In my folder sat an article detailing a new “resistance” movement that is getting ready to sweep across the country like wild-fire and completely change the face of traditional religion as we know it.
This new resistance is not being waged against Donald J. Trump, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, or even Kim Kardashian’s plastic surgeon — it is against God and his organized church. This dangerous article was printed a week ago in The Grand Rapids Press titled, “Humanist clergy say ‘17 is their time to grow.” In other words, Christians, “Watch Out, there is a New Kid on the Block!” Apparently, for the last 2,000 years, we’ve had our day in the sun, and it may now be time to step aside.
This article describes how religious leaders across America, who don’t believe in God or organized religion, are starting to organize. Atheists and agnostics are on the march. Even though they “Don’t like to talk about God they do like to gather for a moral purpose.” Hmmm, neat idea. Morals without God? I wonder, if there is no higher power, who gets to decide what is moral?
Let’s not get side-tracked.
The church needs to sound the alarm and be worried, because the intent of this article is meant to be a threat to the status quo, “This movement is poised to grow dramatically,” because, “young adults report a lack of belief in higher numbers than ever before, and also yearn for communal ties and a sense of mission in a tumultuous time.” Mission? Whom, may I ask, is doing the sending?
Again, Chris, you’re getting side-tracked. We need to stay vigilant, the church can’t afford to lose any more of their members in these precarious days!
Two questions must be asked if indeed this movement is as “dramatic” of a resistance as we are being led to believe. What are the numbers? And why meet if there is no God to rally around? Finding these answers will be the goal of this post…
THE NUMBERS
Before we look in depth to what they are organizing for, we need to see if this movement is really a movement? Or is it just another tiny special interest group wanting attention trying to make us regular folk think they are bigger than they really are? This article gives three nondescript hints at their size:
- “One of the premier congregations have been around for 73 years which attracted 40 non-religious clergy.”
- “The Sunday after the presidential election, DOZENS of distressed liberal Washingtonians showed up at service…”
- “They had two conferences for the ‘Ethical Cultural Movement’ in the past … they think the last such meeting was in 1984 and before that the 1870s.”
I have a few comments concerning these quotes: (1) 40 is not a big number. This would be like saying “because our small local Christian High School attracted 40 ministers to their appreciation luncheon, that must mean there is a powerful movement underway to take over the local public school system on behalf of Christ.” Not quite! (2) “DOZENS” as a reported number is always a journalistic euphemism for ‘hardly anyone showed up.’ We had DOZENS of people a couple of months ago for a Sunday Night service, and we still didn’t have enough for a voting quorum. DOZENS of people came to our garage sale, and we still didn’t make enough money to buy a new living room set. (3) You can’t say a movement is underway when the last time you had a unified conference was 1984 and 1870 and you aren’t even sure if you got the dates right.
Last year, the four pastors from our church attended a conference in the Louisville “Yum-Yum Center” with 15,000 Christian pastors and this was just another annual conference for refreshment and rejuvenation. Funny how this isn’t seen by the popular media as a movement, but just a bunch of out-of-touch Christian wackos getting together to sustain a tradition based on superstition and following a religious fraud who calls himself the “Son of God.”
So much for a new “resistance” movement. It is more like a hiccup. Even God said the Devil himself can’t stop the organized church, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” And by the way, what is so wrong with being organized? When you say “organized church” it makes it sound like organized is a bad thing? A lot of things are organized, even the local bowling league.
What’s the purpose of a humanistic Sunday congregation? Why have a morning service at all? The article says, “Members of the congregation sing together, listen to sermons and often celebrate God-free holidays.” But why? Are they just jealous that Christians have something they don’t? As my mom used to say, “Imitation is the highest form of flattery.”
Is not going to bars, pubs, and sipping on a glass of Chardonnay while listening to a classical music concert enough these days for Atheists and Agnostics? Why do they want to claim Sunday morning too? Once again the article gives several reasons:
- “Being a person in a community makes you a better person. America needs it.” A community can do good things together like serving patients in hospitals, sharing scripts for faith-free weddings and getting involved in social justice movements.
- They want to cultivate “a belief in the power of humanity and the human spirit, without supernatural intervention.” As one leader of a humanistic synagogue said, “I have faith in humanity.” Another leader explains, “I’m a believer in human goodness.”
