Introduction
He begins by telling of his friend Andy Ferguson at (Episcopal) Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, CA. After arguing at length with many around him, a fellow student finally diagnosed the problem (at the cafeteria): "We have figured out your problem. You're the only one here who believes in God!" The mainline is losing market share, since people don't need to go to church to "learn the minister's opinions on ... the headlines. They can get ... [that] sitting on their sofas watching TV ... Most people go to church to get something they cannot get elsewhere. This consuming public - people who already believe, or who are attempting to believe, or who want their children to believe - go to church to learn about the mysterious Truth on which the Christian religion is built. They want the Good News, not the minister's political views or intellectual coaching" (xii). The PCUSA (11K churches) has seen a decline of 12% over the last 10 years; United Methodist (36K) -7%, Episcopal (7K) -5%, UCC (6K) -15%, Am. Bap. Ch. USA -6%. On the other hand, the SBC (42K) +5%, PCA +42%, CMA +22%, EFC +57%, AoG (12K) +19%, Ch. of God (6K) +40%, Cons. Chr. Ch. and Ch. of Chr. (5K) +19%. Chapter 3 "will show how non-traditional beliefs not only have permeated the mainline but are common among believers who are often portrayed as dangerous fundamentalists" (xx).
Note: Hmmm, I wonder if this is the same Andrew Ferguson who is "managing editor" at Liberty magazine? Maybe send an email inquiry to Liberty. There is also a man by this name who is currently Senior Editor of the Weekly Standard magazine (he was featured on the 'book channel' [ch4] recently, long gray hair). I think this latter must be him, since Shiflett says he met him 20 yrs ago "when he was working at The American Spectator ... [he later wrote] speeches for Bush [41], essays for Time, columns for Bloomberg News, and articles for Weekly Standard" (71).
Shiflett calls himself "an itinerant Prebyterian ... currently belong to no church ... sometimes attend a [local PCUSA] church ... never had much luck believing in angels or devils and tend to be not entirely comfortable with people who believe Eden's serpent actually spoke [hmm, 'comfortable' often doesn't happen when confronted with Truth] ... When [someone] asks if I believe something is sin, my response is ... I did not write the moral codes ... My view [is] that according to these codes homosexual behavior is a sin, but one sin among many. By these same codes, I have plenty of sins of my own, which neutralize me as an inquisitor [hmm, on murder too?] ... I [don't want to] classify people by their sexual practices, which I don't want to know ... not central to anyone's being ... [but] we should admit the possibility of a True Way that is illuminated in Holy Writ" (xxiii, hmm sounds agnostic). He then quote from Wm James' Varieties and adds he's also interested in religion as a story, which may be "the biggest story of all ... frightening, intriguing, mystifying, entertaining" (xxiv). He mentions reports of conversions by John Lennon, Bob Dylan, 'personal favorite' Jorma Kaukonen [Jefferson Airplane] (xxv). He notes the seeming paradox: "In the natural world, adapting is central to survival, and so it would seem that the progressive versions of Christianity would have the advantage. Yet that is not the case" (xxvi). 20C flashpoints have been Darwinism, divorce/remarriage, abortion, female ordination and homosexuality.
