As I continue to watch the developments and fallout from the Coronavirus episode I am coming to believe this is a watershed moment for the American Church.
Sadly, I have to report that it is a Roman Catholic
Traditionalist Cardinal, one Raymond Burke who has put his finger on the real
issue of the moment. The Church has allowed society and by extension the state
to tell us that the Church is not an 'essential' service (so to speak) but is
rather on the order or restaurants and retails stores that are nice additions to
life but hardly necessary.
There is an absurdity taking place out there, an endless
array of contradictions which are not easily solved. Some stores are open and
yet all have compressed hours which actually just means the traffic becomes more
condensed. We're supposed to self-distance but this is often impossible in
crowded grocery stores, all the more as many people either don't understand the
concept or reject it. While loading groceries the other day on the conveyor I
stepped back and promptly crashed into a guy that (unbeknownst to me) was
standing about six inches behind me. Obviously he either doesn't understand the
concept of virus transmission or (as I took it) he finds it all ridiculous and
his aggressive conveyor loading was in keeping with his normal annoying and
rude practice.
We take the risk of venturing out into the store because it's
necessary to life. But apparently meeting as the Church is not. What kind of
ecclesiology is that?
I must say that I wonder if the response would be different
if say, Obama was president? Would the churches be defiant? Would there be
resistance?
And yet in our present circumstance our Church leaders have
just completely capitulated on this issue. Once again everyone was blindsided
by this and unsure how to react. An argument can be made for temporary closure
of churches out of a need to curtail the sickness, out of love for neighbour,
out of concern for our elderly brethren. However, that's a decision the Church
is supposed to make. Our action, inaction or response should not be due to the
dictates of the state which has absolutely no jurisdiction in the realm of the
Church.
And yet the argument being universally made is that the state
ordered it.
This is an amazing thing. These same people are so defiant
when it comes to politics, their guns, taxes and the like. They are willing to
oppose the state, threaten retaliation and violence and find all kinds of ways
to circumvent and break the law. And understand I am no Libertarian. I believe
in the state and its necessity in a fallen world. I don't believe it's
Christian or that Christians should have anything to do with it but I believe
we are to obey the laws, unless they transgress certain boundaries.*
But in this case, a situation that really matters, that
really touches on the essence of Christian life... not the superficial and
deceptive rabbit-trails and false trajectories many Church leaders are focusing
on... there was almost universal and instant capitulation.
Again, I understand everyone saying let's not meet for a week
and weigh this. That could be argued as prudent. But since then there's been
time for reflection but I've seen little evidence of seeking wisdom and
discernment in terms of the principles at stake let alone seeking a response
and solution.
If we can risk the grocery store, then we can find a prudent
way to meet as the Church. I realise many of the so-called clergy are lazy and
unwilling to hold multiple services. It would be a burden to them and this is amplified
by a less than Biblical 'pastor' polity, but by reducing the size of the
congregation and conducting multiple services, we could meet. Measures could be
taken. We could meet outside if the weather is conducive. There are all kinds
of things that could be done, but what are we getting?
On the radio we hear about the dilemma of children at home,
we hear about psychology and counseling, the problem of Christians falling into
clinical depression. We hear about the need for self-care, the latest counseling absurdity. What a sad commentary.
On our local Evangelical radio station there was a long talk about exercise
routines, keeping busy, self care, staying connected through social media but
not once were the Christians in the audience exhorted to take this extra
at-home time and dig deep in the Scriptures, spend extra time praying, let alone
to count it as joy.
The deistic almost atheistic response is telling as is the
perilously low and deformed ecclesiology that's on display. The real leadership
on this issue may emerge from churches that have a high view of the sacraments
as they understand more keenly the need for the Church to meet in person.
Virtual streaming Church is (perhaps) better than nothing but it's a poor
substitute and it's hard to argue that it's a proper church meeting.
