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Dumb Christianity

by William Ryzek  
3/15/2014 / Christian Living

I'm using the word 'dumb' to mean two things; first, 'dumb' as in uninformed or ignorant and, second, 'dumb' as not able to speak, at least intelligibly, because of the first kind of dumb.

Our culture here in the United Sates is overrun with competing world-views and most of them, in my opinion, are just plain dumb (in the first sense) and those talking about them also often dumb (in the second sense); cultural pluralism and epistemological relativism are two examples. My concern is this dumbness infecting Christians who are called to testify how and why Christianity is not only intelligent, coherent and rationally sound, but that it is also the Truth.

The early church (50-100 CE) recognized the perils of dumbness. That's why new converts were required to undergo a rigorous catechism before they could be baptized; the Didache is a perfect example. These catechisms were based on the teachings of the Apostles and then formed into lessons by the first and second century church fathers.

You might be thinking "well, Paul or the other apostles never required this sort of thing". However, most of Paul's writings could be thought of as catechisms because they contain true doctrine and were written to teach and correct. The content of his letters became critical as Christianity expanded into the Hellenistic-Roman-Pagan culture. Why? It had to make its case against competing and entrenched world views (apologetics) and, more importantly, eventual heresies that would arise (polemics).

So, here we are in 2012 and nothing has changed. In fact, many of the world-views and heresies the early church confronted are with us today (Arianism and Gnosticism to name just a couple); and this is not because their longevity is a sign they might be true, just that dumb people still buy into them, even Christians who should know better.

Fortunately for all of us, most of the intellectual heavy lifting is already done. The church fathers I mentioned earlier inherited the task of applying the writings of the apostles to settle profoundly significant theological disputes (the Apostolic creed is an example of one 'settlement') and less important disputes amongst churches and church leadership.

I suspect, and hope, that most pastors desire their congregations be theologically well informed but laziness and slothfulness are not just worldly problems. Christians can be enormously slothful; they think all this free stuff from God means they don't have to do much; it's not by works they say. Lazy and dumb too many fit this description.

Unfortunately, there are some leaders who perpetuate this laziness by assuming their flock is incapable of understanding the 'deeper life' that all Christians can enjoy or they are too lazy to pursue it themselves. In other words, they dumb things down because they think their people are dumb and then join them in their dumbness; it's all really dumb if you ask me.

What follows, almost by necessity, is implying that it's easy being a Christian, almost like joining a club; "just pray this, sign here and you're in". The sometimes pathetically presented "give your life to Jesus, He loves you" message really distorts what a person is getting into, and why, by becoming His disciple, not to mention giving a false impression of the King of the universe.

It is true when we say that being, and remaining a Christian is the most blessed condition possible for us, being redeemed from sin and hell, adopted into the family of God, being placed as members of His Body, inheriting eternal life (and I don't mean living forever but possessing the very Life of God Who is Life), participating in the eternal purpose and destiny of creation, and enjoying the Holy Spirit as a constant Companion this side of heaven.

However, what we leave out or gloss over is that being a disciple is not easy; it requires discipline (from which the word 'disciple' is derived) crosses to bear, a self that must die, enduring various sufferings and persecutions, a lifelong battle against sin, the flesh and the devil, even death at the hands of others, to name only a few. Just look at what the original disciples went through both before and after His Ascension.

If you are familiar, even in a small way, with Church history (and you should be), you know all of this is nothing new. Being effective in its mission and making disciples of its people have always been the main challenges to the Church and therefore, the major areas of vulnerability to failure. Even the early church had its lazy and distracted congregations. Read Hebrews 5:11 through 6:3 for an example; it wasn't just persecution they faced but a bit of lethargy as well.

It is a fact that faith in God is more than believing a set of propositions about Him are true, like those contained in the Creeds, for example; it is at the same time about trusting and trusting God cannot be experienced without an ever-increasing knowledge of, and deepening relationship with Him. Jesus was able to speak about the Father intimately and with authority because He and the Father were one and the words He spoke and the works He did came from the Father; Jesus knew and trusted Him.

The disciples spoke intimately and authoritatively about Jesus because they came to know and trust Him and upon their witness and experience of Him the Church is built as others through the centuries hear the Gospel, believe its claims and trust the God whose promises bring it all to pass. And so it is with us; to speak of Him, and for Him, we must know Him and know Him well lest people see a distorted Jesus through our actions and our words.

To this end I suggest the following: immerse yourself in Ephesians chapter 1 because it, and the whole letter for that matter, is like a guidebook to the Christian life. If you are a Christian, the first few verses of chapter 1 tell you where you came from and where you are as children of God; the following verses (Paul's prayer for them) to the end of the chapter tell you where you must go. When you begin to master the ideas presented in these verses, comprehend the vision from which they sprang, and appreciate the pastoral heart of Paul (and Jesus, the Good Shepherd) from which they were written, then you will have advanced far in your walk with Him; your spiritual life will change, your witness will carry force and conviction.

William Ryzek, PhD has been both a pastor and academic for several years. He has published articles in various magazines and newspapers. He can be reached at [email protected]

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