The "Reasonable" Gospel

When my Greek professor was attempting to justify himself for something he would always tilt his head a little bit, turn his palms up, and say, "I'm a reasonable guy." He said it with the kind of humility that attempts to sound humble while demanding appreciation. The rest of this post has nothing to do with my professor, but reason.

Before the modern paradigm, humans in general held a much more modest position in the world. They were sheep. They needed shepherds. So, politically they were ruled by kings. Religiously, they were ruled by a pope. In our time, we often criticize such a system. We see men in such power and hold to our modernist proverb, "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." But, in this we are failing to see the world through the eyes of the people that came before us. We are judging past generations on our own terms. For the dark, middle ages, popes and kings were not mere men. That is where we go wrong in our judgment. Popes and kings were divinely appointed; divinely placed. Mere laymen were not fit to question such structure. In that time, God's will (or so it was called) reigned supreme.

Then everything changed. Luther found that God's will from the pope was in total contradiction to his will in the Scriptures. People found that God's will from the king, well, only benefited the king while the rest of them starved. They found "God's will" wasn't trustworthy. Turmoil ensued for the next centuries, and emerging victorious in the Enlightenment we found reason now dominating the scene. Luther's attempt to get back to the Texts was required to employ reason to help in interpretation. Though probably necessary, it proved to be a costly servant. People turned to reason to find justification for the upheaval of tyrannical kings. It took two World Wars to find that reason itself can be as merciless a tyrant as any man.

Westerners became dogmatic in their belief that reason ruled in the hearts of all men. All men given enough education would become moral, decent people. They would benefit society, and society would progress infinitely. Reason became the new Messiah. If we could make sense of the world, if we could unlock all the laws of it, then reason, reigning in our hearts, would establish a utopian world. We would be free of illness and strife, and logic "would wipe every tear from our eye." This is the lotus flower eaten for centuries, and still turned to in times of uncertainty.

It's funny the many ways church has adopted the second Messiah as well. Our hope may be in Jesus, but our strategies are consumed by reason. When I was doing my internship for missions in Europe, I got to be part of a typical American church in a foreign context. In America where all people are autonomous and "free", we appeal to their individuality to bring them to Jesus. We employ reason to answer their questions. We attempt to meet their needs. In the end, we hope to bring them to the Lord, individually. We are blind to the fact that few other countries in the world have our appreciation for "rugged individualism". They see what we are often so blind to, that a person outside his society is not a person. To lose your social bearings is to lose a massive part of who you are! This, in part, is why the church I was with in Europe had a back door that matched the size of the front. It was a church where people could come be an American for a few years, but as soon as they were expected to be transformed (often evidenced by being put into leadership) they withdrew and soon never returned.

That church was a great resting point for them. They learned English and American customs, which generally resulted in better jobs and futures. Yet few if any seemed truly committed. Why? Partially because it meant adhering to American morality.

The other reason I think is this: Americans (Westerners) still carry a romanticized ideal of individual choice that stems from all people being 'reasonable'. We expect that if we present individuals with the gospel in plain, easy terms, and bring them to a simple choice they will, being "reasonable guys", give in to logic and accept Jesus. Or at least be manipulated into attending church where we will continue to force-feed them the love of Christ in nice, easy terms. We think it all hinges on reason. Most sermons we hear in America tend to reflect this. We present a message that pushes toward a climactic end where we present the altar call that all non-Christians will respond to if they have any "sense" at all. It's an easy choice.

What we ignore is that people are more than just a brain that processes data until they are brought to a decision about certain circumstances. They are a body that lives in a society, and at the core they have a spirit that is ill, deluded, and is crying out for God. If we think all that is necessary to cure them is a crash-course in systematic theology, we are fools. People are reasonable, but we deceive ourselves pretending that reason has much at all to do with how they truly make most decisions.

Suppose I loved a girl for a long time without her knowing. One day I walk up with a list of things I did. "I sent you that little gift in the mail two years ago. I learned your favorite movies and watched them all. I wrote you a song or two. I try to be around you as much as possible. . . ." The list goes on and on. Then after I finish them all off I wrap it up with, "Therefore, based on this evidence I will be kneeling at the front of the auditorium with a wedding ring, should you choose to accept, please come, while we stand and sing."

In our relationship with Chirst there is the element of choice, as there is with all relationships. But, no one is reasoned into love. Christ died on a cross to display his love. I would contend that more importantly he came into our world! He did not come with a pithy list of the activities he was going to do to win our hearts. He did not come simply to manipulate us into a shallow choice based on reasoning out the facts. He came to win our hearts. When he left (which he said was for our own good), he did so to send the Spirit who carries on the same activity, not by shallow empirical evidence, but by transforming our world, our minds, and our bodies. The Spirit surrounds us with beauty and hope, desiring our hearts, and nothing less, turn to God in a gaze of love. When we do, reason falls humbly into the periphery.