues nor am I stating that they should be issues. I am merely stating that we, as Christians, must be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have. And that means meeting people where they are. In the coming months and years, this is where we will meet them.
10. Evolution and other issues of science. As the evidence seems to mount lending credence to the theory of evolution we must prepare for a greater conversation on such issues. Repackaging Creationism under the designation “Intelligent Design” fools no one and brings the conversation to a grinding halt.
9. The nature of Truth. Must the Bible be viewed solely as Propositional Truth? Is the rejection of PT mean strictly an embrace of Relativism or is there nuance?
8. Fellowship with Mormons and other “fringe” Christian groups. As the LDS gains mainstream respectability and a public backing away from much of their questionable doctrine our working relationship with these groups will come into greater need for discussion.
7. Biblical Inerrancy. The question of whether or not the trustworthiness of Scripture hinges upon its inerrancy will become more central in the coming years.
6. Bio-ethical Questions–Cloning, stem cell, etc. must be wrestled with from a Judeo-Christian perspective.
5. Homosexuality–Studying the issues anew, grappling with how to receive someone who is LGBT, and what Christ commands of us is imperative, regardless of how uncomfortable the topic is for many.
4. Gender Issues–What does the Bible truly say about the role of women? Are they second-class citizens when it comes to areas of service and leadership or is there a more progressive hermeneutic that demands something more egalitarian?
3. The Nature of Salvation–Questions of hell, heaven, and a new earth will become increasingly important as we wrestle anew with some problematic passages of Scripture.
2. What Is Church?–As we see the growth of non-traditional services and meeting places, and as many places of worship become decentralized the question of what it is we are called to do and be will increase.
1. The Atonement–Which is it: penal substitution, Christus Victor, ransom, or some mixture of the above? Or none of the above?
Note: I know that I didn’t include Open Theism which probably should be on this list.
What are your thoughts with these 10? What do you think should be added?
11 Responses to “Top 10 Tuesday: Coming Issues The Church Will Face”
By krister on Jul 31, 2007 | Reply
This is a good start, and I think a number of these issues will likely take up a lot of churches’ time and will be the source of all sorts of heartache but hopefully some healing as well. I have a hard time believing that fellowship with “fringe” Christians will take up much time; perhaps I am simply too cynical, but if we can’t seem to get our collective acts together to truly unify the church with “mainstream” denominations, I wonder if we will ever recognize other streams as worthwhile for communication/relationship. I think that the church must begin to wrestle with other religious traditions altogether. What do we believe about world religions, especially those that predate Christianity.
I think the theological questions will always remain, but they will occupy the time of experts and scholars rather than the general public. As much as we hate penal substitutionary atonement theory, our members do not seem concerned with how salvation works. The same goes for questions of heaven and hell. Since nobody really knows the answer to what either are like or if either exists, this will likely remain a fanciful conversation piece that theologians and biblical scholars attempt to wrap their minds around in hopes that the general public will find their thoughts enticing. Now if scholars and other folks in authority can draw a link between theology and action (i.e., how eschatology or soteriology is related to one’s ministry or way of being in the world) then we may be talking about a whole other deal altogether, but it requires someone who can bridge the intellectual/scholarly and general public gap. We need another Tillich to emerge.
Where I think you’re right on target is on the social/political issues that are beginning to pop up in the news like gender issues, bio-ethics, evolution, homosexuality, and maybe even the nature of the church. I know that you have mentioned gender issues to speak mainly about the relative importance assigned to specific genders within the church, but I would add that we need to do a complete re-envisioning of what gender even means in terms of whether we believe in essentialism, social constructionist thought, or some combination of the two.
Very few schools of thought are capable of incorporating evolutionary concepts; process theology and/or open theism being a couple that may work for some. Part of the challenge will also include views of God: do we believe in a personalist God or one that is less anthropomorphized but more in line with what we believe scientifically. This obviously bleeds over to your mention of biblical inerrancy.
One thing that you did not list that I think will eventually become important will be the concept of the church’s role vis a vis the state. Where and how do we fit into the political spectrum? This is not new, but it will be a struggle especially in light of the coming fallout over the Republican Party’s marriage to conservative Christianity and the dissolution that appears to be on the horizon.
Also, I think you will likely see an emergent concern for our churches to become more wholistic; a move away from individualism to community-focused identity and thus toward more responsible behavior altogether whether it has to do with becoming a louder voice speaking out against genocide or deciding where and who we will purchase our products from.