Part I: Our Proud Illusions
1: The Episcopalians: In the Name of Tolerance
He discusses the ECUSA ('perhaps the best brand name in Protestantism' 4) consecration of openly gay Eugene Robinson as bishop of NH, which finally prompted a reaction by conservatives. A lib priest he interviewed (Bruce Gray) pointed to a dark conservative conspiracy supported by billionaires (he probably meant Howard Ahmanson Jr or Richard Mellon Scaife) to turn the US "into a theocracy governed by biblical law" (8). Scaife had been linked to "earlier efforts to bring down Bill Clinton ... [the priest's concern] underscor[ing] the political nature of the Episcopal combat. Demonizing the opposition, after all, is one of the chief arrows in the political operative's quiver. It is not usually thought to be part of the Christian witness" (8). The priest portrayed his own leftist position as centrist and his opponents as extremists, "a familiar formulation to anyone who follows political disputes" (9). He added to this "sleight of hand" another familiar leftist trope, the conservatives are "mean people" (9). When the author asked Gray how he justified "converting a former sin [homosexuality] into a celebrated and even consecrated virtue ... [and] rewriting historic [church] teachings ... based on what was once believed to be the Word of God" (10), Gray cited the church's (and society's) modified view of divorce as evidence that 'morality' is malleable and socially determined, accusing conservatives of hypocrisy in not contesting divorce. Shiflett suggested that "the real problem ... is not only that Jesus set a very high sexual standard, but that it is one few humans could ever hope to live by" (11, if even thoughts can incriminate). Gray used "a blueprint of the mechanism by which Scriptural admonitions are neutralized. The process is quite simple. Step one is to find a passage in the OT that is startling in its brutality ... Step two is to find the NT passage one wants to undermine ... Step three is to insist that if one is taking one's cues from the Bible, then one must take the book all in all. Ergo: opposing [fill in liberal position here e.g. tolerance, inclusion, 'enlightened and humane values', humanitarianism, pro-gay ...] is no less extreme than stoning annoying children" (12). The author also spoke with Rev. Sandra Levy, who echoed Gray's views but without demonizing her opponents. She sympathized with conservatives (although disagreeing with them) and, surprisingly, still believed in the physical Resurrection. This prompted Shiflett to wonder "how can priests who so strongly believe the most unbelievable of their religion's teachings - that Jesus rose from the dead - simultaneously reject as unbelievable his admonitions against sexual [sin]?" (22). Seems incoherent, liberals claim its "the sign of a subtle and learned mind ... Something for everyone, under one roof. By economic measures, this would be a recipe for success. Yet it is failing" (22).
2: The Departing Episcopalians: In the Name of Tradition
The author had assumed that mainliners were to be pitied; stuck between secular and religious worlds, unable to make a clean break, "in the grip of a neurosis" (24). But after talking with a few of them, he realized this is not their sense. They are very sure of themselves and seek to missionize the rest of us with their "higher agenda ... one that promises to improve upon ... God's ways, as revealed in Scripture and tradition [which] they have considered and found wanting ... This allows them to turn Holy Writ on its head: what was once forbidden becomes acceptable, if not celebrated; admonitions toward holy living suddenly become hate speech" (24-5). Shiflett first discusses Hugo Blankingship Jr., son of an Episcopal Bishop of Cuba (forced to leave after Castro came to power) and successful lawyer, a primary defender of the conservative Episcopal cause (m. to Shiflett's father's cousin). After observing decades of 'slippage' (ttif), "with the Robinson consecration, they began eyeing the exits ... busy organizing a network of dissenting churches ... called on conservative bishops from the Anglican Communion [Peter Akinola of Nigeria, Drexel Gomez of W Indies, Emmanuel Kolini of Rwanda, Bernard Malango of C America, Yong Ping Chung of SE Asia] to provide oversight ... Episcopal Church is a small branch [of the 75M-strong Anglican Communion]" (26-7). 2 questions: 1) Why leave now? The issue is authority [w/o which; theological chaos], not homosexuality. They appeal to Scripture, doctrine and Episcopal (indeed Christian) tradition ("the earliest subapostolic writing, the Didache, or Teaching of the 12 Apostles, begins by delineating 'two ways, one of life and one of death,' and immediately turns to sexual moral teaching against adultery, pederasty, and fornication" 29). The [winning] lib response was embarassment at these Scopes-like boobs who are stuck in the past and unable to move toward their 'enlightened' and 'progressive' understandings. 2) How did this happen? Philip Turner's book The End of a Church and the Triumph of Denominationalism offers an answer; many members lost interest in 'tried and true' 'old' answers and certitude (OK w/authority). They wanted 'fresh and new' instead (hate authority). "Turner quotes English theologian P T Forsythe - 'If within us we have nothing above us we soon succumb to what is around us'" (40). Blankingship hopes for a reformation, Turner thinks its too late. We'll see. The ECUSA illustrates Dean Kelley's warning that abandoning traditional faith and taking up worldly causes leads to severe decline or extinction (41). Escaping Episcopal conservatives have gone Catholic, Orthodox and evangelical, providing boosts to all the latter.
