“Shh! Here He Comes!”

Zach Snyder: I don’t know if you read this blog or not, but…thank you for alerting me to this important video series about the life of Christ.

The Myth of a Christian Nation: Chapter 6

Chapter 6 in Boyd’s The Myth of a Christian Nation, which mirrors the title of the book itself, explores the impact of a church which has sold itself out to the civil religion that marries America with God’s will and interest.

Boyd’s point is simple: by associating America with Christianity, Christians do harm to global and local missions, while simultaneoulsy creating the false impression that we are “doing” Christianity by maintaining the civil religion.

First, when Christians come to affiliate America with Christianity, tremendous harm has been and continues to be done to global missions. There has been much talk about this lately among missionaries, and – as usual – Boyd pulls no punches when it comes to conveying this problem. When Christians come out in support of American policies – even calling them “Christian” in nature – people around the world resent it, especially when the policies we support result in bombs being dropped on large populations and the systematic torture of suspected terrorists.

Boyd warns us that nations will always try to associate themselves with “God’s causes” to justify their policies, but Christians should never go along with this. Likewise, in other countries, America is routinely viewed as an exploitative, greedy, violent, and morally decadent. When foreigners notice that American Christians think of America as “Christian,” they lose respect for the message of the gospel.  

Similarly, Boyd points out, when Christians falsely think of America as a “Christian nation,” they neglect local missions based on the assumption that everyone here is “okay” with God.

Finally, Boyd makes an argument that I have been hoping someone would articulate for a long time. Specifically, he argues that maintaining a civil religion is a distraction. Christians come to think that they are “advancing God’s causes” by supporting or opposing particular policies, be they causes involving abortion, homosexual marriage, school prayer, or even aid to the poor. When we are consumed by political discourse and lobbying, he says, we lose sight of our capacity to actually do the things Jesus called us to do.

I can’t overemphasize this point: A lot of people think they are doing God’s work by forwarding politically charged emails, placing signs in their yards, and displaying bumper stickers for their particular angle (right or left-leaning) on what God wants to happen in our government. This leads to a sort-of complacency that says “I’m doing my part,” when – in actuality – nothing is really being done that imitates Jesus’ life.

As an example of the type-of activity that imitates Jesus, Boyd talks about an occasion where a church decided to do an “extreme makeover” on an inner city school that was in a very poor condition. The project became so popular in the community that many others joined in the effort, and the entire process took only about ten hours. It was highly publicized. And after the project was completed, there was considerable media attention to the question of why the school had been so neglected, and why more resources seemed to be flowing into predominantly white schools. Boyd points out that the church in this case had a political impact, but they accomplished it by doing what Jesus would do, rather than by using political force to achieve its ends.

Previous Posts:
-Introduction
-Chapter One: The Kingdom of the Sword
-Chapter Two: The Kingdom of the Cross
-Chapter Three: Keeping the Kingdom Holy
-Chapter Four: From Resident Aliens to Conquering Warlords
-Chapter Five: Taking America Back for God

The Theology of BSG: Religion in the BSG Universe

This is the second of two “set up” posts in this series, which focuses on the theologies that are present in the BSG universe. Since putting up the first post, I’ve learned that Ellen Leventry has written a brief article on the same subject on BeliefNet. You can find it here.

In the first post, I focused on what I believe is the central issue that is at play in the new BSG universe: Is there hope for the human condition? And, if so, are humans even worth saving? I pointed out that these questions are often explored in the context of the various faith traditions that exist in the BSG universe – traditions that mirror those in our own world.

Here are the chief examples:

1. Paganism/polytheism – the humans in the BSG universe are pagans/polytheists. Like the Romans and ancient Greeks, they believe in multiple gods, most of which are more “human” that the monotheistic “god/God” with which most of us are familiar. In times of crisis, they turn to the gods for protection. Particularly notable is the presence of the twelve zodiac signs (which originated in or before ancient Babylon). Each “sign” parallels one of the twelve colonies.

2. Samsara – some of the Cylons have expressed a conviction that the characters of the BSG universe are playing out roles that they have played in prior “lives.” This belief is similar to the Bhuddist and Hindu notion of samsara, which holds that there is a continual cycle of life, death, and re-birth. I think that there are also some versions of Hinduism which specifically hold that the stories/myths of history repeat themselves, but I’m not well versed on that belief system, and can’t really speak to it in any detail.

While I’m on the point, it is also notable that, when it originally aired in England, the main theme from the new BSG was in the form of a Hindu mantra.

3. Monotheism – the Cylons themselves are monotheists, as is the case with Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Interestingly, their religion is primarily manifested in the use of their god to justify their militaristic, genocidal campaign to wipe out humanity.

4. Exodus – the theme of exodus, in which an oppressed people are led out of danger and to a haven of safety by a great leader, is strongly present in BSG. Similar themes abound in Judaism, and – Leventry points out in her article – Mormonism.

5. Resurrection – a central teaching of Christianity is that God will bring about a resurrection of the dead, of which Jesus was the first. The Cylons experience resurrection, though it is disturbingly unlike anything Christians profess. Yet, as I will explore later, the problems with the Cylon experience of resurrection highlight an important and distinct aspect of Christian resurrection which is deserving of reflection.