Some realise this but still are paralysed. I heard one of the
lamest and most disappointing discussions ever conducted by Confessionalist
Presbyterians who never bothered to address the issues of authority and what to
do in the long-term but rather they chose to simply bow down like the good
conformist and respectable middle class members that they are to the dictates
of the magistrate. We wouldn't want to be weird or stand out. There's nothing
more horrifying to the middle class than being a non-conformist. Instead they
spent their time discussing liturgy, procedure, whether such live-streamed
messages are preaching or 'exhorting' and how a baptism could be conducted through
a streaming format. For Presbyterians, there are issues concerning the fact
that the 'pastor' and an elder must
be present because of course the pastor isn't actually a 'member' of the
congregation which needs to be represented at the baptism and witness to it.
Rome's burning and they're fiddling and arguing over bureaucratic niceties and
the jots and tittles of procedure. But what can you expect from Presbyterians?
I praise God I left that wretched and unbiblical system.
I am increasingly burdened and disturbed by the Church
echoing the 'We're all in this together', ethos being expressed by the culture.
'We' are the Church of Jesus Christ and while we care about neighbour and
society and are willing to sacrifice for it, 'we' are not them and the separate
identities should never be conflated or confused. This is another point of
leadership abdication and doctrinal confusion.
While there has been some talk of the embrace of suffering,
there has been little encouragement to really consider the issue and the nature
of our calling, the realities of New Testament life in this fallen age and what
we're to expect throughout the course of this present evil age. And yet the dominionist-transformationalist
posture that dominates the Evangelical and Confessional spheres is not
conducive to that. When building your portfolio is equated with building the
Kingdom it's hard to incorporate a pilgrim mindset and embrace the suffering
and the futility of this age, let alone its doom. Suffering and seeming defeat
(as the world reckons it) do not go easily hand-in-hand with a worldly
conception of victory and the spirit of progress and improvement.
The American Church has been faced with a unique moment. We
are actually are under threat from the federal and multiple state governments.
We should be meeting right now and in defiance of law. This is actually the
moment we've all been waiting for. Did people think it would come in easy to
understand or blatant terms? Think again. We can take measures out of love for
neighbours and brethren. We can comply with the law as much as possible but in
terms of the Church we must disobey the order not to meet. It is essential.
This is our life. This is the moment.
It is only a world-compromised Church and one in many cases
that has a faulty sub-Biblical ecclesiology that will give in on this point. It
is abundantly clear that for many American Christians the politics and social
struggle are really what it's all about. They'll fight for their guns and taxes
but bow to the state when it comes to defining what the Church is and how it is
to be conducted.
Turn off Facebook, Zoom and the rest and let's start meeting
again. This is also a moment in which the 'lay' folk (as it were) may need to
step up. Our church leaders are cowards, fools and compromised avaricious hirelings
unwilling to risk loss, unwilling to even entertain the real questions of the
hour. They are abdicating their office. This is a watershed moment. The American Church has been put under test
and is failing... and badly.
If the US government said, 'Okay, you can meet and conduct yourselves in whatever way you see fit,
if you would only give up your tax exempt status,' how many would even
entertain the question? Very few I daresay. And that about sums it up. God help
us.
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*There have been some cases of defiance and yet they're being conducted foolishly and seem more rooted in Libertarian anti-statism than any kind of thought-out Biblical theology.
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*There have been some cases of defiance and yet they're being conducted foolishly and seem more rooted in Libertarian anti-statism than any kind of thought-out Biblical theology.
The Libertarian motivation roots the conflict in questions of
Constitutional Law, rights and for some there are questions concerning the resistance
of tyranny and the like. This is a non-Christian way to approach these questions
as none of these concepts are Biblical. There are no rights that we possess and
we are not to use state violence or call on it in order to fulfill our God-oriented
obligations.
Rather we are called to obey God and His commands. The
magistrate, the powers that be are ordained by Him. Regardless of who is in
control we must still obey and face the consequences. We can flee, we can
suffer punishment and persecution but we must not fight which would also
include involvement in the political sphere. To do so would be to resist
Providence. We worship not because it's our right to do so but because we're
Christians and it is therefore part of who we are. We cannot stop and we will
not. Rights can be negotiated. They can be compromised. Our worship is not
rooted in Rights but in Divine mandate. It's a very different understanding and
it is critical that we understand this and frame the question in this way.