General Theology
From A Distance
by Clay Staggs
There’s a Bette Middler song by that title that suggests that God is merely watching what we’re doing down here on earth “from a distance.” (Bryan Bond, are you out there?)
Apparently, according to a recent Harris Poll, that’s the most prevalent belief among Americans about what God does. 44% agreed with that view, whereas only 29% believed that God controls events on Earth.
There are some other disturbing findings in the poll, reflecting the sorry state of the Church today. And though I think it’s indisputable that the Church is doing an abysmal job of educating its members (or even knowing what it stands for), and needs to do much, much, better, that’s really nothing new, is it? After all, the people God has chosen have always wandered. I’m reminded about God’s telling Hosea to go and take an adulterous wife (See Hosea 1) as an illustration of this.
It also reminds me of Jimmy’s excellent post yesterday. God really does choose the unlovely, low, and unexpected to be His, be it a tiny nothing of a planet in the vastness of the universe, or an unfaithful, wrong-headed, and disbelieving Church.
Posted by Clay Staggs at November 1, 2006 09:27 AM
Clay, the religious right’s efforts have been rewarded: We are just returning to our forefather’s roots— our Deistic forefathers, that is.
Much of Christendom today is the non-denominational type churches who don’t believe strongly enough in anything to teach it. If they had a theology, it might “offend” someone and would cause the numbers (and money) to go down. Besides, standing for something, even something given by God, would detract from the “love” they claim so fervantly. So they thrive on emotion, and when emotion fails someone; it’s blamed on them no having enough “faith.” It’s no big loss; there’s always two more looking for an emotional boast that will replace them.
None of this is Biblical so there is nothing to teach to the “members.” Well, they could go down to the book store and get one of the gung-ho, you-can-be-rich-and-happy books and teach that. And they do.
I wanted to add this comment to my previous one because the other one addressed a fragment of your excellent post and didn’t really address the central issue you brought up. The previous comment only addressed the lack of education, lack of belief, if you will, in the church, and I fired it off because, as you know, that is a real sore spot with me.
The idea about an expanding Dieistic view is probably true and I think it is centered in the mainline Protestant churches. I don’t think much of the religious right believes in Dieism but Tim is right in that it is incredibly ironic that this is happening since their insistence on a religious base for partisan politics has caused them to idolize almost to the point of sainthood the early Diestic forefathers of America. The new Deiests are those to whom religion is mainly a “tradition,” something that is a “part” of living properly. They are those who believe that God remains at a distance; and a good part of that is the belief that they are perfectly capable of developing the “good life” by themselves and passing it along to their children as part of their tradition.
The other part of your post (and thanks for the kind words), has to do with God using a damaged, wandering church. He does, as He always does, to His greater glory. I say this from a theological and historical basis, but I can also say it from a personal basis. I was raised Armenian, and although I “professed” at a young age, I wasn’t a Christian. When I considered it, and that was seldom, it didn’t make sense to me on a basic level; i.e. all I got from it was a sense of guilt and inadequency. Maybe I always knew about my depravity not very far under the surface. When I understood the Gospel in a Church that taught the Reformed Faith, I became a Christian through God’s calling.
Now, I wouldn’t even have been there had I not been raised in an Armenian church. I was divorced, and my church attendence had to do with taking my children to church simply because, from my upbringing, I knew there was something there; moral training, perspective, etc., that wasn’t available anywhere else. It’s a long story with a lot of details but the church in which I WASN”T a Christian had much to do with becoming a Christian, all in God’s plan and used by Him to bring one of His pre-ordained (older) children to Himself. There were many, many Christians in that Armenian Church, including my parents; it’s just that I wouldn’t have been one of them.
This is too long but it does speak more to your conclusions in your great post.