3: Celebrity Heretics and Their Influence: The Wee Deity
Here the author turns to the PCUSA and United Methodists, which, like the ECUSA, are divided "over the person and work of Jesus Christ" (43). But he notes that "theological heterodoxy, oddity, inconsistency, and outright incoherence are common even in churches that are assumed to be safe havens of orthodoxy" (44, ?!). "By some estimates, the whole of Western civilization has been under attack, and [mainline] church decline is simply part of a larger story" (44). He cites Dr. John Baillie's 1945 What Is Christian Civilization?, who blamed secularization and industrialization for weakening the family. He worried that pagan values would reassert themselves as they had in [Nazi] Germany. "In proportion as a society relaxes its hold upon the eternal, it ensures the corruption of the temporal ... most [civilizations] have perished prematurely [all must eventually] ... as victims of their own proud illusions [whence the section title]" (45). Later came William Rauscher's 1980 Church in Frenzy. By allowing even just a few celebrity heretics (e.g. ECUSA's John Shelby Spong, who has parlayed his unbelief into fame and fortune) to go unpunished, these denominations had ceded away any moral authority they'd once had (and become theologically incoherent). One Spong critic called him a utopian "yearning to be released from history, to shed the burdens of free will, failure, and improvisation. Basically Utopia is for authoritarians and weaklings" (51). Edmund Opitz observed that churchmen, like all intellectuals, "are verbalists and wordsmiths; powerfully swayed by the printed page, catch-words, slick phrases, slogans" (51). Shiflett recalls other 'celebrity heretics' like 2C Montanus and Marcion ('1rst-born of Satan' according to Polycarp). Spong is "simply another character from ... America's Religious [or the World's] Freak Show" (52). Barna asked people: Do you believe:
- in absolute moral truth as revealed in the Bible?
- Jesus was without sin?
- Satan literally exists?
- God is omnipotent and omniscient?
- Christians must evangelize?
"Only 28% of pastors from mainline Protestant churches [said yes to all]. Only 15% of female pastors ... only 7% of Americans ... and among born-again Christians ... only 9%" (54 ?!). Many of Spong's beliefs are surprisingly widespread even among so-called 'born-agains'. The latter are also decidedly not 'poor, uneducated and easy to command' as one liberal journalist contended. Author Eddie Gibbs (In Name Only 1994) calls this the "incoherence and shallowness of religious belief in America ... for 90% of churchgoers belief is not translated into distinctive Christian values and lifestyle" (56, hmmm, liberals comforting themselves on blandness of Christian faith, see lte-ct6). He cites conservative SBC, RCC, Orthodox, and "many nondenominational and Pentacostal congregations" (57).
Shiflett next looked into the Unitarian Universalist Church, whose progressives (acc. to Wendy Murray Zorba in CT) "have reduced God to about 1/3 of His former self ... a Wee Deity - WD30, we might call Him ... no one need fear such a God" (58). "Liberal politics is the Unitarian passion" (59, of course!). P T Barnum was a famous UUC member and supporter (UUC was originally more Christian, rejecting only the 'small elect' doctrine). Today there are only around 150K adult Unitarians in the US! He closes by reciting the Nicene Creed as he prepares to visit some orthodox Christians.