6. The Child/Savior – there are presently two children in the BSG universe in whom both “sides” hold great interest. The stories of these children parallel the Jewish prophecies of Messiah and the Christian tradition of Jesus’ birth. I think they also parallel some other older, pagan mythologies in which a child/deliverer is predicted to arise to save a people or nation.

7. Athiesm – Baltar, the chief bad guy in the series, begins as an athiest, though he appears to now have turned to a belief in the Cylon god. Adama, the commander of the human fleet and the Galactica itself, also begins the series as an athiest. Other characters appear to be agnostic, or just plain apathetic about religion.

What follows in this series will mostly focus on the parallels to the Judeo-Christian tradition and their response to the problem of evil, but I thought it would be good at the outset to recognize that there are a lot more faith traditions in the BSG universe than those which involve a personal, monotheistic deity.

The Myth of a Christian Nation: Chapter Five

The first four chapters of The Myth of a Christian Nation established Boyd’s primary line of argument – that there is a fundamental difference between the way nations weild power and the way God moves to transform people through Jesus. For that reason, we should never attempt to achieve kingdom-of-God ends through kingdom-of-the-sword means.

Having set up this line of thought, Boyd turns in the latter half of the book to discuss various misconceptions that American Christians have about the relationship between their faith and their politics. He begins in Chapter Five with the phrase “taking America back for God.”

Boyd emphasizes that his purpose is not to critique America. America merely functions the way every other government in world history has functioned – by using force, where necessary, to pursue its perceived interests. Rather, Boyd’s criticism is of the American church, which is all too ready to endorse American policies.

So what does Boyd say about “taking America back for God”? His argument goes like this:

1. There is no biblical precedent for using governmental and political power in the pursuit of “Christian” goals. Jesus, for example, never argued about influencing the powers that be to “take Israel back for God.” Likewise, no other New Testament author ever speaks of using political influence for purposes of “implementing” Godly values or achieving Godly ends.

2. Anticipating an objection that early Chrsitians weren’t in a position to exercise such influence, Boyd reminds us about how the history of attempts to utlilize the power of the state (not only on the part of Christians, but on the part of Islam as well) has consistently led to bloodshed and horrible atrocities.

3. Boyd then asks: When was America “for” God anyway? When it murdered and oppressed the native population of North America? When it captured and enslaved tens of thousands of Africans? When, even after the slaves were freed, it set up institutionalized systems of discrimination? What must Nativie American and African American Christians make of this nonsense? Their view of the past is not nearly as romantic.

4. Although he recognizes some disagreement on the point, Boyd says that he believes the founding fathers were not Christians – rather, they were deists, and that they were never, in any event, inclined to place much emphasis on the Bible. Thus, our founding documents occasionally mention God, but never Christ or the Christian scriptures. Here, he quotes Frederick Douglass, a nineteenth-century slave:

Between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference …. I love the purse, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity.

The problem is not just whether America is a “Christian nation,” Boyd says, but whether – since all nations depend on force to maintain power – any nation can ever be considered “Christian.” Nevertheless, he says, when we clearly and consistently separate the kingdom of God from all versions of the kingdom of the world, we can affirm the good things from American history without undertaking the impossible task of defending its entire history as “Christian.” (I find this last point to be particularly well taken.)

Boyd winds up the chapter by pointing out that there is a sense in which we should “take America back for God,” as well as Europe, Iraq, Sudan, Rwanda, etc. The question is how should we do this? If you think the way of submission and service is impractical, or even morally irresponsible, you need to reflect on the cross itself. When Jesus was on the cross, it looked as if he were losing – as it may appear when Christians choose this path – but God raised Jesus up on the third day. Our task is to trust that such power is still at work in us.

Previous Posts:
-Introduction
-Chapter One: The Kingdom of the Sword
-Chapter Two: The Kingdom of the Cross
-Chapter Three: Keeping the Kingdom Holy
-Chapter Four: From Resident Aliens to Conquering Warlords

Quote of the Day

From Richard Beck’s blog:

Maybe there is a God. Maybe there isn’t. Round and round it goes in my head. But every time I think of Jesus eating with sinners something in me breaks–like bubbles breaking in the sun–and I say, screw it, I’m living my life like that guy.

McKnight on the Romans Road

Scot McKnight wrote earlier today on the subject of so-called “Romans road” evangelism (a style that uses Romans to emphasize the concepts of sin, faith, and forgiveness). You can read his post here.

In short, Scot says that the “Romans road” contains the gospel, but not the whole gospel. As usual, Scot provides a very thoughtful analysis of the issue that is also gracious and generous toward those with whom he disagrees.

“Surely…”?

Via my friend Amy Boone comes this must-see video:

The Theology of BSG: Religion and the Problem of Evil

This post begins what will be an on-again off-again series of reflections on the relationship between the theologies that are present in the Battlestar Galactica universe and those that are in our own world.

