The Courage to Protest

This week I have had the opportunity to ponder the general ethos of fear and uncertainty that exists among groups of Christians. It seems to me that many believers are struggling with a sense of identity. There is a general sense that we are standing on a shaky foundation, and the rug is about to be (or already has been) pulled out from under our feet.

I believe there is a general sadness, frustration and even bitterness amongst Evangelicals and this is caused by the loss of a place of prominence and dignity in Western society. Christianity played a crucial role in forming our world and its institutions: the ivy league schools were all Christian institutions when they began, our governments drew their principles explicitly from the bible, etc. It still says in the Canadian charter of rights and freedoms that “Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the sovereignty of God and the rule of law.” Our country’s name “the dominion of Canada” was named after a parliamentarian was inspired by a bible verse: “He shall have dominion from sea to sea.” Few people know the entirety of our national anthem: we only sing the first verse at hockey games, but as the song progresses, it becomes more expressly Christian:

“Lord of the lands, beneath Thy bending skies/ o’er field and flood, where ‘ere our banner flies/ Thy people lift their hearts to thee/ their grateful voices raise/ may our dominion ever be a temple to Thy praise/ Thy will alone, let all enthrone/Lord of the lands, make Canada thine own/Lord of the lands, make Canada thine own.”

But surveying the contemporary scene, the dominant institution of the west is no longer the church, the university has left the nest of Christianity and bourne wings of its own, and the government...well, the government does what it does best, follow the meandering river of popular opinion. I think all of this, even if not expressly known by Christians in all detail helps explain the sense of alienation among Evangelicals. We birthed much of Western culture. Now we’re empty nesters, and are left staring at each other what to do next now that our children don’t seem interested in talking to us.

Evangelicals need not be so mopey or confused. After all, our theology tells us that it is not we who did anything. All good things are from God, if any good plants grew that bore tasty fruit, all the glory goes to Him, for “a man can receive nothing unless it is given to him from heaven.” We are sowers: we plant seeds, we water “but God causes the growth.” In a sense, our mopeyness is caused by forgetting our own confession of faith.

So what is an Evangelical? Contrary to popular usage, it is not synonymous with Fundamentalism. The term “Evangelical” first surfaced around the time of the Reformation, and it was a derisive term used to refer to Lutherans. In fact, the term “Lutheran” and “Evangelical” were synonymous. It is my conviction that herein lies a powerful inspiration to re-ground those feet that feel like they are floating in mid-air. Let us not forget that the Reformers had no social trophies that hung on their walls to inspire them. Nor did the Apostles for that matter. They had one thing: the word of God.

Evangelicalism is in my mind, a term that designates a certain group of Christians within the history of Protestantism that sees itself as the inheritors of the theology of the Reformation, specifically as regards our theology of knowledge. The Reformers had a mighty foe entrenched in their day: the Roman Catholic Hierarchy. More important than the doctrine of Justification by Faith alone was the prior conviction that “the church” had departed from the teaching of the apostles. To be “protestant” was to protest, to have a heartfelt objection to the way things are going in the world. That “protest” is so profoundly believed in, one is willing to lay their life down for that truth. The protest was that the word of God, not the pope, had true authority over what is to be believed and how life is to be lived. Evangelicalism is essentially a holiness movement: calling the church and the world to fidelity to Jesus Christ through the teachings of the prophets and apostles.

Again, looking at the contemporary scene, it’s easy to see why we feel so disenchanted; Catholics and Evangelicals aren’t killing each other anymore (except in Ireland) -they actually get along to a substantial degree. But we still disagree as to the locus of authority, our “protest” still stands and hasn’t changed in over 500 years.

With the enlightenment, the protestant movement faced a new foe, ironically one that it helped give birth to: autonomous reason. Just as Protestants deemed it morally obligatory to cut ties with Roman Catholic authority, so Secularists followed suit and “protested” to the Protestant locus of authority, the bible. In it’s place “the goddess reason” was enthroned.

Protestants did not face up to the Enlightenment challenge nearly as effectively as they did to Catholicism. Shortly after the Enlightenment, Evangelicalism experienced a significant split within its ranks, and “Liberal Protestantism” was born. I would still squarely find myself within the Evangelical tradition, and I find autonomous human reason to be just as objectionable as the Papacy, if not moreso.

Reason alone makes a crappy God, because it is like the idol-worship the 1st century Christians faced down in the emperor cult. Reason is essentially a mute idol that has no eyes nor ears, doesn’t see, hear, or care. Autonomous reason gives us no content for what constitutes knowledge, just a set of propositions. By contrast, an Evangelical’s knowledge comes from a personal and loving God, not a dead principle.

Many Evangelicals are characterized not just by uncertainty and confusion, but biblical illiteracy. They have forsaken their confession, their spirituality, and really need to be awakened to what it was that gave the church such power to wield such persuasive influence and form a culture as strong and admirable as the Western world.

We now live in a post-Christian world, and I am not suggesting we sit around and mope about the glory days, nor even try to re-create them. The work to be done is ultimately God’s, and the consequences of the church being faithful to it’s mission will be played out in God’s providence. But first, we must get the basics straight, and re-discover the joy and strength that comes from having a God that speaks truth and gives us knowledge which we can live by.