Part II: The Abiding Hope
4: The Catholic Church: Some Roads Lead to Rome
The RCC "counts among its members the greatest scientific, artistic, and humanitarian minds the world has known" (69). Although the RCC "remains a warm home for some of the world's most vigorous leftists ... the dynamism is on the right, in 2 senses ... [dramatic 3rd world growth, mostly conservative, and] the influx of high-profile American conservatives into the RCC, including journalist Robert Novak, senator Sam Brownback, economist Larry Kudlow, columnist Laura Ingraham, jurist Robert Bork, publisher Al Regnery, and cultural commentator Andrew Ferguson" (69-70). "Father John McCloskey ... has played a central role in many of these high-profile conversions" (71). What's the attraction? For Andrew it was "the church's historic and consistent liturgy" (82). Andrew was disillusioned with the unbelief of mainline seminary, but then met Rev. John Cahoon, pastor of a breakaway Episcopal church and political left-winger, "a Jesse Jackson guy. But that was important because it taught me that religion is detached from Republican Party politics ... Cahoon was a forceful defender of the traditional faith" (74). After Cahoon's early death from brain cancer, Ferguson found his way to the RCC, though he is "still somewhat bothered by 'the papacy and Mary worship'" (76). "The most profound demand [of Christianity, esp. RCC] is intellectual submission ... [it] is a constant reminder to humans that 'you are not God'" (77). Next up is Al Regnery, who left the Episcopal church when he saw "the denomination crumbling around him" (81). McCloskey had "recommended works by Catholic scholars and writers from a reading list he had compiled" (81, I'd like to see that list, check online, and include here sometime). Regnery was most impressed by the RCC's firm stand against civil officials on not allowing abortions in Catholic hospitals, even though it cost them "tens of millions of dollars" (82). He was also impressed by its size and found "Catholics to be more forgiving of personal foibles than some of his acquaintances in the other branches of the faith" (82). The author then talked with Father John himself. He expects "North American Christians, and especially Catholics, to suffer a bloody persecution [to begin] over the course of the next couple of decades" (83, involving a "serious civil disruption" as a result of the current 'culture war', although he lumps all enemies of the RCC together as bad guys i.e. secularists, evangelicals and other "Protestants" from RCC orthodoxy, hmmm very religiously partisan). His 100s of converts "have all shared a voracious and insatiable appetite for books. I show them the intellectual beauty of the church through the great writings.' His authors are mostly but not entirely Catholic and range from Aquinas, Augustine, and Dante to Philip Hughes, Ronald Knox [The Beliefs of Catholics, esp. important to Bork], G K Chesterton [Orthodoxy, Everlasting Man], Robert Hugh Benson, C S Lewis, T S Eliot Louis Bouyer, Warren Carroll, Orestes Brownson, Russell Shaw, Ken Whitehead, and Cardinal Newman" (84-5, also Stern's Pillar of Fire, esp. important to Bernard Nathanson). McCloskey notes that "certain works appeal to certain minds" (85) and called Rodney Stark "a great man" (85). He estimates that only 1 in 10 American Catholics are "with the program" (87, uphold RCC teaching, attend Mass, at least yearly confession). "Father Richard John Neuhaus, formerly a Lutheran, takes a much more hopeful view ... [seeing the world as] 'increasingly marked not by secularization but by desecularization'" (91). He does see a coming clash with secularists but believes conservatives (RCC, Orthodox, Protestant) can win it.
One more note; Father John McCloskey rants that "the RCC is true, and no other has ever made a credible claim to be the one that was founded by Him. Either the Lord of History established a church with a visible structure on this earth until He comes again or there is simply no authority that guides and must be obeyed. From the time of the great Schism and the Protestant revolution, the principle of private judgment has given rise to thousands of Christian sects and denominations. That is hardly what was intended when He asked His Father 'that all may be one.'" Hmmm, very partisan RCC talk. Perhaps the church of which Jesus promised "the gates of Hell will not prevail against it" is that of the real believers in all (or most) denominations. Furthermore, what happens in history is exactly what the "Lord of History" wants to happen, so its useless to argue otherwise. Apparently, God wanted a proliferation of denominations, possibly to see who would seek believing churches v. merely those with outward power, influence, cachet (e.g. the RCC). Maybe 'private judgment' is exactly what God wanted! Father John attributes these conversions to God's grace of course, but also cites relationships (family, friends, importance noted by Rodney Stark in his work, hence 'great man' comment) and 'the prospect of death' for aging intellectuals.
