Examining the Evolution of Evangelical Christianity
Delving into the historical roots of evangelical Christianity, this chapter explores the influence of figures like the Apostle Paul and Puritans on modern Christian beliefs. It discusses the shifts in evangelical attitudes towards politics, alcohol, and moralism, critiquing legalistic interpretations and theological frameworks. The conversation also delves into the impact of Greek philosophy on Christian ideas about the soul, afterlife, and morality, challenging traditional dualistic perspectives.
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Transcript
Episode notes
Setting the stage for the next season of episodes, and how we want to move beyond merely “dancing in the ruins” of a deconstructed faith
We’re back! After a 3-month hiatus to recalibrate and strategise, we’re now embarking on a season in which we’re emphasizing reconstruction of a new Christian worldview that works … for us at least … in the 21st century. We had been experiencing some cynicism and disillusionment around the end of Season 4. In fact, we both admitted to sometimes feeling like we had left a cult!?
We first discussed certain highlights from one of the latest (2022) PEW Research polls on the ever increasing numbers of people who see themselves as religiously unaffiliated (previously referred to as “the NONES”), and their biggest reasons for leaving faith:
just stopped believing the central tenets (56%)
negative treatment of LGBTQ+ people (30%)
family was never really that committed to faith (29%)
After talking about our own deconstruction, disaffiliation, and disillusionment, we decided it was now time for some more deliberate reconstruction. That it’s not enough to “dance in the ruins” of a deconstructed Evangelical faith. This has been a long-standing goal of this podcast, and we’ve frequently released episodes in which, after deconstructing a number of key ideas, we showed how we’ve put together a New Christian Worldview.
Many have asked how we can still call ourselves Christian when we’ve rejected so many ideas and tenets which they view as essential to Christian faith. Our answer: we’re rejecting ideas that other humans have added to the basic teachings of Christ:
in the 19th century, Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism introduced scriptural inerrancy, Young Earth Creationism, Dispensationalism, and Christian Nationalism
in the 17th century, Puritanism added Millennialism and an overly zealous emphasis on sobriety and chastity
in the 16th century, the Reformers brought in Penal Substitutionary Atonement Theology, and coupled that with a supercharged and distorted version of eternal conscious torment in hell built on Dante’s 14th century view of hell
two millennia ago, Christianity absorbed the Greek philosophical idea of Substance Dualism — an immaterial soul riding in a material body — which many people today (both believers in the pews, as well as non-believers) think is essential to a Christian understanding of the soul and the afterlife
the Gospel writers themselves clearly projected their ideas on the stories they wrote; as one example, we call particular attention to Matthew’s claim of a Virgin Birth that he believed fulfilled ancient prophecy …. and now today that idea has become a litmus test question to establish whether one can call themselves a Christian or not!?
the Apostle Paul, whom some see as the one who invented Christianity, added quite a bit of theology to the teachings of Christ
All of those ideas, and others, are seen by many to be essential core tenets of Christian theology. Those may be “Christian” in one sense of that word, but Christ-ian they are not! Those ideas were never part of Christ’s Gospel message.
We remarked on the influence that the historian and author Tom Holland has had on us: especially in pointing out how dependent modern Western society is on Christ-ian ideas.
Before explaining why we want to hang on to the label “Christian,” we thought we should emphasize two reasons that do not apply. It is not at all some kind of Pascalian Wager (reducing it some kind of insurance policy against an unpleasant afterlife): we do not hold onto the idea of an eternal conscious torment in Hell. And it is not because of any claim to have a personal relationship with Christ: we’ve explained previously why we just don’t buy into that kind of thinking.
Certain other people might claim that many Christian teachings can be found in other world religions. Again, “Christian” maybe, but not “Christ-ian.” For example, many religions teach “love your neighbour”; but Christ taught “love your enemy.” Many religions teach “don’t steal”; but Christ taught “if someone steals your coat, give them your shirt as well.”
Instead, we think that Christ-ian teachings are essential if humanity is ever going to survive its climb up the evolutionary ladder. You’ll have to listen to the episode if you want an abbreviated version of what we mean by that. But we’ve previously given a much longer and more in-depth version of that in our episodes on Original Sin and Atonement Theology.
As always, tell us your thoughts …
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