It was recently reported in "The American Conservative*" that "claiming no faith was the fastest growing religion in the United States." It begs the question: How does this affect the current status of the Christian faith in the United States today?
It is the ongoing problem that every new generation of Christians faces. However, the issue is bigger than any election. The bigger issue is how do modern Christians address their faith and Christian message in a rapidly expanding world of information and ideas?
A Catholic priest once said to me – “It’s too bad we stopped writing “gospels.” When I asked why, he said, “Because we need to update the narrative, not the content, but the places and references so young people can better relate to the Christian message.”
To prove his point that Sunday at Mass, he read the Gospel, replacing the biblical names and places with localized references in their place. The difference was amazing- how more relevant the words became because of the regional reference to familiar names and places.
How then do we make the story of 2000 years ago as compelling and relevant today in this important election year as it was originally?
Even the most ardent atheist agrees that Jesus preached an ethical and humanist philosophy. The concept of love and sacrifice that embraces a committed community is as relevant today as it was in the day it was first preached. How then do we continue to preach the Gospel in a more humanistic way so it can reach beyond the faithful?
Some would argue that we already do. And in many ways this is true. However, the message of Jesus, though preached regularly, is still not received by many people all over the world. One problem is the unbending and intolerant view that some Christians have and project to the world. It is hard to project love and tolerance, when tolerance is not there.
For many fundamental Christians, the above statement amounts to heresy. This begs the question: “Is the non-fundamental Christian any less faithful? And of course, the next question as well: “What is a non-fundamental Christian?”
First, we must establish what makes all Christians alike - we all except Jesus as friend and savior, as the Christ, the son of the living God. We would all agree that the Bible is the “word of God.” The problem has always been how we interpret the “word of God” – literally or metaphorically – allegory of actual fact?
It also raises the additional question: Does a parable or allegory make the concept or subject being discussed less factual? Is a story that is considered a “myth” presumed to be not as truthful in its concept? Merriam Webster’s full definition of parable states: A parable is usually a short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or religious principle.”
We know Jesus often used parables to make his point. Most of the important messages of the New Testament come to us in stories or parables that Jesus used to make his point to the people he was addressing. Does this make His comments any less true? Most Christians would agree - they do not.
Why then is it necessary to believe that all the events in the Bible, while true, were not told as metaphors or allegories? When you consider the linear evolution of human consciousness, it seems that an all-knowing God would have spoken the truth in a form that would resonate through the ages for peoples of all time.
Now those who don’t agree with me would say the words of the Bible do just that when they are accepted as literal truth. They would also tell us that being able to accept the word of God as literal – just as it is stated - is a matter of faith – and that faith is a gift they receive directly from a loving deity.
This makes any discussion impossible. How can you argue with the direct word of God? For one, you can’t. However, you can challenge the fundamentalist's basic premise. This is important to do so, not to change the mind of the fundamentalist, but to create a more relevant dialogue with each new generation so that the word of God is also significant to them. And when we do this, I still believe the Gospel’s message reflects true word of God.
And what moral justification do we have for this. Again, we have to ask how about Jesus himself who used parables as his most important way of making his message relevant and clear to all who were willing to hear.
If a loving God could understand the ongoing evolution of expanding human consciousness can we do any less as we make our decisions in this vital presidential election?
Brother Franco
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