A couple more notes; Father John gives primary; credit to God's Grace, he cites 2 other factors that help alot; 1) "the presence of good friends, family members, or acquaintances who are already in the church" [Stark was mentioned in this connection as having studied this, noticed that most people take up new religions this way] and 2) "the prospect of death" (85). Shiflett tips his hand when he says "Regnery saw the [ECUSA] crumbling around him. Homosexuality was not only tolerated, as it should be (italics mine), but celebrated ... the [ECUSA] has lots of good people in it, but it just doesn't stand for anything [i.e. liberalism {i.e. intellectual fashion} always trumps Scripture]" (81, so Shiflett thinks it should be tolerated, but this is incoherent, since his whole book is making the point that we need to listen carefully to what Jesus said and obey it!?).
5: The Orthodox Church: Some Roads Lead to Byzantium
Shiflett then visited Frederica Mathewes-Green and her husband Gary, who left the Episcopal church (where Gary was for years a priest) for the Orthodox Church. The Episcopalians had years before drawn her from 'Eastern religion' (95, Hinduism, we find on p96), so she's been a "seeker" (raised a 'nominal Catholic' 96). Gary had been an atheist before joining the ECUSA. She is "well known to conservatives as a writer and speaker with a passionate interest in the pro-life position" (95). The Orthodox are "deeply mystical, by generous description" (95, i.e. if not downright superstitious, irrational, bizarre ...). They "create a sense of otherworldliness in [their] worship services" (105). They flirted with the charismatic movement, thinking it could rescue the ECUSA from liberalism, but became disenchanted with its emotionalism and later gave up on the ECUSA as irretrievable. They were drawn to Orthodoxy's "beautiful liturgy [and solid theology] that appeared to be beyond political manipulation" (101). The Orthodox believe God the Father is above both the Son and the Spirit (102). "An Orthodox theologian said that 'Catholicism is an institution with Sacred Mysteries [sacraments], and Orthodoxy is a Sacred Mystery with an institution'" (102-3). They see themselves as 'museum guards, not curators' (103).
They reject the papacy, the Western (Augustinian) body-soul split and original sin. "There is no mechanism [in Orthodoxy] by which interested parties could even begin to introduce the liberalism that has devastated [the ECUSA]" (103). A key book is Timothy Ware's (aka Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia, a prominent church historian) The Orthodox Church (1997). It includes "13 self-governing churches, including the 4 ancient Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem and 9 others ... including the well-known Russian and Greek churches ... 200M baptized members" (104). Each church has a relic ("a piece of a dead person" 107) in its alter and the service involved lots of standing. The purpose of the relics is to help Orthodoxy resist "Gnosticism and neo-Platonism, which [have] always troubled Christians in [their] insistence that body is bad, spirit is good" (107). They have a saying, that "the purpose of [our] church is to make relics. We are an incarnational faith. In our tradition, the body is as much a bearer of the presence of God as the soul. It too is transformed [i.e. 'shot through'] by God's presence" (108). Orthodox "still expect miracles, including biolocation, levitation, soul-reading in which [people] can look at you and tell you your history ... [its] a demanding [church] ... rejects the cult of the autonomous, unencumbered self ... submit themselves to a God who is stern in His ways and harsh in His judgments [hmmm, response to Islam?] ... He brought man into being for reasons unfathomable ... [He knew] there would be endless calamity, murder, proud disbelief. Man's children would die by the thousands each day, and legions would curse His name and reject His greatest offering, His Son, who would suffer to an unimaginable degree on their behalf ... [yet] still He created, still He came. This is a serious God. This is not a lodge brother" (109). Shiflett notes many times the seeming irony that the more a church demands of its adherents (and Orthodoxy demands alot), the more popular it has become in recent years, and vice versa (Stark also notes this in his analysis of reform movements throughout history, see br-gog).
