Chapter 4 – Where
in the World Are We?
Hall introduces this chapter with the help of Chicken Little and the
head-ducking ostrich, representing two extreme reactions to the situation at
hand. He asks, “How, as a religious
faith, did we arrive at this point in our sojourn? What were our expectations?” He then frames the discussion around two imposing
changes or metamorphoses:
1. First, Constantine’s
conversion to Christianity resulted in its “adoption by empire” and the “transmutation
of Christianity into Christendom.”
Recalling Hall’s numerous examples and the ramifications of this
development over the centuries, how have the expansion and alignment of
Christianity with political and cultural powers contributed to its current
malaise? How does this weakening
alignment serve and/or hinder the Church’s mission today? Give examples of each.
2. The second great
change or metamorphosis is “nothing less than a reversal of the process of
Christian establishment begun in the fourth century: that is, it is a process
of disestablishment...the de-Constantinianization of Christendom.” Hall also refers to it as “the sidelining of
Christianity.” The cultural
establishment of Christianity in North America, while still significant, is
rapidly and franticly loosing ground…“being edged out towards the periphery of
their host cultures.” Nothing in our
past has prepared us for this shift: “that we must share the spiritual nurture
of the world with many other faith traditions, and must learn to live without
social props and political favors.”
Where do you see this shift most visibly today, both nationally and
globally? How has this shift served to
deflate or energize our motivation and efforts in sharing the gospel of Christ?
3. Hall suggests this has led to a basic
confusion about our identity and our mission.
He offers four basic alternatives:
- The first response is the ostrich syndrome…to deny it or just
look the other way as long as possible.
- The second response is to blame the decline of the church on
lukewarm – perhaps liberal – leadership, and set out to reverse the trend.
- The third response is to look for the continuation of
Christendom elsewhere.
Where do we see each of these three responses today? Why do they ultimately fail to advance the
Church’s mission and witness?
- Finally, Hall breaks down the fourth response into three
parts:
(1) Frankly and openly admit the reality of the humiliation of
Christendom.
(2) Resist the temptation to regard this great change in purely
negative terms, as though the failure of a form of Christianity meant
the failure of Christianity itself.
(3) Try to give the process of our disestablishment some
positive and meaningful direction, rather than simply allowing it to happen to
us.
No comments:
Post a Comment