When the choice comes down to Christian fatalism or practical deism, I can only live by the latter. I might even guess that living by the latter is how the former is accomplished. Maybe.
In this strange new world of substack, I -- a man of WAY too many words -- often find myself dying to have a long conversation about the many topics that intersect with things I've been thinking about. At the same time, I'm also painfully aware that I'm a guest in someone else's house. So I try to condense what I'm thinking. It doesn't always work.
I've lately (the past few years) been thinking a lot about Christian Smith's now famous criticism of American Christianity -- that it is "moralistic, therapeutic, deism".
Like many of us raised in the unique time -- the 60s and 70s -- in church history where fundamentalism, evangelicalism, and reformed theology resided together in a strangely coherent venn diagram with very few distinctions sticking out of the common area, I saw at least some of Smith's criticism as valid. I think that's because I come from the more reformed circle, and for a brief time found myself majoring on the minor distinction from an evangelicalism that has seemed to have lost its way.
More lately, however, I almost take Smith's criticism as an unintentional compliment. I'm more willing to embrace the American synthesis of theology that refuses to accept the false dichotomies that we have the choice of either law vs grace, or we have Christian fatalism (let go and let God) vs deism (we are the masters of our fates).
I've come to observe that revelation appears to offer up three concurrent realities: law, grace, and wisdom.
Mabus takes a humorous look at a Christian fatalist who discounts how wisdom is one way in which the invisible God of deism actually does show his hand in the world. And American Christianity seems to be historically unique in acknowledging that.
When the choice comes down to Christian fatalism or practical deism, I can only live by the latter. I might even guess that living by the latter is how the former is accomplished. Maybe.
https://youtu.be/XIzN6Z8BJOI?si=dSVapjFxWPW1MfGP
I listened to the song. How does it support your premise? Thanks for the insight!
In this strange new world of substack, I -- a man of WAY too many words -- often find myself dying to have a long conversation about the many topics that intersect with things I've been thinking about. At the same time, I'm also painfully aware that I'm a guest in someone else's house. So I try to condense what I'm thinking. It doesn't always work.
I've lately (the past few years) been thinking a lot about Christian Smith's now famous criticism of American Christianity -- that it is "moralistic, therapeutic, deism".
Like many of us raised in the unique time -- the 60s and 70s -- in church history where fundamentalism, evangelicalism, and reformed theology resided together in a strangely coherent venn diagram with very few distinctions sticking out of the common area, I saw at least some of Smith's criticism as valid. I think that's because I come from the more reformed circle, and for a brief time found myself majoring on the minor distinction from an evangelicalism that has seemed to have lost its way.
More lately, however, I almost take Smith's criticism as an unintentional compliment. I'm more willing to embrace the American synthesis of theology that refuses to accept the false dichotomies that we have the choice of either law vs grace, or we have Christian fatalism (let go and let God) vs deism (we are the masters of our fates).
I've come to observe that revelation appears to offer up three concurrent realities: law, grace, and wisdom.
Mabus takes a humorous look at a Christian fatalist who discounts how wisdom is one way in which the invisible God of deism actually does show his hand in the world. And American Christianity seems to be historically unique in acknowledging that.