6: The Southern Baptists: Some Roads Lead to Louisville
Dr. Albert Mohler and Dr. Richard Land "hope, pray, and believe that in the near future an alliance of orthodox believers will rock the secular world to its foundations. They are hard at work to undermine if not destroy some of its central dogmas, including Roe v. Wade" (110). They and others in the SBC have demonstrated that the conventional wisdom, which "holds that once an institution goes liberal, there is no turning back" (111) is dead wrong. "They have one Book and launched a counterrevolution on its behalf. They won, and they took no prisoners. Conservatives in other liberal-besieged denominations may find their story instructive" (111). "Their battle cry was not explicitly about sex, as it has been ... throughout the mainline. Instead, it was summed up in 2 words: biblical inerrancy" (112). There are around 16M in the SBC, and growing (113), the "largest non-RCC Christian group in the US" (112, and around 1/4 of the 60M US 'evangelicals' with another 30M belonging to the NAE, which SBC doesn't, and another 14M independent, from Sheler's Believers, see br-blvrs). Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, is one of 6 SBC seminaries, total enrollment [all 6] 15K (114). Shiflett interviewed both Mohler (SBTS's president b1959) and Land (head of SBC's Ethics and Relgious Liberty Commission b1946), and noticed that Land is more optimistic than Mohler. He mentions Bill Leonard, "a moderate and highly respected church historian" (119, at least 7 schools of inerrancy) and "former SBC president Jerry Vines" (119), church historian Nancy Ammerman (120, Baptist Battles 1990). "So far as the conservatives were concerned, the denomination had been hijacked. And so in 1978 a TX judge named Paul Pressler, a biblical scholar named Paige Patterson, and Bill Powell, a Baptist journalist, launched the counterattack. Patterson and Pressler went about the countryside rallying the conservative faithful and found much support for their solution ... elect a conservative SBC president, who in turn could name ... The fruits of rebellion were soon harvested. The conservatives elected Memphis pastor Adrian Rogers to the presidency in 1979" (121). He said "the hope of the world lies in the West ... America ... Judeo-Christian ethics ... evangelical Christianity ... SBC" (121-2). Others were evangelist Bailey Smith, Dallas conservative W. A. Criswell, who linked political and religious crises: "we have not only lost our nation to the liberal, the secularist, and the humanist, but in great areas of our Baptist life we have lost our ... institutions, colleges, universities" (122). "By the end of the 1988-9 academic year, 1/3 of SE Seminary's faculty had been replaced. One by one, the other seminaries were retooled, as were the various convention agencies, including [SBC's] huge publishing arm ... now called Lifeway Christian Resources" (122).
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Dr. Mohler is concerned that "while 90% of Americans claim some relationship to Christianity, the number actually living Christian lives in pretty low ... only 1 in 10 are regularly in church or involved in church [recalls McCloskey's summing up of 'with the program' Catholics] ... [and] secularism [and pragmatism, postmodernism] is an irresistible force" (124). Far from triumphalist (as some liberals accuse evangelicals), Mohler is deeply pessimistic, fearing "the gains of the last 2 decades can be wiped away in less than a generation" (124). "Nor does [he] buy into the argument that America is a shining city on the hill, or [even] worthy of God's benevolence" (125). God will spit out "church leaders who are lukewarm in their faith ... the appropriate word of judgment for much of the Christian church in America today ... every reason to assume that God would bring catastrophe on people who reject Him and His Law and actually celebrate their unbelief. God's purposes will be consummated, and one day all will be revealed" (126, Wow, sobering).