Homosexuality will likely be the most divisive issue because it plays on our most personal fears and repressed feelings regarding our bodies and sexuality. I believe that it will be “the” issue that will likely create an entirely new organizational pattern between churches (possibly across denominational lines). One thing that cannot continue is for the church as a whole to be OK with the fact that we have churches (primarily the MCC and UCC) that cater specifically to the LGBT community while the rest of us either tell them they’re not welcome or welcome them quietly so as not to alarm the rest of the big givers. While I am thankful that LGBT folks can find acceptance at these churches, it reveals a sickness within the universal church that must be addressed.
sorry, this is just a quick summary of my thoughts; sorry if they’re hard to follow.
Thanks for this post, Scott. shalom.
By Scott on Jul 31, 2007 | Reply
Thanks for the thoughts, Krister. That is great stuff.
I hesitated with the LDS one and almost replaced it with the church/state issues you addressed. The reason I guess I omitted that one is because it is one I have addressed so much on this blog.
I guess my rationale behind the LDS thing was my perception of their continued attempt to mainstream themselves. And what we do with that is already being wrestled with, not in the COC but at least in the evangelical Christian world.
As far as the theological issues I wonder how it trickles down. If these are things that I wrestle with as a preacher then it must come out in my preaching. How people respond to that will be telling.
But, I agree that the more important ones are the more social issues.
You inclusion of the wholistic approach is dead on and definitely should have been on my list. I think that can be enfolded within my nature of the church issue.
Great thoughts.
By krister on Jul 31, 2007 | Reply
Thanks for your response, Scott. I think the LDS movement will be an interesting one to follow (especially for those in the CofC since we are almost second cousins if I remember my history correctly). My friends growing up were mostly Mormon, so I can understand the interest there. In terms of the theological trickle down effect I’m pretty sure that there’s a significant correlation between what is taught in our seminaries and what pastors teach/preach/live out at church. Whether this continues trickling down to members is another thing. My major professor used to say that the academy was usually about ten years ahead of where the church was at, so if we take that into account, we might begin to see some serious engagement of these issues within the next few years. I would like to believe that our academies have their finger on the pulse of the theological world and the real world at the same time. Unfortunately, some are better at this than others. Much of it depends on where theology begins. Does it begin in the head and try to apply to others (a bridge model that we often use between biblical text and life application in preaching) or does it start from lived experience and move forward out of that posture (a la liberation theology). Most of the emerging theologies that seem to have reached a plateau (feminist, womanist, liberation, queer theology, etc. are like this), but it does make one wonder what comes next? I’m not sure that the Yale school has made much of a dent in the way of affecting lasting change in the state of the church, so I’m excited about what may be on the horizon. I think we can rest assured that there will be a new generation of theologians (practical and otherwise) who will faithfully “speak a good word for Jesus”-as Joey Jeter used to say- in response to the situations and ills of our world.
By Scott on Jul 31, 2007 | Reply
You are right. Rigdon was CoC before he defected. Great questions. I didn’t go to one of our academies so it’s hard for me to pinpoint where we are. The seminary I got my master’s from is probably not leading any kind of theological charge.
All of mine is self-directed which leaves me a step or two behind to begin with.
By Thomas+ on Jul 31, 2007 | Reply
A couple of things come to mind that were not on your list.
First, and most important, is the Church’s relationship with the State. This seems to be an enormous issue in the U.S. at this time.
On another topic, I think the Church is seeing a growing division between the Global West and the Global South. I think this division, the oncoming shift in Christianity from a European religion to an Afro-Asian religion, will have consequences in theology, polity, missiology, etc. that we can not now imagine.
By Scott on Jul 31, 2007 | Reply
Thomas, welcome to the blog and thanks for your comment. Please keep coming back.
Yeah, I agree that Church/State should have been on the list. I had it on there but I removed it because it’s an issue I’ve talked about so much in the past. But it is a tremendous issue that we will continue to work through as time progresses.
Your second one is astute and will surely bear tremendous consequences.
Great thoughts.
By Steve Allison on Aug 1, 2007 | Reply
I think as the number of mosques grows in this country, the relation of Christianity to Islam will get more attention too.
By greg on Aug 1, 2007 | Reply
I agree with others - church & state is a big one. And I think the growth of Islam in this country relates to that as well. Many Christians seem to believe that Christianity is the state religion and that all things America should be viewed through the lens of our faith. That may have been so (to some degree) in the past, but I think it’s becoming less and less true. I think it will be damaging if the “Christian Right” continues to demand their way in all things in the political arena, since many equate their views with the church in general.
I’ll be particularly interested in #2 and #3.
By Scott on Aug 1, 2007 | Reply
Yeah, it’s obvious in this election cycle that Church/State is a major topic.
Our relationship with Islam is a huge one. That should definitely be on the list.
By JTB on Aug 2, 2007 | Reply
Scott, I’m relieved to see that I will probably have a job (somewhere) in the long-term future. Even if you didn’t put my posthuman buzzword in your list!
By Scott on Aug 2, 2007 | Reply
Well, posthuman goes without saying, doesn’t it?