My favorite reason of all is the final quote of the article…
- “A woman in her 30’s who had been an atheist all her life never knew what she was missing until she realized, ‘I didn’t know, when I got sick someday, who was going to bring me a casserole,’ – now that she’s in a supportive community she knows where her supportive casserole will come from — ‘I think that’s what people are looking for.’”
Again, a few comments. (1) How exactly does being in a community make you a better person? Gangs are communities, brothels are communities, and so are RV Convoys who follow “Antique Roadshows.” How does any group make you better? Just by belonging? I’ve heard of how some groups can make you more xenophobic and misogynistic…And just because you go to the hospital a few times doesn’t make you good, anyone can do that, even attention seeking pastors. Or are they copying the church again? As my mom said, “Imitation…” You’ve already heard that. And aren’t there plenty of social justice groups being formed through democratic coalitions, and University campuses these days? Just ask Bernie Sanders and George Soros – – and don’t worry Mr. Agnostic, Bernie and George don’t believe in God either.
(2) The quote from the humanistic synagogue leader, meaning he must be a Jewish man, may be the most ironic and ignoramus quotes of all when he said he “has faith in humanity.” Question: has he forgotten about the holocaust?
(3) A casserole? Seriously, a casserole? That’s what people are looking for in a community? That is what they want most? Apparently, this lady has never been to a church potluck in her life. After a few of them you will begin to realize they are not at all that they are cracked up to be. I once took two scoops of a three-layered egg-salad casserole at a church picnic only to find myself spitting out pieces of eggshells in the grass.
The church is the church for one singular reason, Christ is its head. If you don’t have Christ, you have nothing but a group of people acting like they like each other. Feigning that they are doing good things when actually they would only be doing things that make them feel good. Like meeting nice people, carrying signs for the Democratic Party, and making more tuna-fish casseroles. Without God, there is no church.
Personally, I go to church because the Spirit of Christ is there. I don’t go there primarily to make friends and form “communal ties”, I go there to worship “The God Who Is There.” Our community is not perfect, sometimes it is not friendly, and as I said before, some of the casseroles I have had to eat would drive even some starving people away from the church. I go because God declared, “The church is the Bride of Christ” and through the church, the world will “see His Glory.”
AN ANALOGY
This new “resistance” movement reminds me of a group of kids who hated our town’s football coach and varsity football team. During the Friday night football games, they would have their own neighborhood football games outside the stadium with all their buddies. They prided themselves on playing hard-core tackle without pads. They often swore, smoke, and sometimes drank beers acting cool while the rest of the school was in the stadium watching the varsity team.
I remember talking to some of these kids at school asking them why they didn’t join the team? “Because we play by our own rules and we don’t have to put up with any of the crap from the coach during the rest of week like you football players do.” One of the main kids playing this cool, hard-core football, did, in fact, try out for the team as a sophomore, but he didn’t play much, so he decided to quit so he could play the game on his own terms. And he liked his beer.
How many people do you think even watched this “renegade resistance” football community? Do you think parents, teachers, cheerleaders, sports writers, college scouts, television stations cared if they played? No. Why not? Because this group really wasn’t playing serious football — they were playing pickup football that required no real commitment whatsoever! Why didn’t they play their pick-up games on another night? Because it was more of a staged protest against the established community than playing an actual game. Remember what my mom said, “Imitation is the highest form of flattery.”
A couple years out of High School I worked with some of those same kinds of pick-up kids on a landscaping crew. They asked me if I wanted to join them for a Saturday roughneck football, and they warned me, “I’m not sure if you will be able to handle our tackling?” I never mentioned I played four years of High School football and four years of organized Rugby in college. So when I played with this group they quickly realized they really couldn’t tackle me, and simple moves faked them out every time. But boy could they talk trash.
As I played I smiled and remained quiet; letting them believe their own made-up narrative that the coach didn’t realize what he missed without them playing. I never once did question their false belief thinking they were good…it was easier that way.
The same is true with arguing with the atheist who is fighting against a God they don’t believe in. It’s easy to make up your own rules and tell yourself that you actually are accomplishing something, even the belief they are doing some good. So don’t argue, keep living for Christ in the church, always remembering he will fight for his bride because, honestly, it is easier that way.
Oh, by the way, I just told my wife, no casserole for dinner tonight. I’ve had my fair share.