This post will take a little set-up to get to its point, mostly because I want to set everything in context for those present (and future) readers who may not be familiar with the whole mythology of the BSG universes of 1978 and 2003.

For readers who are unfamiliar with BSG, the current series, which is airing on the Sci-Fi network, is a “reboot” of a 1978 series that was created in the wake of the original Star Wars film. The show’s creators wanted to make a “space opera” that was like Star Wars, but which also had some distinct features.

Even though more than a decade had passed since it had been written in 1968, the producers appeared to be drawing on ideas from a hokey book called Chariots of the Gods?, in which it was posited that the technologies of ancient civilizations were, in fact, given to them by visitors from other worlds. Religions, then, were said to have originated in ancient encounters with aliens.

Tweaking this concept a little farther, the creators of the original Galactica imagined that – rather than aliens – the travelers from across the stars were, instead, the first humans, who settled the Earth as a sort-of “colony.” In the world of the first Galactica, those first humans became the basis for religious thought throughout time. Thus, the opening montage of the first series included these words:

There are those who believe that life here began out there: far across the universe. With tribes of humans, who may have been the forefathers of the Egyptians, or the Toltecs, or the Mayans. They may have been the architects of the great pyramids, or the lost civilizations of Lemuria or Atlantis. Some believe that there may yet be brothers of man who even now fight to survive somewhere beyond the heavens…

This nicely set up the first series, which was about the near destruction of mankind, and the efforts of a small, remaining remnant of our “brothers” to find Earth, which was supposedly a lost colony of humans.

The first series, however, had a very high view of humanity. Humanity was betrayed by bad guys (a race of robots called the Cylons), because it was too trusting. Furthermore, in the end, humanity was sure to survive because – as episode after episode pointed out – we are much too noble, clever, inventive, and determined to ever be completely wiped out. Plus, even on the run, humanity apparently had an endless supply of hair care products, which kept the late seventies hairstyles of the cast members looking suave for week after week.

In 2003, however, Ronald D. Moore, a TV producer with considerable sci-fi background, turned the tables on this concept. When he re-created the series, Moore chose instead to emphasize the questionable moral character of humanity. In Moore’s series, the Cylons are not some mindless alien race. They are a form of life that was created by humanity itself. When the Cylons rebeled, and there is a strong indication they did so because they had been mistreated, there was a great war and they were cast out of society in a very uneasy armistice.

I don’t think the symbolism here is very difficult to understand, but I’m going to spell it out anyway, because it will be important to this series: the Cylons represent all of the problems that we create for ourselves as humans. You name it – the environment, war, poverty, weapons of mass destruction, racism. These atrocities can’t just be committed and then set aside and forgotten.

Thus, in what I think is the monolog that defines the series, Adama (played by Edward James Olmos) speaks these words to an audience at what was supposed to be a de-commissioning episode for the Galactica, a large battleship:

Why are we as a people worth saving? We still commit murder because of greed, spite, jealousy. And we still visit all of our sins upon our children. We refuse to accept the responsibility for anything that we’ve done. Like we did with the Cylons. We decided to play God, create life. When that life turned against us, we comforted ourselves in the knowledge that it really wasn’t our fault, not really. You cannot play God then wash your hands of the things that you’ve created. Sooner or later, the day comes when you can’t hide from the things that you’ve done anymore.

Soon after this speech, a Cylon plan to avoid extinction by preemptively striking out against humanity – wiping out humanity in one, sweeping act of genocide – is revealed. Armageddon arrives in all of its horror, and a nuclear holocaust descends on humanity.

In the wake of this destruction, the question that is posed by the new series, from day one is this: is humanity even worth saving? And, if so, why?

The central characters are not heroes. They are human. They are addicts. They are consumed by their hatred and contempt for each other. They are sexually irresponsible. They are dishonest. They are unforgiving, yet desperate for their own redemption. They are self-centered, even in the midst of an apocalypse. And they are together, on the run - trying to find some way to get along just enough to avoid the relentless pursuit of the Cylons.

Far from being a noble, admirable race that is fighting an external evil, humanity is on the run from a situation that it brought on itself.

But what is fascinating about the series to me is how religion is being played out in this context. Present among humanity (as well as the Cylons – more on that later) is virtually every form of faith that you can find on Earth. And everyone is trying to make sense of what is going on in light of these various faiths. Far from relying on a hokey book to create a mildly interesting plot point in a routine space opera, the new BSG is exploring the central questions of human existence in the context of religion.

And, of all of the central questions, the most important one is this: is there really any hope for us?

Coming up next: a quick survey of world religions in the Galactica universe.

BSG: The End is Near

What I had reluctantly hoped would be the case is now a reality. Battlestar Galactica will conclude with its fourth season, which will begin airing in early 2008.

I will miss this show once its gone, but this is the right decision. The only thing the producers could do at this point is further complicate the plotline (which involves a journey to Earth) in an effort to stretch out the series, and that would get laborious and lame very fast. Right now they are in the perfect position to push toward the conclusion, and I’m glad that they have made this decision.

Heaven, New Earth, or Renewed Earth?

Rupert Ward is asking an important question in a post on Jason Clark’s blog. You can find it here.