Dr. Land is much more optimistic (analogous to RCC's pessimist McCloskey v. optimist RJN). Land is the "Happy Warrior" (126). The SBC's downtown Nashville HQ is known as the "Baptist Vatican" (126). Land acknowleges his sunnier outlook and says it "could have to do with age. I was an adult in 1968, when America was burning. Al Mohler was still a child. I know how bad it has been. I think things are much better now" (126). He's "clearly animated by a good scrap. Unlike some conservatives, he [doesn't] seek the approval of liberal titans or institutions ... [accusing the NYT of] anti-religious bigotry [for pronouncing that public policy advocacy by conservative Christians constitutes 'a far greater threat to democracy than was presented by communism']" (127-8). Land expressed optimism that news media has "further eroded its already slender credibility" (130) and expects gay marriage to be outlawed by a constitutional amendment eventually. He is cheered by "the political alliance between evangelical Christians and Catholics ... [though not long ago seeing RCC as] an errant form of Christianity" (131, while admitted there are fellow believers there). Now, he says, "I have more in common with Pope JPII than w/Jimmy Carter" (131). He expects Roe v. Wade to be overturned in his lifetime, making him a 'triumphalist' (133). When liberals ask "why we're doing so well, [Land says] 2 things. One, there are more of us than there are of you. And you ticked us off ... [his closing thought to Shiflett is] I'd rather be playing our hand than theirs" (133).
7: Evangelicals: Satan Had a Plan
Here Shiflett takes a close look at the 20 Apr 1999 Columbine HS incident and how conservative Christians responded to it i.e. how can a loving God allow this (148)? He focuses on the Rev. Bill Oudemolen (135), who was "raised in the Reformed Church [and] got his theological training at Grand Rapids Baptist Bible College" (142). The author had been shocked in the early '90s by Oudemolen's forceful statement at the funeral of a young wife and mother who had died of breast cancer that she was "in a much better place than she had ever been, [and] even if it were possible for her to return to [her family] she would not do so" (142). He spoke at the 1rst Columbine funeral, saying "Satan had a plan for Littleton ... he left his calling cards - death, destruction, and dread ... not simply about black trench coats, purported parental failure, anemic gun laws, inattentive teachers, or Marilyn Manson. Ultimately, [it] came from Satan's home office - the pit of hell ... his plan was that we would be overcome by fear, hatred, and, finally, inconsolable grief ... but I don't think it worked. Why? Because God also had a plan ... for power, love, and sound thinking" (144-5). Then he gave an alter call, at the request of the parents of the victim! The event was covered by international media. Dylan "Klebold's funeral was conducted by the Rev. Don Marxhausen, a Lutheran ... [he] made the best of a very hard situation. While Oudemolen could offer hope and the promise of ultimate meaning, Marxhausen did not come from a tradition that allowed such a certain response ... He could only say that God might bring the survivors comfort, though he had no idea how. It was a thin reed in a terrible wind, but all that was available" (151-2). "Marxhausen's most noted line came just after a memorial service for the victims that was attended by 70K people: 'I felt like I'd been hit over the head with Jesus'" (153). "And still the [evangelicals] believe. On Sunday mornings they sit in Oudemolen's church, perhaps near a woman who murdered her 2 children, all pursuing Truth in the shadow of an ancient cross. These are not frivolous people. They are worthy of their God" (153).
