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Note: This essay first appeared in the
October 2007 Baptist Studies Bulletin.
The other day I listened to a sermon entitled "Too Earthly Minded to
Do Any Heavenly Good." The premise is one I've heard for years: life
on earth is full of trials and tribulations, and at best is a
distraction to a Christian's heavenly rewards in the afterlife. So,
Christians should forget about trying to make a difference in this
world (in terms of meeting social needs) and instead scoop up as many
"souls" as possible on their way to heaven.
A newer variation on the anti-earth theme is the attitude
that some Christians espouse concerning environmentalism, especially
as related to global warming. Al Mohler, President of the Southern
Baptist Theological Seminary, neatly sums up the opposition to
environmentalism, while dismissing concerns about global warming:
"We've
got to expect this world to end badly…. Read the book. It doesn't end
well."
According to Mohler and like-minded Christians, the biblical book of
Revelation teaches a cataclysmic end to earth, and trying to save the
planet from destruction is pointless.
However, the anti-earth views expressed in heavenly
fixations and global doom reflect certain human biases more than the
biblical text. In the Old Testament, God punished or blessed nations
according to how they treated the poor, oppressed and outcasts. Among
God's chosen Hebrew people, belief in an afterlife did not develop
until late in the OT era. In the Gospels, Jesus' "Kingdom of Heaven,"
rather than being confined to a distant, futuristic, after-death
place, was instead rooted in the here-and-now, with both earthly and
spiritual dimensions. "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven has
arrived," was a central tenet of Jesus' teachings. Special rituals or
the repetition of magic words did not provide automatic admittance to
a next-worldly existence. Participation in Jesus' heaven meant
meeting the whole needs of persons on planet earth. Frequently asked
how one could become righteous in God's sight, Jesus' answers bore one
consistent theme: one must turn his or her life over to God by
renouncing self-centeredness and ministering to the needs of others.
No rituals or verbal formulas were necessary to be "saved," and all
sinners were invited. Jesus' "Kingdom of heaven" connected tangible
earthly matters with one's after-death existence. Only later would
some Christians deconstruct Jesus' teaching of heaven by removing the
earthly dimension, creating shortcuts to after-death
bliss, and placing varied and evolving conditions on
admittance.
A
recent Barna survey of young Americans aged 16-29 reveals
just how far modern, popular Christianity has strayed from Jesus'
teachings. Just one decade ago, according to Barna, "the vast
majority" of young people "outside the Christian faith ... felt
favorably toward Christianity's role in society." Now, however, a
mere 16% of non-Christian young persons have a "good impression" of
Christianity, while only 3% have "favorable views of evangelicals."
The 3% figure represents an eight-fold increase in negative
views of evangelicals compared to the Boomer generation. Among
today's unchurched young people, vast majorities view Christianity as
anti-homosexual (91%), judgmental (87%), hypocritical (85%) and too
involved in politics (75%). One half of Christian young people also
agree with these assessments. It is interesting to note that Jesus
criticized the religious leaders of his day for the very same reasons―their
lack of compassion for sinners, judgmental nature and hypocritical
attitudes.
Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Ministries in Atlanta
and son of Charles Stanley,
responded to the Barna survey by suggesting it is time for
Christianity to stop focusing solely on converting persons. "If we
were able to rewrite the script for the reputation of Christianity, I
think we would put the emphasis on developing relationships with
non-believers, serving them, loving them, and making them feel
accepted. Only then would we earn the right to share the gospel." At
the least, Stanley offers a step forward on the road back to Jesus'
heaven.
Al Mohler, however, seems to disagree with Stanley. Any
movement toward incorporating earthly concerns into one's concept of
heaven is unacceptable, Jesus' teachings notwithstanding. The
conversion of souls into an after-death existence is all
that really matters, and
environmentalism is a bogeyman that distracts from this
one-dimensional heaven. Downplaying heaven as taught in the Gospels,
Mohler's construct rests on the back of pre-millennial
dispensationalism,
a modern heresy-turned-orthodoxy that interprets the book of
Revelation in such a way as to elevate Christian self-righteousness
while rallying believers to cheer the impending destruction of planet
earth.
Young Americans, however, are not fooled. As Barna
discovered, their "most frequent unprompted" criticism of modern
Christianity is that it "no longer looks like Jesus."
America's youth are warning us as Christians to return to
Jesus. May we heed their words before it is too late. |