8: Evangelists: Damascus Roads
The author notes that door-to-door evangelists are never Unitarians, rarely Methodists, Presbyterians, or Episcopalians, and usually Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons or evangelical Christians (154). This is "how religions project themselves into the future ... religious procreation. Progressive churches ... do not excel in replication. They may fancy themselves smarter ... wealthier ... but fail to pass on their religion" (154). He notes that Urbana missions conferences are sponsored by "campus Christian organizations" (157) IVP, YFC, CCC, YL and Navigators. He cites Charles Colson as "one of the most vibrant contemporary reminders that ... especially orthodox Christianity is still capable of transforming lives" (157). Colson belongs to the SBC. Shiflett compares him to William Wilberforce and John Wesley in challenging his society with issues of justice. "The mainline decline [Colson says, is because they are far too eager to accommodate themselves to the culture.] The accommodation began in earnest in the 1960s, though unlike many conservatives, [Colson] has good things to say about [the 1960s] ... 'laudable in their effort to bring social justice to society'" (160). Shiflett sees Colson as a great example of Christian redemption and as an American hero (166). Another evangelist, Mark Brewer, focuses on the rich. Pastor of Ronald Reagan's PCUSA church, facing "shallowness in matters intellectual and spiritual, combined with an obsession with making money [and being hip]" (167). "Half of the church's 5K members work in the entertainment industry" (167). Shiflett recalls the 9 Dec 2000 confirmation of former abortionist Bernard Nathanson into the RCC, attended by Colson, McCloskey, Regnery and about 50 others (173). Colson reflects "That simple baptism, held w/o fanfare ... is a reminder that a holy Baby ... defies the wisdom of man. He cannot be defeated ... Christians are called on to advocate an eternal kingdom that is not of this world. That kingdom's ways are its own, and its beliefs ... are at odds with modern certainties. The proper role for the Christians is to be the salt of the earth, not its ruler. When Christians dominated, we created a tyranny. We are probably meant to be countercultural" (174).
Conclusion: The Fish and the Shark
"Writing a book about religion can be hazardous to one's spiritual health. The backbiting, dark innuendo, and full-throated denunciations that pass so freely between believers can be much less than inspiring ... [but its] alot more interesting than writing about politics or sports. This is the Big Story, one that the Christian religion promises will come to a righteous conclusion in the fullness of time ... All will be revealed. And perhaps, in sports parlance, we shall see whether the liberals [progressives] or the conservatives [traditionalists] win" (175). "'Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it' [ref?] - so warned Jesus ... the final destruction of most human beings ... seems undemocratic, intolerant, rigid, exclusive, hard to square with the popular view of God: loving, gentle, creative, concerned with our happiness, prosperity. 'God is my Co-pilot,' the bumper sticker proclaims. God is along for the ride, a steady hand who offers a bit of navigational advice when necessary, takes the wheel while we unwrap our sandwiches, calms turbulence as it arises, and in the end takes us in for a perfect three-point landing in Paradise ... an affirmer, not a judge" (177-8). The 'WD30' god "is one most Americans cannot respect, much less worship ... The God they desire, and whom they sense is Real, is mysterious, all-powerful ... best addresses the 'unease' that Wm James tells us is a central characteristic of the religious personality. And only this sometimes harsh, mysterious, demanding God, it might be added, seems to find a reflection in the harsh, mysterious, and astoundingly beautiful universe we find ourselves living in. This is the God of the past [i.e. of the Bible] ... His ways are imperfectly followed, but only He is worth following" (179). Conservative Christians "see the storm clouds gathering. Their children can no longer pray before football games or receive public scholarships to pursue religious studies. Every time they turn on the TV they encounter one hideous blasphemy or another. When they glance at a car bumper, they may see one of those Darwin footed fish or an emblem of a shark eating a Christian fish ... [they see] a rejection of the moral codes that have flowed from traditional Christianity, codes that are increasingly perceived as nefarious and malevolent restraints on individual freedom ... [they] sense that they are losing ground and that the loss will have catastrophic effects beyond their own persecution" (180). Islam is storming Europe. Bernard Lewis predicts Europe will be Islamic by 2100, "at the latest" (181). "Secularism, the result of the shark eating the fish, does not create a steady secular state ['OK for govt, fatal for society']. It creates a spiritual vacuum that will be filled by a more dynamic faith" (181). The author says he remains "an itinerant Presbyterian ... I remain an enthusiastic fan of Christian consumerism, as it is sometimes pejoratively called ... I like having several brands to choose from ... In the meantime, religion continues to be the Story of Stories, one that encompasses history as well as contemporary life" (183).
